AU- This one goes out to two very special people.
First, this one's for Ravyn because she mercilessly nags me to finish this story, and that's exactly what I need! There should be a million of you... no wait, scratch that thought. One of you is more than enough!
Second, a big thank you to Ragnarok! He doesn't know about Labyrinth (I'm rectifying that) but his advice about D&D monsters was invaluable.
***
Chapter Eleven; In Which we Meet the Dwarven Drow
Theme Music; Kryptonite by Three Doors Down
***
Sarah didn't dare breath.
Three sets of eyes watched the scene unfolding in the heart of the campfire avidly.
A woman, whom Sarah immediately identified as 'Mom!' was laying in a hospital room, staring down at the red wrinkly bundle in her arms as if it were a ticking bomb one second away from zero. She seemed to barely hear the nurse that cooed over the baby Gawain.
Instead her eyes drifted, almost trace-like to the slender, red-leather bound novel that lay on the table next to her bed. The nurse, sensing a need about to occur, immediately fetched the book.
As the nurse left, the young Linda opened the book and began reading from it.
Sarah's blood chilled as the baby started to cry and a painfully familiar scene began to unfold in the fire.
Gawain sucked in his breath as young Linda, in earnest, spoke the Words over his younger self. As glitter began to form a vortex at the foot of the hospital bed he cut off the spell with a harsh word.
"We've seen enough." He said harshly.
Sarah leaned back away from the fire and rubbed her arms fiercely
"That proves it." Gawain said with his head bowed.
Sarah started to say something upbeat and comforting, but Gawain burst up off his feet and swept Sarah up into his arms to twirl her about.
"I've got a sister!" he crowed.
Startled laughter was torn from Sarah as Gawain put her back on her feet and gathered her up in a bone crushing hug.
Eittene blinked. "Aren't you sad that... well, you know."
Gawain snorted at the little boy. "Old news, brat. I've grown up knowing my mother wished me away." He said crisply. He grinned at Sarah, "I'm just glad I actually have a blood relative. For the first time in... oh, geez. My entire life. Sit down!" he commanded.
Sarah did so and met Gawain glittering gaze.
"Tell me everything about you." He demanded. "Your home, your father, our half-brother, I want to hear it all!"
It seemed there was to be a bending of the 'One story a night' rule.
Just this once!
***
Unbeknownst to the overjoyed trio, about a league away and closing distance rapidly, was Cain's short bodyguard. He ran at a loping stride that shouldn't have been possible for a human to attain, he covered miles in mere minutes.
Cristobal didn't want to think too hard on his assignment, to do so would trigger another lovely wave of pain from the necklace around his throat.
"My sword-master must be spinning in his grave right now." He muttered to himself. He'd briefly considered 'getting lost' but the slave necklace around his neck made such idea impossible. The mortal woman's location glared on his mental radar like a sunrise.
Cristobal forced himself to skid to a halt when the woman's presence almost became overwhelming... the artificial drive to -kill- radiating from the slave collar almost overpowered his intellect and Cain's words from earlier sprang up in his mind once more, echoing like a morbid mantra.
Once again he could feel the coarse twine of the necklace settling against his skin as he stood, helpless, caught under Cain's glamour.
*You will kill the woman Sarah Williams and anyone who happens to be with her when you find her. Then you will return to me for your next assignment.*
"I'm going to kill that Fae son of a bitch!" Cristobal snarled as once again he tried to tear the accursed thing from his neck... he only succeeded in burning his hands.
***
"... and now that he's older, Toby's so much fun!" Sarah's hands drew graceful lines in the air as she spoke. "Anyway, I was at least an hour late and there was Karen standing on the porch wearing -that- look on her face, I swear, she must practice it in the mirror! 'Sarah! You're an hour late!'" Sarah did an uncanny imitation of Karen's nasal, supercilious attitude, even though it was lost on her audience who had never met the wretched woman.
Gawain guffawed nonetheless. "Oh, she must have been fun to deal with."
"You have no idea." Sarah sighed. "and she was blocking the door while she was at it too so I had to stand out in the pouring rain and explain to her what had happened."
Eittene made a face. "Danaa save us all from evil stepmothers... and evil blood mothers while he's at it." He added as an afterthought.
Sarah winced at Eittene's casual reference to his parent's abandonment of him. "Eittene... do you know why your parents left you?" she asked delicately.
"It was during the Cleansing." Eittene shrugged. "they were on the run from someone or the other and I guess I slowed them down. I was better off without them, really. I did most of their translation work for them already. Most of the business in town was used to dealing with me so I didn't have a lot of trouble raising a living at first..."
Gawain reached over, across the fire and flipped Eittene's hair off of his pointy ears. "... but people weren't really eager to hire a Dark Elf, is that what drove you out of the Dawn Circle?" he chuckled hen Eittene blanched. "It was possible for you to fool Sarah, but I noticed a long time ago, kiddo. Ya can't hide from the best." He said with an arrogant toss of his head.
Eittene jerked his head back and smoothed his hair back down over his ears. "Look, I can't exactly pick my relatives! I was only thirty three during the Restoration!"
Sarah blinked. "But... you look like you're just a little boy!!!"
Gawain and Eittene winced.
"Thirty three is very young for a Drow." Gawain explained. "about like... five or six for a human child."
Sarah scowled, she was getting just a little tired of not being informed on the history of the Underground. Especially when these two started talking about it and not explaining themselves. It wasn't like she'd had a chance to study up for this or anything! "Would you guys mind explaining all this 'Restoration' and 'Cleansing' crap, if it isn't too much trouble?" she seethed, only allowing a iny bit of the fustratio she was feeling touch her voice.
Apparently it was more than enough, for Gawain and Eittene both flushed identical shades of dark red.
"Jareth explained the Restoration to you earlier." Eittene volunteered, scratching the back of his head in a nervous gesture. This seemed to be a touchy subject for him. "It was when he abolished the feudal age among Fae and locked up Cain in the Labyrinth."
"That's essentially it." Gawain nodded his agreement. "the Cleansing happened afterwards. Cain was supported mostly by the Sorcerers and the Dark Elves, or the Drow, when the Restoration was over the Sorcerer's Guild was practically crippled and there was a massive witch-hunt for almost every last Drow in the Underground. Most people like to pretend the Drow are all dead, but some of the Drow had children whom they abandoned, like Eittene, in their haste to escape. Mostly those kids died or took care of themselves."
Eittene snorted. "We took care of ourselves." He corrected. "Self reliance is something any Elven kid learns early on." He said defensively. "The only reason my mum and Da taught me anything instead of selling me of or kicking me out the way they did my older brothers and sisters was because I picked up the lessons before they got bored with it."
Sarah's heart melted. "Eittene..." she reached out to touch him, but he ducked out of her reach.
The little boy bristled. "I said I couldn't pick my relatives." He said hotly. "I don't need pity because they were such lousy people, okay?"
Sarah withdrew her hand. "I understand that. Still, you deserve some love and kindness in your life, don't you?"
Eittene didn't answer and Sarah shrugged.
"Well, you've got me now whether you want me or not." She said as she stood up and brushed dry grass off of the seat of her pants. "I need to visit the bushes." She murmured, half to herself.
As she passed Eittene she dropped a sisterly kiss on his forehead. "Go the river and wash!" she commanded.
"What is it with you and your obsession for washing up?" Eittene complained. Nevertheless, he stood and made for the direction in which the sound of rushing water could be heard.
"It's because you stink if you don't." Gawain jeered at the boy's retreating form.
"You too!" Sarah told the Bard. "You didn't exactly come out of today's hike smelling like a rose!"
"It's not like you did either!" he cried.
Sarah made a pert face. "I washed after we set up camp. Go!"
Gawain flushed and went to follow the boy to the river.
Sarah watched them go and shook her head. Old or young, all men were just giant babies! Honestly, she just couldn't do a thing with either of them!
She absently snagged her bow and arrows as she went in search of a bush that wasn't adorned with the Underground's equivalent of poison ivy, a small grey plant that had flowers like baby's breath and coiled like a morning glory. Gawain had pointed some out to her when he was giving 'nature lessons' and cautioning her never to leave camp or be alone with out a knife or her arrows.
She didn't really see what good her arrows would do against, oh say, a bear or the like, but Sarah complied nonetheless. Who knew? She might see a rabbit or something that would make a nice supper or something.
As it turned out, it was a good thing she had brought her arrows and apparently she was better with them than she'd originally thought.
There was a dark flicker a the corner of her eye and before she realized what she'd done, Sarah had loosed three arrows in the pertinent direction.
A short man with long black hair, threaded with gray, tied up in a high ponytail stood a few feet away from her, holding a wicked dagger loosely in his hand... almost like he'd forgotten what he'd wanted to do with it.
Although she'd been quite sure that the man had been trying to kill her, Sarah saw that his attention was entirely focused on something on the ground at his feet... a necklace of black twine woven around some sort of red stone.
"Shiva..." the man swore. "You shot it off!"
Sarah blinked." What?" then she notice the arrow embedded in the tree behind the man and the tiny wound on his neck... one of her arrows must cut through the woven cord securing the ornament to his neck.
Sarah yelped as the thing burst into flames, leaving nothing of the necklace but ashes.
The man looked up at her. "You just saved you own life." He informed her. "and mine as well. I owe you one."
Sarah shook her head. "I don't understand."
The man scowled. "My name is Cristobal, and Cain used that" he nodded his head at the lump of ash that was once a necklace. "to make me try and kill you. When you shot it off, you broke his spell."
*Fin
AU- okay, there. That's wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be! I think I've got my mojo back! Prepare for better, quicker chapters from here on out!