Disclaimer: Still not mine.
A/N: Thank you Seraphim! Actually I have considered writing a book for a long time (childhood dream) but I really never thought I was good enough, so I decided to direct my efforts to ff.net! I am glad I did… Maybe this will give me the confidence to wrote a full length novel… Thanks so much to everyone that reviews… You people keep me going! P.S. Next chapter or so hold's J/S action… I promise!
Chapter 4: What to do?
It was raining. Again. She sat under the eve of her bedroom window and smoked a long sickly looking cigarette. She hadn't had a cigarette in years, but with the way things were going she had been desperate for one. She drew on her ragged cigarette and wondered what the hell was going on. She was losing her mind, she was sure. She was seeing things that weren't there, remembering things that never happened, at least to her, and now, she was avoiding the man that she came to this wretched place to know more about.
She was used to rain. There was so much in Maine that she felt she could walk outside and take a shower. At least at home she could hear the taping of the rain on her roof, or on the windows, here you just had to close the heavy curtains and hope that it didn't rain to hard. She was annoyed. Mad that her life hadn't turned out the way that she had expected it too. Mad that the man that had loved her for more then twelve years had so little to say to her that the little time she got to spend with him was filled with nothing but talk of the weather. That or how the fairies were petitioning the king to ban the dwarves from using squirt guns on them.
"What the hell am I doing here?" She said out loud and took another long drag off the cigarette, she looked at it thoughtfully and wondered if she could get Jareth to make a trip Aboveground so she could pick up a real pack of smokes. This rolling her own crap needed to stop, first of all she wasn't very good at and secondly Underground tobacco was nasty. She had things that needed to be accomplished here, like working out her feelings for Jareth, and letting him work out how he felt for her. It didn't seem like much was happening though.
She got up and wandered into her room. "So, Arden thinks I am the incarnation of her mother. Great! I want to be the incarnation of the Hulk too but we don't always get our way!" She was pacing, trying to make sense of this madness. Yes, this was madness, every part of it, her from the beginning. She had a bout of insanity and wished her small brother away. She thought about Toby for a moment, he really had not grown up to deserve the risks that she took to save him, drugs and girls were the first thing on this mind these days, she hoped he would grow out of it. Yes, insanity. Ever speaking to the owl had been crazy, let alone wishing herself away. Then the talk with Arden had been it's own special kind of crazy. She shuddered at the thought of Arden, the girl was damn scary, even if she had tried to be kind. "I don't care if she is my kid from another life, I don't have to like it," she said to no one in particular.
A loud knock resounded off of her door and she scrambled to put out her cigarette. The privy was the best place for it, she watched it fall almost longingly, knowing she would have to roll another soon. "Come," she said loudly, and hopefully commandingly.
The door creaked open and a blond head peeked in.
"Speak of the devil and she shall appear." Sarah said quietly.
"Hey," Arden, seeing that Sarah was neither naked nor preoccupied came in with a slight bounce to her walk. She looked happy, it was the first time that she had seen the blond happy about anything. _Aren't they supposed to be perky?_
"Hey, how are you doing this miserable day?" Sarah asked, annoyed that now she had to deal with Arden and was lacking a cigarette.
"What's a cigarette?" Arden asked, her brows knitting together in some kind of white caterpillar.
"How…" Sarah paused, suddenly suspicious.
"You're projecting." She said simply. "Papa does it too, when you are particularly in need of something you can't help but project it. Apparently you and Da had some time alone recently, cause last week you were… uh… being extremely obvious." Arden giggled at the younger woman's horrified look.
She assumed that with the way her Father had been behaving the last few days it was much more likely that Sarah had managed all on her own, but she was in an incredible mood and wanted to poke at Sarah a bit.
"I… I… No, we haven't had any alone time, thank you." Sarah huffed and rummaged around in her writing desk for the bag of tobacco she had managed to get from Hoggle when she saw him.
"I can get you a pipe if you want, it will taste much better with out the paper," Arden remarked on her way to sit on Sarah's bed. She plopped down cross-legged and examined her nails.
"That would be very kind of you thank you, umm… what do you want?" She was trying not to be rude but she was annoyed that she would still have to smoke the damn roll up until Arden could get her a pipe.
"Oh, you want another now? Well, here, use mine." Arden pulled an ornate black wooden pipe from her pouch. Sarah took it gratefully. The woman sat in silence while Sarah managed the pipe and took a drag. "Much better huh?"
"Oh yes," she sighed and suddenly felt much more relaxed.
"So, you want to know what I want. Well, I have been reading and talking with the older druids and have come to some conclusions about our conversation earlier." She waited for a response, when she didn't get one she continued. "Anyway, I have a few books I want you to look at. There is some information about reincarnation, mundane magical powers and such. You may find them interesting and they may help you find out what is happening to you."
Sarah looked at the leather bound books, and was shocked she could read the words on the page. "I… I can read these pages."
"Yes, anyone can. Anyone with a magical nature can, and from the way you were projecting you would have to be." Arden smiled and got up. "Well, I have to go see my father about some business. If you have any questions just let Emily know that you need me and I will come, or summon you." She laughed at Sarah's face as she scanned through the pages. "I would just tell you, but you must find these things out for yourself, Sarah, or you can never be truly whole."
"Thanks," she said around the pipe, and didn't look up as the girl left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jareth is going to be mad." Emily said munching on a carrot stick. She didn't often come in to dinner, but occasionally she would like to sit in Aelis sleeping chamber and share dinner with her niece.
The younger woman swished her tail slightly in annoyance and sighed. Smoke curled from her nostrils in thin pillars. She nodded and laid her enormous head on her front paws, like a dog.
"You could switch to Fae form so it would be easier to talk. Or are you doing this to be aggravating?"
Arden batted her tub sized eyes and gave her aunt a look as if to say _Who? Me? I am a perfectly docile little girl I would never do anything aggravating. _ She changed instead of fighting it. "I know he won't like it but he really doesn't have a choice in the matter. I mean, I did go to the Tree to make sure."
"How do you think he'll take it?"
"Badly, he takes everything badly. It doesn't matter what I do he is moody and angry with me." She knew that she sounded childish, but it was okay, Emily would never say anything to anyone. She was rather young to be the ruler of a kingdom of ancient magic users, but she was the last in the most direct line, and Emmy certainly didn't want to rule the place. Her mother had spent her year on the throne rebuilding and then when it was time for Arden to take over it was a smooth transition. She giggled thinking about the first time she had been in any kind of real trouble with her father. She had bound to the Glade instinctively and stayed there for three days until he could find her. She had gotten quite a beating for it, but the whole thing had been worth it.
"When did you go to the Tree?" Emily asked, she knew that Arden went there rarely, and she always announced it.
"The night before last," she poured herself a cup of wine and sat down Indian style on the pillows, then popped a piece of cheese into her mouth. She didn't really want to tell her aunt about her trip to the Tree. It had been about six years since she had gone and the last time she had sworn that she would not return. Of course, the heart of the Glade held more secrets then any ancient Fae and so she was forced to seek its guidance. Arden wondered if her mother had known about it, she assumed not, she found that her mother hadn't known many things about the Glade.
Emily was feeling pretty lucid the last few days. Very few things had occurred that would normally send her sliding into her pink clouds of happiness. She wondered about Arden, it didn't seem as if she was very happy about Sarah being there. "Well, what happened."
The younger woman sighed heavily. "I think that it's her, the Tree is sure. I just don't know how Papa will take it. I am sure that he is going to assume that I as meddling in his affairs, though I wasn't. It is just as important for me to know as her. I am the woman's daughter after all. I don't think she likes me very much though."
"Well, you are a lot to digest, Arden. Jareth had a hard time getting used to you too, especially with you changing every other day." Emily winked at her niece. She felt rather old, the last four hundred years had been wasted. She should be married with a family by now, Jareth still took children from time to time, perhaps she could adopt a few of them.
"He has a portrait of me in both forms, next to a picture of Mother." Arden said, she was deep in thought, wondering when and how to explain this whole mess to her father. He had been extremely distant from everyone lately. She assumed that he was feeling guilty. He felt guilty about everything.
"Just be yourself and she will love you. You do have to tell Jareth though. He won't be happy if you keep him in the dark about it, and if you don't act soon then he is going to die of guilt, and ruin his relationship with her this time around."
"I know, I know, but how to do it?"
"Just close your eyes and let it go. That's what I do." Emily smiled and ate another piece of bread.
Arden frowned at her aunt. "Fine, alright. I'll just go up to my father, and say, "Hey, Dad, guess what? You know that Sarah chick? Well, she's my mom!" I am sure he is going to love this."
"What else can you do?" Emily laughed. Goodness Arden was amusing when she was trying to work things out for herself.
A/N: Thank you Seraphim! Actually I have considered writing a book for a long time (childhood dream) but I really never thought I was good enough, so I decided to direct my efforts to ff.net! I am glad I did… Maybe this will give me the confidence to wrote a full length novel… Thanks so much to everyone that reviews… You people keep me going! P.S. Next chapter or so hold's J/S action… I promise!
Chapter 4: What to do?
It was raining. Again. She sat under the eve of her bedroom window and smoked a long sickly looking cigarette. She hadn't had a cigarette in years, but with the way things were going she had been desperate for one. She drew on her ragged cigarette and wondered what the hell was going on. She was losing her mind, she was sure. She was seeing things that weren't there, remembering things that never happened, at least to her, and now, she was avoiding the man that she came to this wretched place to know more about.
She was used to rain. There was so much in Maine that she felt she could walk outside and take a shower. At least at home she could hear the taping of the rain on her roof, or on the windows, here you just had to close the heavy curtains and hope that it didn't rain to hard. She was annoyed. Mad that her life hadn't turned out the way that she had expected it too. Mad that the man that had loved her for more then twelve years had so little to say to her that the little time she got to spend with him was filled with nothing but talk of the weather. That or how the fairies were petitioning the king to ban the dwarves from using squirt guns on them.
"What the hell am I doing here?" She said out loud and took another long drag off the cigarette, she looked at it thoughtfully and wondered if she could get Jareth to make a trip Aboveground so she could pick up a real pack of smokes. This rolling her own crap needed to stop, first of all she wasn't very good at and secondly Underground tobacco was nasty. She had things that needed to be accomplished here, like working out her feelings for Jareth, and letting him work out how he felt for her. It didn't seem like much was happening though.
She got up and wandered into her room. "So, Arden thinks I am the incarnation of her mother. Great! I want to be the incarnation of the Hulk too but we don't always get our way!" She was pacing, trying to make sense of this madness. Yes, this was madness, every part of it, her from the beginning. She had a bout of insanity and wished her small brother away. She thought about Toby for a moment, he really had not grown up to deserve the risks that she took to save him, drugs and girls were the first thing on this mind these days, she hoped he would grow out of it. Yes, insanity. Ever speaking to the owl had been crazy, let alone wishing herself away. Then the talk with Arden had been it's own special kind of crazy. She shuddered at the thought of Arden, the girl was damn scary, even if she had tried to be kind. "I don't care if she is my kid from another life, I don't have to like it," she said to no one in particular.
A loud knock resounded off of her door and she scrambled to put out her cigarette. The privy was the best place for it, she watched it fall almost longingly, knowing she would have to roll another soon. "Come," she said loudly, and hopefully commandingly.
The door creaked open and a blond head peeked in.
"Speak of the devil and she shall appear." Sarah said quietly.
"Hey," Arden, seeing that Sarah was neither naked nor preoccupied came in with a slight bounce to her walk. She looked happy, it was the first time that she had seen the blond happy about anything. _Aren't they supposed to be perky?_
"Hey, how are you doing this miserable day?" Sarah asked, annoyed that now she had to deal with Arden and was lacking a cigarette.
"What's a cigarette?" Arden asked, her brows knitting together in some kind of white caterpillar.
"How…" Sarah paused, suddenly suspicious.
"You're projecting." She said simply. "Papa does it too, when you are particularly in need of something you can't help but project it. Apparently you and Da had some time alone recently, cause last week you were… uh… being extremely obvious." Arden giggled at the younger woman's horrified look.
She assumed that with the way her Father had been behaving the last few days it was much more likely that Sarah had managed all on her own, but she was in an incredible mood and wanted to poke at Sarah a bit.
"I… I… No, we haven't had any alone time, thank you." Sarah huffed and rummaged around in her writing desk for the bag of tobacco she had managed to get from Hoggle when she saw him.
"I can get you a pipe if you want, it will taste much better with out the paper," Arden remarked on her way to sit on Sarah's bed. She plopped down cross-legged and examined her nails.
"That would be very kind of you thank you, umm… what do you want?" She was trying not to be rude but she was annoyed that she would still have to smoke the damn roll up until Arden could get her a pipe.
"Oh, you want another now? Well, here, use mine." Arden pulled an ornate black wooden pipe from her pouch. Sarah took it gratefully. The woman sat in silence while Sarah managed the pipe and took a drag. "Much better huh?"
"Oh yes," she sighed and suddenly felt much more relaxed.
"So, you want to know what I want. Well, I have been reading and talking with the older druids and have come to some conclusions about our conversation earlier." She waited for a response, when she didn't get one she continued. "Anyway, I have a few books I want you to look at. There is some information about reincarnation, mundane magical powers and such. You may find them interesting and they may help you find out what is happening to you."
Sarah looked at the leather bound books, and was shocked she could read the words on the page. "I… I can read these pages."
"Yes, anyone can. Anyone with a magical nature can, and from the way you were projecting you would have to be." Arden smiled and got up. "Well, I have to go see my father about some business. If you have any questions just let Emily know that you need me and I will come, or summon you." She laughed at Sarah's face as she scanned through the pages. "I would just tell you, but you must find these things out for yourself, Sarah, or you can never be truly whole."
"Thanks," she said around the pipe, and didn't look up as the girl left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jareth is going to be mad." Emily said munching on a carrot stick. She didn't often come in to dinner, but occasionally she would like to sit in Aelis sleeping chamber and share dinner with her niece.
The younger woman swished her tail slightly in annoyance and sighed. Smoke curled from her nostrils in thin pillars. She nodded and laid her enormous head on her front paws, like a dog.
"You could switch to Fae form so it would be easier to talk. Or are you doing this to be aggravating?"
Arden batted her tub sized eyes and gave her aunt a look as if to say _Who? Me? I am a perfectly docile little girl I would never do anything aggravating. _ She changed instead of fighting it. "I know he won't like it but he really doesn't have a choice in the matter. I mean, I did go to the Tree to make sure."
"How do you think he'll take it?"
"Badly, he takes everything badly. It doesn't matter what I do he is moody and angry with me." She knew that she sounded childish, but it was okay, Emily would never say anything to anyone. She was rather young to be the ruler of a kingdom of ancient magic users, but she was the last in the most direct line, and Emmy certainly didn't want to rule the place. Her mother had spent her year on the throne rebuilding and then when it was time for Arden to take over it was a smooth transition. She giggled thinking about the first time she had been in any kind of real trouble with her father. She had bound to the Glade instinctively and stayed there for three days until he could find her. She had gotten quite a beating for it, but the whole thing had been worth it.
"When did you go to the Tree?" Emily asked, she knew that Arden went there rarely, and she always announced it.
"The night before last," she poured herself a cup of wine and sat down Indian style on the pillows, then popped a piece of cheese into her mouth. She didn't really want to tell her aunt about her trip to the Tree. It had been about six years since she had gone and the last time she had sworn that she would not return. Of course, the heart of the Glade held more secrets then any ancient Fae and so she was forced to seek its guidance. Arden wondered if her mother had known about it, she assumed not, she found that her mother hadn't known many things about the Glade.
Emily was feeling pretty lucid the last few days. Very few things had occurred that would normally send her sliding into her pink clouds of happiness. She wondered about Arden, it didn't seem as if she was very happy about Sarah being there. "Well, what happened."
The younger woman sighed heavily. "I think that it's her, the Tree is sure. I just don't know how Papa will take it. I am sure that he is going to assume that I as meddling in his affairs, though I wasn't. It is just as important for me to know as her. I am the woman's daughter after all. I don't think she likes me very much though."
"Well, you are a lot to digest, Arden. Jareth had a hard time getting used to you too, especially with you changing every other day." Emily winked at her niece. She felt rather old, the last four hundred years had been wasted. She should be married with a family by now, Jareth still took children from time to time, perhaps she could adopt a few of them.
"He has a portrait of me in both forms, next to a picture of Mother." Arden said, she was deep in thought, wondering when and how to explain this whole mess to her father. He had been extremely distant from everyone lately. She assumed that he was feeling guilty. He felt guilty about everything.
"Just be yourself and she will love you. You do have to tell Jareth though. He won't be happy if you keep him in the dark about it, and if you don't act soon then he is going to die of guilt, and ruin his relationship with her this time around."
"I know, I know, but how to do it?"
"Just close your eyes and let it go. That's what I do." Emily smiled and ate another piece of bread.
Arden frowned at her aunt. "Fine, alright. I'll just go up to my father, and say, "Hey, Dad, guess what? You know that Sarah chick? Well, she's my mom!" I am sure he is going to love this."
"What else can you do?" Emily laughed. Goodness Arden was amusing when she was trying to work things out for herself.