Chapter 3: Meeting the King
Sarah walked along the dusty path, her thoughts on how she could possibly face this king that hated the very thing that she represented: a human. What had made him hate people from earth so much in the first place? She wondered. Yetzel flew along beside her silently, yet Sarah knew she was there, the flutter of the transparent wings giving her away. The sun barred down on them, making Sarah feel a bit uncomfortable in the heat, so she pulled off her blue blazer and threw it on the ground, not really caring if Karen noticed its disappearance. She had more important things to worry about now than that overly zealous woman.
Crystals glittered in the distance, blinding Sarah by the bright light that they gave off. Sarah shielded her eyes. "Yetzel, what is that up there, I can barely see?" Yetzel smiled and said excitedly, "That's the crystal city of the fairies and elves. That's where the king resides. It's beautiful isn't it?" she said dreamily. "It would be if I wasn't blind now," Sarah replied cynically, squinting her eyes against the light. She wasn't exactly excited about meeting a king that hated her just for being a human.
Yetzel sighed, disappointed. She had hoped Sarah would like the pretty city. "I know we haven't given you the best impression of our king, Sarah, but you'll see that he's not all bad." Sarah raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Somehow I doubt that." Walking further towards the crystal city just beyond their reach, it almost became unbearable to look at. The light reflected off the many faceted buildings, sprinkling colored light onto an awed Sarah. Even though it hurt her eyes to look at, it was undeniably beautiful.
The smell of rose petals and pine greeted Sarah's sense of smell as she walked and Yetzel flew toward the double doors leading to the interior of the largest building where Yetzel had informed Sarah that the king's throne room was located. The inside of the building was exactly like the outside, except Sarah's watery eyes were given a break from the painfully bright light. A high ceiling decorated with many large crystal chandeliers caught Sarah's eye.
Yetzel flew on ahead of Sarah, who followed, taking in the large entryway. Upon entering the throne room, everyone in attendance in the large room stopped whatever they were doing as if they had some kind of sixth sense and looked at the spot where Sarah stood, Yetzel hiding behind a thick lock of Sarah's hair. Sarah gulped nervously at the amount of the people in the room, beautiful and regal fairies and elves that held much power.
Sitting on a throne in the now quiet room was the king of the fairies and elves. He wasn't what Sarah had expected. He was tall with large purple eyes and black upswept eyebrows that matched his slightly wavy long, black hair. She had expected someone with white hair and skin, not dark and olive like the man now standing and looking at her with something akin to disgust in his features.
"Who dares to interrupt me?" the outraged king roared, his face turning red. The tiny hairs on the back of Sarah's neck stood straight on end. She had a bad feeling about this. "Well?" he asked, tapping his foot encased in a black boot impatiently on the floor, his hands placed on his hips. Sarah wet her lips by running her moist tongue over them before she cleared her throat to speak.
"I'm Sarah Williams, a human from earth," Sarah said, squaring her shoulders defiantly, and she stepped into the room. Many a gasp could be heard about the room, and soon outraged whispers from the people could be heard. "Quiet!" the king shouted, and immediately quiet descended upon the room like a blanket. "Why are you here, mortal?" the king practically spat. Sarah bit her lip nervously, and continued farther into the room, coming to a halt just before the foot of the king's throne. She shoved her pride aside, and knelt humbly before the powerful king. "I've come to help, sire."
The king laughed harshly, an ugly grating laugh. The subjects of his in the room all followed suite, and mocking laughter filled the room, bouncing off the walls and ringing in Sarah's ears. Wanting to hang her head and give up, but deciding against it, she stood instead and looked the king straight in the eye. "The war that is threatening this land can very well spread to the earth, and I want to stop it from happening before it gets that far." The king looked over the little mortal child before him and crossed his arms in front of his chest haughtily.
"What makes you think that a mere mortal like you could possibly stop a war?" Sarah shrugged and stated, "I know the goblin king, I've traveled his labyrinth and solved it. I'm thinking that maybe I could ask him to help side with you and then you could stop the forces threatening to take over." The king frowned, and raised his eyebrow a little at her. His arms dropped to his sides and he sat down.
A man close to the front to Sarah's right shouted, "She lies, sire. She can not be the one who solved the Goblin King's labyrinth. They say she doesn't exist!" Annoyance passed over the king's face briefly before he placed his calm façade back on. "You're all excused. Leave me now!" he bellowed at his subjects. Sarah turned to leave with them, Yetzel sitting on her shoulder. "Not you mortal." Sarah turned back around, and looked at him. "We have many things to discuss. Sit," he commanded. Sarah sat at the foot of the throne on one of the steps. "So, how are you going to go about asking the Goblin King to help us?" Sarah smiled an enigmatic little smile at him and replied, "I have my ways."
"I'm sure you do. But, he's going to want something in return. Are you prepared to offer it?" the king asked solemnly. Sarah nodded yes. "Good, then you may return to earth until I require your services. Yetzel dear, don't think I can't see you. You are returning to earth with Sarah just in case. I don't need any trolls or those mean spirited sprites following her back. If the earth ever found out about the underground it would be the end of us. You must keep everything a secret from now on. Do you understand?" he asked, his question directed to both Yetzel and Sarah. They both nodded in agreement. "Excellent. Yetzel, please come here."
Yetzel flew in front of the king, who raised his hand and a brilliant light flashed, and when it disappeared, Yetzel was no longer Yetzel. Standing where Yetzel once stood was a blonde girl looking to be Sarah's age, in blue jeans and a blue shirt. "We can't have you flying around earth as a fairy now can we Yetzel?" the king asked. Yetzel look severely put out with having her wings taken away. She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.
"You still look pretty," Sarah said, trying to soothe her hurt pride. Yetzel scowled and stomped out the door past Sarah. "Don't forget about us, Sarah. This is hard for me to say, but we're counting on you, human, to help us." Sarah gave her best mock salute. "Yes, sir," she said, following Yetzel out the door.
Once outside, Yetzel turned to Sarah and said, "Here," and handed her a crystal. It was very much like the one's Jareth used, Sarah noticed, except that unlike Jareth's, this one had different colors swirling in its depths. Sarah shot Yetzel a puzzled expression, and Yetzel explained impatiently. "Wish us back to earth, or just picture your house in the crystal." "Oh, sorry," Sarah said apologetically.
Colors swirled and merged as she stared at the crystal sitting in her palm. When she looked up, her room greeted her, with Yetzel standing next to her. Her scuffed shoes and missing blazer were the only things that proved that she had actually been back to the underground. And, of course, Yetzel, too. "Nice room," she said politely, she was obviously not as upset as she had been before. "Thanks," Sarah said, sitting down on her queen sized bed.
Footsteps on the stairs could be heard, and the door to the room started to open. Sarah panicked and started to tell Yetzel to hide, but before she could Toby ran into the room, and started to yell, "Sissy, mommy said…" then stopped once he caught sight of Yetzel. "Uh, Toby, this is my friend, Grace," she lied. Toby nodded his head in understanding. "Mommy said that we could go to the movies tomorrow," Toby said, finishing his sentence. "That's great, sweetie, but Grace and I are going to be pretty busy tomorrow, how about some other time?" she said. Disappointment could be seen on his small face, but he smiled anyway and said, "OK," and ran back down the stairs.
Guilt immediately overwhelmed Sarah as she had just lied to her brother, and disappointed him. She really had no choice. If she had told him the truth she would've broken her promise to the king. Yetzel spoke up as she sat down next to Sarah on her bed. "Really, Sarah. Grace? I could've came up with a better name than that." Sighing she said, "Somehow, Yetzel, I liked you better when you were smaller."
*~*
Hi, if you want to see more chapters then pretty please review. Oh, and thanks for reading! I really appreciate it. And remember comments, questions, or random insults are always welcome. Bye.
Sarah walked along the dusty path, her thoughts on how she could possibly face this king that hated the very thing that she represented: a human. What had made him hate people from earth so much in the first place? She wondered. Yetzel flew along beside her silently, yet Sarah knew she was there, the flutter of the transparent wings giving her away. The sun barred down on them, making Sarah feel a bit uncomfortable in the heat, so she pulled off her blue blazer and threw it on the ground, not really caring if Karen noticed its disappearance. She had more important things to worry about now than that overly zealous woman.
Crystals glittered in the distance, blinding Sarah by the bright light that they gave off. Sarah shielded her eyes. "Yetzel, what is that up there, I can barely see?" Yetzel smiled and said excitedly, "That's the crystal city of the fairies and elves. That's where the king resides. It's beautiful isn't it?" she said dreamily. "It would be if I wasn't blind now," Sarah replied cynically, squinting her eyes against the light. She wasn't exactly excited about meeting a king that hated her just for being a human.
Yetzel sighed, disappointed. She had hoped Sarah would like the pretty city. "I know we haven't given you the best impression of our king, Sarah, but you'll see that he's not all bad." Sarah raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Somehow I doubt that." Walking further towards the crystal city just beyond their reach, it almost became unbearable to look at. The light reflected off the many faceted buildings, sprinkling colored light onto an awed Sarah. Even though it hurt her eyes to look at, it was undeniably beautiful.
The smell of rose petals and pine greeted Sarah's sense of smell as she walked and Yetzel flew toward the double doors leading to the interior of the largest building where Yetzel had informed Sarah that the king's throne room was located. The inside of the building was exactly like the outside, except Sarah's watery eyes were given a break from the painfully bright light. A high ceiling decorated with many large crystal chandeliers caught Sarah's eye.
Yetzel flew on ahead of Sarah, who followed, taking in the large entryway. Upon entering the throne room, everyone in attendance in the large room stopped whatever they were doing as if they had some kind of sixth sense and looked at the spot where Sarah stood, Yetzel hiding behind a thick lock of Sarah's hair. Sarah gulped nervously at the amount of the people in the room, beautiful and regal fairies and elves that held much power.
Sitting on a throne in the now quiet room was the king of the fairies and elves. He wasn't what Sarah had expected. He was tall with large purple eyes and black upswept eyebrows that matched his slightly wavy long, black hair. She had expected someone with white hair and skin, not dark and olive like the man now standing and looking at her with something akin to disgust in his features.
"Who dares to interrupt me?" the outraged king roared, his face turning red. The tiny hairs on the back of Sarah's neck stood straight on end. She had a bad feeling about this. "Well?" he asked, tapping his foot encased in a black boot impatiently on the floor, his hands placed on his hips. Sarah wet her lips by running her moist tongue over them before she cleared her throat to speak.
"I'm Sarah Williams, a human from earth," Sarah said, squaring her shoulders defiantly, and she stepped into the room. Many a gasp could be heard about the room, and soon outraged whispers from the people could be heard. "Quiet!" the king shouted, and immediately quiet descended upon the room like a blanket. "Why are you here, mortal?" the king practically spat. Sarah bit her lip nervously, and continued farther into the room, coming to a halt just before the foot of the king's throne. She shoved her pride aside, and knelt humbly before the powerful king. "I've come to help, sire."
The king laughed harshly, an ugly grating laugh. The subjects of his in the room all followed suite, and mocking laughter filled the room, bouncing off the walls and ringing in Sarah's ears. Wanting to hang her head and give up, but deciding against it, she stood instead and looked the king straight in the eye. "The war that is threatening this land can very well spread to the earth, and I want to stop it from happening before it gets that far." The king looked over the little mortal child before him and crossed his arms in front of his chest haughtily.
"What makes you think that a mere mortal like you could possibly stop a war?" Sarah shrugged and stated, "I know the goblin king, I've traveled his labyrinth and solved it. I'm thinking that maybe I could ask him to help side with you and then you could stop the forces threatening to take over." The king frowned, and raised his eyebrow a little at her. His arms dropped to his sides and he sat down.
A man close to the front to Sarah's right shouted, "She lies, sire. She can not be the one who solved the Goblin King's labyrinth. They say she doesn't exist!" Annoyance passed over the king's face briefly before he placed his calm façade back on. "You're all excused. Leave me now!" he bellowed at his subjects. Sarah turned to leave with them, Yetzel sitting on her shoulder. "Not you mortal." Sarah turned back around, and looked at him. "We have many things to discuss. Sit," he commanded. Sarah sat at the foot of the throne on one of the steps. "So, how are you going to go about asking the Goblin King to help us?" Sarah smiled an enigmatic little smile at him and replied, "I have my ways."
"I'm sure you do. But, he's going to want something in return. Are you prepared to offer it?" the king asked solemnly. Sarah nodded yes. "Good, then you may return to earth until I require your services. Yetzel dear, don't think I can't see you. You are returning to earth with Sarah just in case. I don't need any trolls or those mean spirited sprites following her back. If the earth ever found out about the underground it would be the end of us. You must keep everything a secret from now on. Do you understand?" he asked, his question directed to both Yetzel and Sarah. They both nodded in agreement. "Excellent. Yetzel, please come here."
Yetzel flew in front of the king, who raised his hand and a brilliant light flashed, and when it disappeared, Yetzel was no longer Yetzel. Standing where Yetzel once stood was a blonde girl looking to be Sarah's age, in blue jeans and a blue shirt. "We can't have you flying around earth as a fairy now can we Yetzel?" the king asked. Yetzel look severely put out with having her wings taken away. She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.
"You still look pretty," Sarah said, trying to soothe her hurt pride. Yetzel scowled and stomped out the door past Sarah. "Don't forget about us, Sarah. This is hard for me to say, but we're counting on you, human, to help us." Sarah gave her best mock salute. "Yes, sir," she said, following Yetzel out the door.
Once outside, Yetzel turned to Sarah and said, "Here," and handed her a crystal. It was very much like the one's Jareth used, Sarah noticed, except that unlike Jareth's, this one had different colors swirling in its depths. Sarah shot Yetzel a puzzled expression, and Yetzel explained impatiently. "Wish us back to earth, or just picture your house in the crystal." "Oh, sorry," Sarah said apologetically.
Colors swirled and merged as she stared at the crystal sitting in her palm. When she looked up, her room greeted her, with Yetzel standing next to her. Her scuffed shoes and missing blazer were the only things that proved that she had actually been back to the underground. And, of course, Yetzel, too. "Nice room," she said politely, she was obviously not as upset as she had been before. "Thanks," Sarah said, sitting down on her queen sized bed.
Footsteps on the stairs could be heard, and the door to the room started to open. Sarah panicked and started to tell Yetzel to hide, but before she could Toby ran into the room, and started to yell, "Sissy, mommy said…" then stopped once he caught sight of Yetzel. "Uh, Toby, this is my friend, Grace," she lied. Toby nodded his head in understanding. "Mommy said that we could go to the movies tomorrow," Toby said, finishing his sentence. "That's great, sweetie, but Grace and I are going to be pretty busy tomorrow, how about some other time?" she said. Disappointment could be seen on his small face, but he smiled anyway and said, "OK," and ran back down the stairs.
Guilt immediately overwhelmed Sarah as she had just lied to her brother, and disappointed him. She really had no choice. If she had told him the truth she would've broken her promise to the king. Yetzel spoke up as she sat down next to Sarah on her bed. "Really, Sarah. Grace? I could've came up with a better name than that." Sighing she said, "Somehow, Yetzel, I liked you better when you were smaller."
*~*
Hi, if you want to see more chapters then pretty please review. Oh, and thanks for reading! I really appreciate it. And remember comments, questions, or random insults are always welcome. Bye.