A/N: Finally, a big fat chapter after all the short ones. I hope you enjoy it!
When the dawn broke over the wasted lands Hoggle roused Sarah, and she found herself refreshed.
I thought I'd have had nightmares after meeting that ghost, but I didn't dream of anything, thank the gods. I do hope Jareth is alright. The small thread of doubt evaporated almost as soon as it appeared. I would know if he were in trouble, I think. Just stay focused on getting out of here.
As they continued westward toward the coast, a salt-laden sea breeze began to lift the oppressive stench of the marshland. The boundary on the western edges of the marshes were marked by fields of red flowers, and they moved more quickly on the less treacherous terrain. The lands here were dotted with pools and shaded groves, and they could also hear the roar of the sea nearby. They made camp in one of these groves, their appetites revived by the fresh sea air.
Hoggle settled down by the clearwater pool, fashioned a line and hook, and they soon sat by a small fire with the scent of roasting fish to cheer them.
"Seems we're outta harm's way fer now," he said around mouthfuls. "I ain't seen no signs of goblins these ways, but if the King be trapped in the castle as ye say we're not gettin' 'im free way out here."
"True, friend Hoggle," agreed Didymus. "It is time to regroup. I saw we make a charge through the lands of-"
At that moment a sound from the rushes caught their attention. They looked over to see the head of a girl emerging from the pool with water weeds tangled in her hair.
Sarah immediately thought of the drowned dead, but this girl's eyes were clear and green. She smiled at their serious faces and her giggle sounded like the burble of water in a brook. A few other pairs of bright eyes emerged from the water behind her.
"Hail, travelers," she said. "The Undine requests your company, and succor awaits if you will follow me."
"We need proof o' safe passage," said Hoggle. "Or we refuse."
"I will thrice promise you safety in our lands. What befalls you when you leave our borders is your own doing."
Sarah felt a small smile come to her own lips; the girl's good humor was infectious.
Hoggle snorted. "And who be ye, t'make such a promise?"
"She said you would be stubborn," the girl laughed again. "I am Wen, handmaiden to the Undine herself. I give my true name as surety against your safety."
Sarah immediately felt the girl's name in her mind. She felt the crash of waves caress her skin, smelt the biting salt air, and flashes of brightly hued scales danced before her eyes.
"Not much more I can ask," grumbled Hoggle. He turned to Sarah and continued in a hushed voice. "Up to you girl. The water folk are the powers that be in these parts, I don't like our chances if we refuse their hospitality. But they can be a flighty bunch, and like many tribes on the outskirts they don't have no great love for the Goblin King."
"What do you think?" she asked Didymus.
"The Undine is renown for her abilities as a seer. If we are not froward then she may prove a valuable source of knowledge."
Sarah nodded and turned to the tittering group of girls. "Alright, we accept the offered hospitality and protection. If you lead us true we would be happy to meet with the Undine."
Wen held out her hand expectantly. Sarah shouldered her pack and hesitated a moment. "But everything will get wet…"
"Our magics will protect your belongings," assured Wen. They will be dry and whole when you choose to surface."
Sarah took her hand and allowed herself to be led into the water. She took a deep breath as she went under, but forced herself to leave her eyes open as she sunk down. The pool was clear and deep, and she could see the naked forms of the naiads swimming about with grace and speed, Wen herself had a fish's tail. Wen drew close and kissed her. Sarah gasped and found that the water breathed as easily as air. The mermaid giggled and pulled her farther down into the pool towards a ring of stones near the sun-dappled bottom. Sarah looked back a moment to find her companions close behind, each with their own naiad companion. She nodded and they ventured deeper into the pool, swimming fast.
The ring turned out to be a passageway hidden by waving seaweed which eventually opened out into the wide ocean overlooking a coral reef. The reef was a riot of colors, and Sarah could not help but look everywhere as they raced past.
"Do you like our gardens?" Wen asked, smiling.
"It is so beautiful here," Sarah smiled back. So much of this place is amazing. Hoggle was right...I wonder… do want to go back after all of this? I mean… can I go back as it is? A pang of doubt marred the beautiful scenery before her.
Soon they arrived at an ancient temple that was half buried in the coral reef and encrusted with all manner of marine creatures. They passed through its ruined halls into a grotto surrounded by great spires of coral that were decked with the riches of countless shipwrecks. The grotto glimmered with rainbow light, and the effect was disorienting. It took Sarah a long moment to see the person that waited for them in the grotto.
In the center lay one of the strangest creatures Sarah had seen yet. She had long, braided locks, strewn with jewels and gold. Layers of necklaces covered her breast, but at the waist her hips flared out into eight long tentacles. Her color seemed to change with the environment around her, and as Wen approached with Sarah she flashed with waves of her own light. She stared hard at Sarah with disconcerting square-pupiled eyes.
"Welcome to my realm dark queen, I am called the Undine." she said by way of greeting. Her voice was low and almost as mesmerizing as her skin.
Sarah opened her mouth trying to come up with a believable lie, and in that hesitation the Undine looked over Sarah's shoulder to acknowledge the rest of the group.
"Wen," please take these friends to the great hall," she continued. "They may rest and feast there, and see if any lost treasures we possess will aid their journey." Hoggle was about to disagree, but once he heard the word 'treasure' his protests quieted. He looked to Sarah, and she nodded, so he and Didymus swam away with the naiads at their side.
When they were alone the Undine gave Sarah a knowing smile. "I know you would deny your crown, but only a true liege could inspire loyalty in such creatures. Never have I seen a duergar willing to pass by gold to guard a friend. That werewolf believes in you so completely that he willingly ventures into water- a great peril to his kind. I need not speak of the dead, for you already understand the weight of their pledge, I imagine."
It is the duty of a monarch to inspire loyalty, and the duty of his subjects to express it.
Sarah swallowed hard, getting angry. "You certainly presume a lot. And why do you want me here? Do you pledge fealty as well?" The question hung in the air like a challenge.
"I do not presume anything, my dear. The echoes of your passage have rung through this temple since your arrival here and I have followed you with great interest. Let us say that I will be willing to pledge fealty to a future queen, the one that follows the true path."
"I've heard this before. What if I don't want to? What if I renounce it all and leave? What if… I don't make it?"
"There are threads before you, many which are cut short and few which run long. But queen you are already, your kingdom only waits for you to survive to rule it. As for renunciation, the only place left for you is here, changeling child. Your Fae blood is quickening and it is not likely that you can thrive Aboveground any longer. If you return, you will sicken and die before your time; Fae never prosper Aboveground for long."
"Changeling?" Sarah clenched her hands, trying very hard not to give in to panic and anger as the water around her grew colder. "So I'm trapped here? Forever?"
"Many who appear caged are freer than you might think. Some may be clever enough to choose their own cage, and that is a kind of freedom."
"The hell it is." Why didn't Hoggle warn me? Was this some kind of setup? Sarah clenched her fists, and the water around her shimmered with ice particles. "Why didn't anyone mention this sooner?"
"Changelings are rare in these days of unbelief, it is unlikely that your friends knew of it. I understand your anger, but indulging in it will not serve you."
"I only came here to help my friends! I didn't want to stay here forever," Sarah said bitterly.
"Indeed? If you believe that then I must caution you that self-deceit is a deadly enemy," said the Undine, amused.
Sarah glared at her, eyes blazing, but said nothing.
"I did not bring you here to bait you but to help you, dark queen. I cannot disclose all things, but the geas on my tribe is not as onerous as some."
Sarah settled to the floor of the dais, thinking. Well, if I'm stuck here, it's even more important that I free Jareth. What do I need to know, really? What will get me...and Jareth... through this alive?
"How do I defeat the Labyrinth?" At her question the currents around them stirred, making the glittering decorations flash in warning.
"You do get to the point," remarked the Undine, as her skin flashed in stripes of red alarm. "That question heads quickly into dangerous waters. I can only say that one does not defeat the Labyrinth - even the King himself did not defeat it. There are paths within that even he cannot walk." The currents around them went icy cold, but when the Undine stayed silent, the restless waters calmed.
That's right, he made a deal with it. Parley or parry, yes? Is that a choice I will have to make?
"Well, since that seems to be off limits, maybe you can tell me a bit about myself," sighed Sarah. "What makes me fit to be a queen, anyway?"
The seer settled down upon a giant clamshell, her skin shifting into soothing colors in relief. "The reasons are many. You were chosen by the King, even the Labyrinth itself desires your power. Your blood is from ancient Unseelie houses, which is enough to prove your nobility anywhere Underground."
"I'm probably related to a fire-breathing dragon, or vampire or something." she muttered.
"There are a few dragons in Hekate's line," laughed the Undine. "Many of her children are renown for their power."
"Hekate? Stories about her are so sparse... I don't really know much about her."
"She is not the mother of secrets for nothing, child. Urd, Nemain, Lilith, Ariadne...Her daughters are few, but are possessed of potent magic."
"Even if the Labyrinth wanted my power, why did the Goblin King want me? When I ran the Labyrinth... I was such a whiny brat. Yet he practically helped me win. He offered me... everything, knowing that I could very well refuse. It doesn't make any sense."
"That is not my question to answer. It is very rare for Seelie and Unseelie to bond as it often ends in tragedy. You should know that love is no sane thing."
Sarah blushed, hearing the double meaning in the seer's voice. She felt deflated, tired, and completely lost.
"If you wish to find the truth for yourself, talk to your Goblin King. I must warn you that he is bound more tightly than all the rest, and will not be able to tell you what you need to hear directly. Pay attention to the shape of his silences. Sift what you hear by the measure of what you know is true. That is the best counsel that I may give you for all your questions, dark queen."
Sarah felt a webbed hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see the alien face looking kindly down upon her.
"Come. Join your companions and enjoy my hospitality. I may harbor you tonight, then set you on the path of your choosing with the dawn."
Sarah found her companions in a hall of pillars before a great table. The slab was set with tarnished candlesticks swagged in luminous seaweed as well as a variety of platters, mismatched but all very fine. Didymus was in the middle of performing spirited theatrics for a group of enraptured mermaids, while Hoggle sat with his plate to one hand and a small casket bursting with gold and jewels on the other. Both raised their heads to attention when Sarah entered, but she waved them back with a smile and sat down to eat, noticing there were no cups placed on the table.
"Do you have any recommendations of where we might go from here?" she asked the Undine, who had settled at the head of the table to her right.
"It depends on where you intend to go."
"We want to reach the Goblin City. Without attracting attention."
"A great deal of dirty water near the City… none of my sisters swim as far as all that, so we may not take you there ourselves. We can get you close to the inner circles of the Labyrinth, but many ways are watched. One possibility is to go on the challengers' paths, a sister keeps vigil at the well near the Great Crossroads. Now that none are lured in by the King those paths will not be guarded, and no one will enter them of their own will."
"Aye," said Hoggle, seating himself by Sarah. "She gots a point. The Crossroads has some of the most devious traps in the Labyrinth, because anyone runnin' em has a straight shot to the City if they can get through. They ain't meant to be fair or safe."
"Sounds great," muttered Sarah. Her plate of seafood looked less than appetizing.
"Ain't none of this fair or safe, little lady. But with Didymus an' ol' Hoggle at yer side, ye gots a better chance than most."
Sarah had to smile and this, and surprised her friend with a hug. "Just like old times, right?"
He grunted. "Jes' like."
After their dinner the mermaids showed them to a small set of rooms, strewn about with a strange collection of furniture and knick knacks. "We weren't sure what you'd like," said Wen eagerly, "so we made sure you had lots of drylander things. This one is my favorite, isn't it wonderful? Clearer than still water." She held up a gilded hand mirror.
Sarah smiled at her childlike enthusiasm. "I can see how that would be-" and she stopped when she caught her own reflection in the glass. She took it from the girl to look more carefully at her face. She barely recognized herself. Although light played strangely in the water it was clear that her features were sharper, more real somehow. Her irises glowed in the half light, and her eyelids seemed to take on a violet shimmer much like Jareth's. One more reminder that I'll never be the same. She quickly returned the glass and got back to settling in for the night.
While there weren't three normal beds the rooms contained more of the massive clamshells which the mermaids had heaped with rugs and silk curtains and other fabrics. Sarah arranged hers into modest comfort and laid her head on a folded velvet curtain whose pile was still soft and plush.
Hopefully nothing out there will try to kill me in my sleep this time, she thought as she drifted off. Maybe he'll be there. Gods, if I'm gonna live here now, I wish we could be on better terms. I wish we could play nice for once...
A/N: Oh Sarah, don't you remember what happens when you wish here?