Hmm

Hmm. I'm not sure if this part is comprehensible or not. Oh well. I excuse myself by saying that I burned out last night after revising my novel in progress. 53 pages! Keep your fingers crossed I win the literary contest I entered. Anyway, I find this story moving in a totally different direction from the one I thought it was going in. Would y'all be interested in a few humorous omake (i.e. separate stories within the same universe) I'm pondering?

Have fun!

Ladymage ;)

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To the Victor Go the Spoils

Part 7 ~ But What the Tune?

It was only long after Sarah had returned home that Jareth was able to even partially clear his mind of the burning image. He was more than surprised once he was able think clearly.

Sarah definitely possessed--and was able to control--magic. A rare quality among humans--especially since they no longer believed in it--even more rare to be able to control that level of magic with such precision. For my will is as strong as yours she had said. Apparently, it was. Earth magic was raw, unfocused power that responded to an equal force of emotion and will. A master of Earth magic often found it impossible to work with Fae magic. Fae magic, on the other hand, responded to the least emotion, rendering it unpredictable and powerful. Jareth himself only allowed himself to feel amusement, a pleasant enough emotion but without the magical backlash he would otherwise experience. The few times he had allowed his emotions to get the better of him during his duel with Sarah had been costly. And she, she could use the very thing that had lost him his kingdom.

And he, fool that he was, had given her even more power.

The thought of the power she held drove the last wisps of her image from his thoughts as he shot bolt upright, nearly knocking himself out of the tree. Sarah obviously felt deeply; that was what controlled her magic. And now she was gifted with magic of an entirely different sort, a sort that would destroy the entire countryside if she allowed her emotions free rein, which he knew she often did. And destroy her as well.

But why hadn't they done so already? The scene at her house that evening caused her a good deal of pain. There ought to have been some magical working proceeding from that. And a sizeable one, if he had judged aright.

The rain he realized, dazed. Earlier, she was angry and there was lightning. Tonight she cried and the heavens accompanied her. The concept was as awe-inspiring as it was baffling. Had Sarah's new Fae magic been somehow connected to her human magic? The weather-workings were not at all up to the level of magic he would have expected, nor had Sarah seemed to experience the physical backlash, which would indicate she had been controlling her emotions. Yet Jareth knew it was something Sarah was almost incapable of. Her volatility was, in fact, one of the things he-- one of the things that amused him. And rain was not how Fae magic would have expressed itself. It would have been more likely to burn the living room down, or created an illusion where Sarah could hide.

What manner of power did the girl have?

It was nearing dawn and though Jareth was dying for answers to his questions, he decided to wait until Sarah woke of her own accord. He excused this unaccustomed thoughtfulness by reasoning that he wouldn't be able to get any coherent answers out of her otherwise. And so, with that thought in mind, he settled further into the crook of the tree, pulling his thick feather cape about him. It was rather comfortable there and he hadn't slept out of doors for over a hundred years.