A/N: *peeks out from the bomb shelter* I can explain! *dodges thrown fruit*
I am so sorry I've been away so long, its all college's fault! I am an
innocent victim here, just like yall!...anywho, here we have a chapter, and
I want to promise that there will be another soon, but that would be evil,
considering I don't know when I will get a chance to post more, but I can
promise that I will take every opportunity to work on it that I get.not
good enough, I know, but the best I can do :( Thank you to all my loyal
fans that haven't given up on me, I love you! K, enough of my blathering,
on with the show!
Disclaimer: you know the routine, add in a few creative curse words and you'll have the gist.
Chapter 18:Tension
They set up camp at the edge of the forest upwards of one of the Great River's tributaries, just as the glowing bubble of the sun sank below the horizon, giving way to winking stars and the wide eye of the moon. To any passers by, they would have made an interesting sight: three fae, an elf, three centaurs, nine vampires (one of which was actually mortal) and one very frightened goblin all milling around a good sized fire and looking like a circus riot. After about twenty minutes of indecision, it was Anikara who finally took charge.
"Well, I don't know what you gentlemen want to do, but I propose that us ladies go down to the river and freshen up. I don't know about you, but I've had enough heat for one day. Time to cool off." With that she turned on her heal and started off towards the shallows, not waiting for argument. The women looked at each other, shrugged in general, and set off after her.
Sarah was trailing along after Dralsis like an obedient little puppy, when she noticed Ilo gazing undecidedly after them and casting uncertain glances at Aldo and Synto. Not even thinking, she turned around and wordlessly took the centaur's lax hand. Ilo whickered in surprise, a very horse-like noise, and examined her hand in Sarah's black gloved one, then nodded with a grateful smile. Sarah couldn't help but notice the disapproving look from the two males, but they said nothing and Ilo seemed not to notice as she trotted along to catch up to the rest.
The tributary came crashing down a misty waterfall into a pool, sheltered by a stand of trees, far less bone chilling than those of the Banshee Wood, and an outcropping of rocks, before taking a shorter tumble and a short trip to merge into a wide delta with the Great River. The women convened there under the soft moonlight.
Anikara sighed heavily as she saw the eager centauress trotting shyly into the clearing. It struck her at how bashful she seemed here among them. Judging by her violent showing in their little scuffle earlier, she never would have pinned her as a timid one. In any case, she had proven herself a formidable enemy. Anikara hoped she could now prove herself a trustworthy ally.
Anikara turned to Ilo and gave her a solemn look that startled the young centaur woman. She stamped nervously as Anikara spoke, seeing no other course and choosing her words carefully. "Ilo, it is imperative that we have your help in an important matter, but before I can speak of it, I must have your solemn promise that you will not speak a word of it to any of the men. One of them does know the secret, but do not even speak to him of it. I swear to you, you would not be endangering yourself or your kinfolk. Would you help us?"
Ilo gazed down at the fae woman unblinking, her brow furrowed as though Anikara had two heads. She mulled over it silently for a moment, torn between her curiosity at this esoteric female pact and her fear of Aldo and Synto's wrath should they discover she was so deeply consorting with these ones that Aldo disdainfully called the Masters. In the end her youthful curiosity won out.
"I swear I will keep your secret, Mistress," she vowed, her voice resonating with a hint of excitement. It wasn't every day a centaur female got to do anything so exciting, much less join some sort of elite secret female society type thing. Anikara smiled at the girl's eagerness. Though she could be formidable when need be, she was actually quite young, no older than Sarah, she guessed, and far more constrained by the males of her kind.
"Wonderful, dear!" Anikara beamed approvingly at the girl, "In that case, allow me to introduce you to my friends, Brexis, Akiris, Dralsis and Ishris. They're all vampiresses, as you may have guessed." The four undead women bobbed their heads slowly in acknowledgement and Ilo nodded, her hooves grinding beneath her in apprehension. She was no doubt thinking of the several nasty bite marks that currently dotted her flanks and legs. Anikara motioned to Sarah. "And this is our secret guest, Sarah," she continued as Sarah pulled the dark veil off her face, reveling in the cool night air outside it, "She is traveling in the guise of a vampire, but she is in reality, a mortal woman that we are delivering to the high court."
Ilo gave a little snort of surprise and drew back slightly as though she'd been burned, then took a step closer and leaned in. She looked Sarah up and down, marveling. She had heard of humans before, but she'd always assumed they were legend and myth, just an old wives tale recounted to foals to get them to sleep. She had certainly never met one, or expected to. But then many things she had never expected to happen had quite annoyingly done so in the past several days, and so she was able to absorb this with relative ease and found herself grinning.
"I am delighted to know you all, especially you human Sarah, I've never met a human! Tell me, how did you come to be in the Underground?"
Sarah opened her mouth to respond, but Anikara cut her off. "That can wait. First things first, that water looks all too inviting, and I don't know about the rest of you, but riding always makes me sweaty. How about a swim?" Not waiting for an invitation, she began stripping out of her clothes. The others followed suit. Sarah was at first reluctant to go skinny dipping with virtual strangers, but in the end, the heat won out and she pulled off her clothes with the rest, setting them aside and diving into the refreshingly clear pool.
After some initial swimming and splashing and general playing, they settled down against the rocky walls of the basin and Sarah told her story, beginning with her first visit to the Underground, all the way through present, with Anikara interjecting every now and again to illustrate. The others all listened intently, laughing the antics of Hoggle, Ludo, Didymus and Ambrosious, gasped at moments of peril like the shaft of hands and the bog of stench, and sat rapt as she recounted the ballroom dream and the confrontation in the Escher room. The situation was laughable really. She was sitting here telling her fairy tale to four vampires, a centaur and a fae as though she were gossiping about who-likes-who with her girlfriends. When she finished, there was a short silence before Ilo, who had quickly taken a shine to 'girl talk', spoke up.
"But why are you so reluctant to reveal yourself to King Jareth?" she asked, puzzled.
"Isn't it obvious?" Dralsis interjected slowly, "If he knows she has returned, he may seek revenge on her for besting him."
"Not to mention he could cause all sorts of trouble with the court if he put his mind to it," added Ishris.
"And it would be better to be safely established before she goes telling the whole Underground who she is," Brexis continued.
"Plus," Akiris finished for them, "I think our little mortal may be casting an eye out for a mate." All present cast a sideways glance at Sarah, who conveniently sank lower the glowing, moonlit water, wishing she had a rock to crawl under.
"Hey, no one ever said I wanted to get married! I.I just.well.you know." Sarah stuttered lamely, her cheeks burning like flares. The others grinned knowingly, but Ilo looked confused.
"What does this have to do with mating?" she asked, genuinely confused, before something dawned on her, "Ah! You wish the king to arrange a mating for you? Then why not just have your father or brother ask for you?" The others looked at her blankly and she returned their stares nervously. "What?"
"Its nothing Ilo, darling, it's just that we don't do things that way among the fae. For one thing, we are usually allowed to choose our own partners, and then we don't have to go through the men to do so. And what I believe they were referring to was our dear Sarah's obvious interest in the Goblin King as.well, as a potential mate, shall we say?" Ilo nodded thoughtfully, marveling at the idea of choosing your own mate as Sarah grumbled about the evils of gossip under her breath. No wonder her brothers were so leery of these Masters, their customs were strange at best, yet, she found them intriguing, even a bit alluring. What would she do if she could be free to make such choices?
They continued their lazy conversation for a good while longer, teaching Ilo about the fae and their subject peoples and teasing Sarah mercilessly about her attraction to King Jareth. Anikara artfully managed to avoid being put up on the block about the incident with Ayron. The women were so wrapped up in their conversation that they didn't hear the quiet footfalls nearby, nor did they notice the fleeting shadow as it left its stronghold among the weeds and made its way back to the campsite.
~*~
Jareth looked up from his bored contemplation of the fire as Shayan maneuvered quietly back into the circle of campsite, eyes glittering with mischief and a hint of unabashed lingering lust. He was grinning like a madman. Ayron had gone off to collect firewood at Jareth's gentle demand and the two male centaurs and four remaining vampires alike were off hunting somewhere near the rim of the forest, so he spoke without fear of being heard.
"I take it you saw something you liked?" Jareth inquired with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. Shayan's grin only got wider as he took a seat next to his friend. He had at first been rather reluctant to follow Anikara and her maids, especially after his run in with Brexis, but Jareth was convinced they were hiding something. He knew this to be true, of course, but he wasn't quite ready to throw his life out the window when he could easily just overlook the fact that he knew it. After outright refusing to do it, Jareth made him see reason in his own unique manner. In the end he supposed that when it came right down to it, Jareth would protect him from her, whereas he doubted she could protect him from Jareth if she wanted to, and so he had crept down to the water's edge to listen to the conversation. Now, however, he was rather pleased. It was always a pleasure to watch such slender, fair skinned beauties bathe in the moonlight (not that he'd ever done it before.).
"Well?" Jareth continued, his tone inquisitive but even.
Shayan knew what his master was referring to, but he couldn't pass it up. "Well, Jareth, I can tell you, the lot of them have curves to kill a man, but if you're so curious, why not just pop in yourself down there?" he leered evilly, "I'll even go with you, as a guide of course-" His words were cut off as a tricky little crystal somehow found its way into his mouth. Gagging bit, he nearly swallowed it before popping it out. He snorted and shook his head a little, "My but aren't we just clever?" he mocked as the crystal evaporated in his hand.
"Come now, my boy," Jareth feigned indignance, his face the perfect picture of innocence, "Would I do something like that?" There was a short pause and he grinned, "Point taken, now out with it! Anything interesting?" Before Shayan could say what was undoubtedly about to, Jareth held up a silencing hand and continued, "Other than their bodies?" Shayan gave him a sly look, but complied. It was never a good idea to push Jareth too far. His expression suddenly turned heavy as he realized he was going to have to divulge his earlier discovery and risk the wrath of both his master and the testy vampire.
"Well.um.well, first I have a confession to make." he paused and looked up at Jareth, whose eyes betrayed nothing but silent expectance, ".well, it's just that earlier, when I went into the woods after the vampires, well, I saw something that I think perhaps I should have mentioned before, but you see, the one that bit me said if I told you anything she would hunt me down and suck my body dry." he paused for a breath, trying to gauge Jareth's response, but the monarch didn't so much as twitch, so he continued. "The thing is, well, when I got there and she healed my wound, I looked over and saw that one of the females, the one that had been kicked in the head, was well.was not what she appeared to be."
Jareth waited, but Shayan seemed content to watch fire, as though he had forgotten that there was more to tell. Jareth felt his ire rising. He hated being left in the dark, one reason for this little excursion in the first place, and now was no exception. "Well?" he prompted.
"Right," Shayan continued, as though he had come to an important decision, "She wasn't a vampire, she was undeniably mortal and tonight while I was listening in, she told the rest about a time that a certain goblin king had taken her baby brother and challenged her to run his labyrinth...." He said all of this in one quick burst, then went quiet, his eyes intent on the fire, waiting for King Jareth do flip his lid. It never came.
Curious, Shayan looked up to see Jareth cupping a crystal in one palm, starring into it, his eyes full of determination. He could see the undercurrents of thought in his master's eyes, the ideas surging around little eddies of disbelief and doubt, putting two and two together while fighting off a plague of memories and emotion that would no doubt crush him if he let them through even a bit. He sat motionless for a time, his eyes drilling holes in the crystal as he waited for the barrier to yield to his magic. When it stubbornly refused, he cursed vehemently and crushed the orb to dust in his hand, letting it drift away on the wind like so much glitter. Then an idea struck him and conjured another crystal. This time, an image sprang into view within. He looked disturbed.
"So you've come back to me, have you?" he murmured quietly to the picture before him. He could not make her out clearly because of the concealment charms, but he could see the others with her well enough. She had been riding with him all day long. And before that? How long had she been Underground, so close, right under his nose? He could have kicked himself right then. He'd felt her, he'd felt her presence in his mind, a constant nagging itch at the base of his consciousness that he'd ignored as dejavu or vertigo, but now recognized as a tag of magic that had accumulated in the labyrinth. It recognized her return, even if he hadn't, and had been trying to tell him the whole damn time!
Shayan watched his king nervously. He seemed a bit unhappy, but at least the anger was not directed at him. Jareth didn't notice his young servant's concern, for within the crystal, he observed Anikara's body go rigid. She sat up straight looking around as though someone had thrown a rock at her, before closing her eyes and murmuring something indiscernible. Oh, shit, was all Jareth could think before a jagged arc of electricity shot out of his own crystal and caught him square in the chest. He dropped it to the ground and it rolled a short distance towards the fire, still sparking and buzzing, then burst, spraying the pair with sharp, stinging shards.
Ayron chose this moment to return, arms sufficiently loaded with a good variety of sticks and twigs from one direction as the vampires returned from another, silent as shadows and unnoticed at first. Ayron gave the two men an appraising look, and they responded with big innocent smiles.
"What was that?" Ayron demanded as boldly as he dared.
Jareth smirked. "Ayron, dear cousin, I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you feeling quite well?"
Ayron's eyes narrowed as his fury built inside him. The tension in his shoulders was building and his head began to thrum with a dull ache. Worry and indecision had chased a good deal of sleep from him the night before and he was tired from the day's events. He had always been able to bear his arrogant cousin in small doses, but the man was adding insult to injury and it was just too much. Casting the wood to one side, he took a threatening step towards Jareth, his fists balled up as he fought against the urge to transport him into his own goddamned bog.
Jareth, for his part, was surprised that Ayron could show that much spine. But here, out in the open night against the fire glow, he looked strong, not like the boy he still considered him, but like a man. In that moment, Jareth found a new respect for his cousin and the realization of it caused the corners of his lips to curl ever so slightly into a little half smile. This, however, only added fuel to Ayron's fire. The vampire men, still unacknowledged within the shadows, looked at each other, wondering if they would have to intervene. Fortunately for them, a greater power asserted itself first as Anikara stepped into the firelight, followed by the rest of the women.
Anikara's eyes narrowed as she took in the scene and she was tempted to let Ayron beat Jareth senseless after that little trick with the crystal, but somewhere deep inside, her rational side told her it would only cause trouble. Instead she stepped forward to take control before the two of them did what all stupid men tend to do and started a fight.
"Is everything alright gentlemen?" she asked in a saccharine tone that carried poisonous undercurrents. The ice in her voice got everyone's attention, especially the two fae men in question, who had each seen her when she was irritable. It wasn't pretty.
Ayron's anger dissipated when he saw her standing there expectantly. "He.he was."
"Save it!" she snapped, and immediately regretted it as she saw Ayron's shoulders droop miserably. "And you," she intoned, turning to Jareth with a smile that would freeze fire, "don't make trouble." Jareth nodded once, catching the hidden meaning of the statement. They both knew that he had seen Sarah, concealment spell or no, and he saw no reason to continue the charade, but the woman was impossible to reason with when she was angry.
Jareth had felt his body shut down as the women returned to the campsite, spreading their blankets out on the ground in a sort of group, save of course for Anikara and Ilo, who stood watching the exchange with fascination and near awe. Jareth watched five other women, noting the way they moved, their posture and grace, every mannerism. No doubt, he thought, the vampiresses moved like shadows, just as their male counterparts, who had stepped into the firelight and were talking in hushed tones with one of the females.
But one, he noticed, stood out. She lacked the predatory smoothness and stealth of the undead, and her feet made noise as she walked. He tried desperately to tear his eyes from her, but his body wouldn't respond. It was Sarah, his Sarah, after so much longing, waiting, so much misery and loneliness.He knew he was starring and was so very relieved when Anikara spoke to him, breaking the trance. The meaning behind her words was clear to him, but it didn't mean he wanted to comply. Indeed, he would have liked nothing more than to have taken Sarah in his arms and whisked her away from these tiresome people to his castle. It didn't occur to him then to wonder how or why she was there, he simply knew that she was there, right there, and he could not touch her or hold her.
He bitterly looked away from Anikara's angry eyes and into the fire. When he felt sure he could look again without starring like an idiot, he glanced up and was crestfallen to see that Sarah lay on her bedroll with her back to him. He wondered what she must be thinking of, if she had to restrain herself as he was having to, and immediately dismissed the idea. Something in her rigid lack of movement suggested fear reminiscent of a deer freezing before a wolf, praying that if it stayed still enough, it would go unnoticed. In spite of how it hurt him to think of it, he did not fail to notice the curve of her hip under the close fitting black silk dress. He gritted his teeth against the thought. Such things could only cause trouble on a night like this.
Anikara had been trying to get Jareth's attention, shooting dagger glances at him, trying to get it through his thick skull that she needed to talk to him alone. If she hadn't been so thoroughly irritated with the whole situration, she would have felt sorry for the poor man, who looked for all the world like he'd lost his puppy as his eyes drifted continually over to Sarah's motionless form. It was almost entertaining at the same time, watching him try to find something else to look at, mostly the fire or the stars, but his gaze always landing back on Sarah, like a springboard. All roads lead to Rome, she thought with a sigh. She really couldn't help feeling badly for him, but she needed to talk to him alone. She knew he knew some of the truth, but half-truths were dangerous, and she didn't like the idea of Jareth filling in the details on his own. Better to spill it and then put the fear of God into him if he tried anything funny.
Most of the others had settled down in their respective groups. The vampires were curled up very close together, some laying their heads on their companions' shoulders or stomachs, looking like a cross between a pile of corpses and a sexual aftermath.hell, now where did that come from? she wondered.Brexis had dutifully taken up a sleeping space next to Sarah, and had even joined her in keeping her veil in place so as to maintain appearances, not that it would do much good now. Ilo had taken up a postion near the groups mounts and was currently nodding off as she leaned against Jareth's stallion, who was eyeing her like she was an annoying fly, but it made no move to remove her. After getting yelled at by his love interest, Ayron had laid out his sleeping mat, rolled over and was currently pouting as he tried to sleep. Shayan was also trying to sleep, but sensing his master's turmoil as he sat near the fire, was watching out of the corner of his eye. Every once in a while, if you watched the saddle bags that lay across the fire from Jareth, you could see a shiny yellow pair of eyes peek out from under the flap, then drop back in, as Gwib made sure he was not under a sneak attack from Jareth. The poor little goblin would be getting little sleep that night.
"Hmm, Jareth?" Anikara intoned lazily, feeling suddenly very heavy hearted. All this secrecy and scandal was wearing at her. It had been fun at first, an adventure, but now it was a chore and she was sick of it. Still, she'd opened this can of worms, now she had to deal with the mess she'd made. The Goblin King, whose eyes had just returned from a round trip to Sarah's back to the fire, looked up at her in acknowledgement. "I just had a thought. Why don't we set up some wards around the perimeter of the camp, just to alert us if anything approaches? That way we can all get some sleep."
Jareth blinked at her blankly. He was about to speak up and remind her that if anything entered the immediate vicinity, their magic would detect it anyway, but then she gave him the look. The look that said "Read between the lines, you idiot!"
"Very well," he conceded in a chipper tone that contrasted sharply with the slump of his shoulders and the tired look in his normally shining eyes. Standing stiffly, he followed Anikara into the darkness beyond the fire, 14 pairs of eyes following them. No one spoke after they went, but a tension hung in the air.
Just beyond the edge of the firelight, beyond hearing range, Anikara rounded on Jareth, who, being away from the camp and more importantly the object of his desire, felt a surge of something other than hurt, resentment and longing. Oh yes, he felt his anger rising out of the pit of his stomach. He didn't have all the answers, but he had enough to know he could get them out of this willful fae woman in front of him.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he leveled his gaze at her, his spiky platinum hair flirting with the gentle night breeze. He smirked at her as her expression went sour. "You've got some explaining to do," he informed her, relishing her unease. "I want to know everything. Now." His tone left no room for debate.
A/N: Heh, was that a cliffy? God I hope not, I can't really tell tho, its late.that's my story and I'm sticking to it.anywho, like I said, I will work on the next chappy every chance I get and if Jesus loves me, which he does, the next chapter will be here expediently. You know what drove me to post this chappy tho? The reviews I got! Imagine that! K, u know what to do :D Seeya soon (
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Disclaimer: you know the routine, add in a few creative curse words and you'll have the gist.
Chapter 18:Tension
They set up camp at the edge of the forest upwards of one of the Great River's tributaries, just as the glowing bubble of the sun sank below the horizon, giving way to winking stars and the wide eye of the moon. To any passers by, they would have made an interesting sight: three fae, an elf, three centaurs, nine vampires (one of which was actually mortal) and one very frightened goblin all milling around a good sized fire and looking like a circus riot. After about twenty minutes of indecision, it was Anikara who finally took charge.
"Well, I don't know what you gentlemen want to do, but I propose that us ladies go down to the river and freshen up. I don't know about you, but I've had enough heat for one day. Time to cool off." With that she turned on her heal and started off towards the shallows, not waiting for argument. The women looked at each other, shrugged in general, and set off after her.
Sarah was trailing along after Dralsis like an obedient little puppy, when she noticed Ilo gazing undecidedly after them and casting uncertain glances at Aldo and Synto. Not even thinking, she turned around and wordlessly took the centaur's lax hand. Ilo whickered in surprise, a very horse-like noise, and examined her hand in Sarah's black gloved one, then nodded with a grateful smile. Sarah couldn't help but notice the disapproving look from the two males, but they said nothing and Ilo seemed not to notice as she trotted along to catch up to the rest.
The tributary came crashing down a misty waterfall into a pool, sheltered by a stand of trees, far less bone chilling than those of the Banshee Wood, and an outcropping of rocks, before taking a shorter tumble and a short trip to merge into a wide delta with the Great River. The women convened there under the soft moonlight.
Anikara sighed heavily as she saw the eager centauress trotting shyly into the clearing. It struck her at how bashful she seemed here among them. Judging by her violent showing in their little scuffle earlier, she never would have pinned her as a timid one. In any case, she had proven herself a formidable enemy. Anikara hoped she could now prove herself a trustworthy ally.
Anikara turned to Ilo and gave her a solemn look that startled the young centaur woman. She stamped nervously as Anikara spoke, seeing no other course and choosing her words carefully. "Ilo, it is imperative that we have your help in an important matter, but before I can speak of it, I must have your solemn promise that you will not speak a word of it to any of the men. One of them does know the secret, but do not even speak to him of it. I swear to you, you would not be endangering yourself or your kinfolk. Would you help us?"
Ilo gazed down at the fae woman unblinking, her brow furrowed as though Anikara had two heads. She mulled over it silently for a moment, torn between her curiosity at this esoteric female pact and her fear of Aldo and Synto's wrath should they discover she was so deeply consorting with these ones that Aldo disdainfully called the Masters. In the end her youthful curiosity won out.
"I swear I will keep your secret, Mistress," she vowed, her voice resonating with a hint of excitement. It wasn't every day a centaur female got to do anything so exciting, much less join some sort of elite secret female society type thing. Anikara smiled at the girl's eagerness. Though she could be formidable when need be, she was actually quite young, no older than Sarah, she guessed, and far more constrained by the males of her kind.
"Wonderful, dear!" Anikara beamed approvingly at the girl, "In that case, allow me to introduce you to my friends, Brexis, Akiris, Dralsis and Ishris. They're all vampiresses, as you may have guessed." The four undead women bobbed their heads slowly in acknowledgement and Ilo nodded, her hooves grinding beneath her in apprehension. She was no doubt thinking of the several nasty bite marks that currently dotted her flanks and legs. Anikara motioned to Sarah. "And this is our secret guest, Sarah," she continued as Sarah pulled the dark veil off her face, reveling in the cool night air outside it, "She is traveling in the guise of a vampire, but she is in reality, a mortal woman that we are delivering to the high court."
Ilo gave a little snort of surprise and drew back slightly as though she'd been burned, then took a step closer and leaned in. She looked Sarah up and down, marveling. She had heard of humans before, but she'd always assumed they were legend and myth, just an old wives tale recounted to foals to get them to sleep. She had certainly never met one, or expected to. But then many things she had never expected to happen had quite annoyingly done so in the past several days, and so she was able to absorb this with relative ease and found herself grinning.
"I am delighted to know you all, especially you human Sarah, I've never met a human! Tell me, how did you come to be in the Underground?"
Sarah opened her mouth to respond, but Anikara cut her off. "That can wait. First things first, that water looks all too inviting, and I don't know about the rest of you, but riding always makes me sweaty. How about a swim?" Not waiting for an invitation, she began stripping out of her clothes. The others followed suit. Sarah was at first reluctant to go skinny dipping with virtual strangers, but in the end, the heat won out and she pulled off her clothes with the rest, setting them aside and diving into the refreshingly clear pool.
After some initial swimming and splashing and general playing, they settled down against the rocky walls of the basin and Sarah told her story, beginning with her first visit to the Underground, all the way through present, with Anikara interjecting every now and again to illustrate. The others all listened intently, laughing the antics of Hoggle, Ludo, Didymus and Ambrosious, gasped at moments of peril like the shaft of hands and the bog of stench, and sat rapt as she recounted the ballroom dream and the confrontation in the Escher room. The situation was laughable really. She was sitting here telling her fairy tale to four vampires, a centaur and a fae as though she were gossiping about who-likes-who with her girlfriends. When she finished, there was a short silence before Ilo, who had quickly taken a shine to 'girl talk', spoke up.
"But why are you so reluctant to reveal yourself to King Jareth?" she asked, puzzled.
"Isn't it obvious?" Dralsis interjected slowly, "If he knows she has returned, he may seek revenge on her for besting him."
"Not to mention he could cause all sorts of trouble with the court if he put his mind to it," added Ishris.
"And it would be better to be safely established before she goes telling the whole Underground who she is," Brexis continued.
"Plus," Akiris finished for them, "I think our little mortal may be casting an eye out for a mate." All present cast a sideways glance at Sarah, who conveniently sank lower the glowing, moonlit water, wishing she had a rock to crawl under.
"Hey, no one ever said I wanted to get married! I.I just.well.you know." Sarah stuttered lamely, her cheeks burning like flares. The others grinned knowingly, but Ilo looked confused.
"What does this have to do with mating?" she asked, genuinely confused, before something dawned on her, "Ah! You wish the king to arrange a mating for you? Then why not just have your father or brother ask for you?" The others looked at her blankly and she returned their stares nervously. "What?"
"Its nothing Ilo, darling, it's just that we don't do things that way among the fae. For one thing, we are usually allowed to choose our own partners, and then we don't have to go through the men to do so. And what I believe they were referring to was our dear Sarah's obvious interest in the Goblin King as.well, as a potential mate, shall we say?" Ilo nodded thoughtfully, marveling at the idea of choosing your own mate as Sarah grumbled about the evils of gossip under her breath. No wonder her brothers were so leery of these Masters, their customs were strange at best, yet, she found them intriguing, even a bit alluring. What would she do if she could be free to make such choices?
They continued their lazy conversation for a good while longer, teaching Ilo about the fae and their subject peoples and teasing Sarah mercilessly about her attraction to King Jareth. Anikara artfully managed to avoid being put up on the block about the incident with Ayron. The women were so wrapped up in their conversation that they didn't hear the quiet footfalls nearby, nor did they notice the fleeting shadow as it left its stronghold among the weeds and made its way back to the campsite.
~*~
Jareth looked up from his bored contemplation of the fire as Shayan maneuvered quietly back into the circle of campsite, eyes glittering with mischief and a hint of unabashed lingering lust. He was grinning like a madman. Ayron had gone off to collect firewood at Jareth's gentle demand and the two male centaurs and four remaining vampires alike were off hunting somewhere near the rim of the forest, so he spoke without fear of being heard.
"I take it you saw something you liked?" Jareth inquired with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. Shayan's grin only got wider as he took a seat next to his friend. He had at first been rather reluctant to follow Anikara and her maids, especially after his run in with Brexis, but Jareth was convinced they were hiding something. He knew this to be true, of course, but he wasn't quite ready to throw his life out the window when he could easily just overlook the fact that he knew it. After outright refusing to do it, Jareth made him see reason in his own unique manner. In the end he supposed that when it came right down to it, Jareth would protect him from her, whereas he doubted she could protect him from Jareth if she wanted to, and so he had crept down to the water's edge to listen to the conversation. Now, however, he was rather pleased. It was always a pleasure to watch such slender, fair skinned beauties bathe in the moonlight (not that he'd ever done it before.).
"Well?" Jareth continued, his tone inquisitive but even.
Shayan knew what his master was referring to, but he couldn't pass it up. "Well, Jareth, I can tell you, the lot of them have curves to kill a man, but if you're so curious, why not just pop in yourself down there?" he leered evilly, "I'll even go with you, as a guide of course-" His words were cut off as a tricky little crystal somehow found its way into his mouth. Gagging bit, he nearly swallowed it before popping it out. He snorted and shook his head a little, "My but aren't we just clever?" he mocked as the crystal evaporated in his hand.
"Come now, my boy," Jareth feigned indignance, his face the perfect picture of innocence, "Would I do something like that?" There was a short pause and he grinned, "Point taken, now out with it! Anything interesting?" Before Shayan could say what was undoubtedly about to, Jareth held up a silencing hand and continued, "Other than their bodies?" Shayan gave him a sly look, but complied. It was never a good idea to push Jareth too far. His expression suddenly turned heavy as he realized he was going to have to divulge his earlier discovery and risk the wrath of both his master and the testy vampire.
"Well.um.well, first I have a confession to make." he paused and looked up at Jareth, whose eyes betrayed nothing but silent expectance, ".well, it's just that earlier, when I went into the woods after the vampires, well, I saw something that I think perhaps I should have mentioned before, but you see, the one that bit me said if I told you anything she would hunt me down and suck my body dry." he paused for a breath, trying to gauge Jareth's response, but the monarch didn't so much as twitch, so he continued. "The thing is, well, when I got there and she healed my wound, I looked over and saw that one of the females, the one that had been kicked in the head, was well.was not what she appeared to be."
Jareth waited, but Shayan seemed content to watch fire, as though he had forgotten that there was more to tell. Jareth felt his ire rising. He hated being left in the dark, one reason for this little excursion in the first place, and now was no exception. "Well?" he prompted.
"Right," Shayan continued, as though he had come to an important decision, "She wasn't a vampire, she was undeniably mortal and tonight while I was listening in, she told the rest about a time that a certain goblin king had taken her baby brother and challenged her to run his labyrinth...." He said all of this in one quick burst, then went quiet, his eyes intent on the fire, waiting for King Jareth do flip his lid. It never came.
Curious, Shayan looked up to see Jareth cupping a crystal in one palm, starring into it, his eyes full of determination. He could see the undercurrents of thought in his master's eyes, the ideas surging around little eddies of disbelief and doubt, putting two and two together while fighting off a plague of memories and emotion that would no doubt crush him if he let them through even a bit. He sat motionless for a time, his eyes drilling holes in the crystal as he waited for the barrier to yield to his magic. When it stubbornly refused, he cursed vehemently and crushed the orb to dust in his hand, letting it drift away on the wind like so much glitter. Then an idea struck him and conjured another crystal. This time, an image sprang into view within. He looked disturbed.
"So you've come back to me, have you?" he murmured quietly to the picture before him. He could not make her out clearly because of the concealment charms, but he could see the others with her well enough. She had been riding with him all day long. And before that? How long had she been Underground, so close, right under his nose? He could have kicked himself right then. He'd felt her, he'd felt her presence in his mind, a constant nagging itch at the base of his consciousness that he'd ignored as dejavu or vertigo, but now recognized as a tag of magic that had accumulated in the labyrinth. It recognized her return, even if he hadn't, and had been trying to tell him the whole damn time!
Shayan watched his king nervously. He seemed a bit unhappy, but at least the anger was not directed at him. Jareth didn't notice his young servant's concern, for within the crystal, he observed Anikara's body go rigid. She sat up straight looking around as though someone had thrown a rock at her, before closing her eyes and murmuring something indiscernible. Oh, shit, was all Jareth could think before a jagged arc of electricity shot out of his own crystal and caught him square in the chest. He dropped it to the ground and it rolled a short distance towards the fire, still sparking and buzzing, then burst, spraying the pair with sharp, stinging shards.
Ayron chose this moment to return, arms sufficiently loaded with a good variety of sticks and twigs from one direction as the vampires returned from another, silent as shadows and unnoticed at first. Ayron gave the two men an appraising look, and they responded with big innocent smiles.
"What was that?" Ayron demanded as boldly as he dared.
Jareth smirked. "Ayron, dear cousin, I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you feeling quite well?"
Ayron's eyes narrowed as his fury built inside him. The tension in his shoulders was building and his head began to thrum with a dull ache. Worry and indecision had chased a good deal of sleep from him the night before and he was tired from the day's events. He had always been able to bear his arrogant cousin in small doses, but the man was adding insult to injury and it was just too much. Casting the wood to one side, he took a threatening step towards Jareth, his fists balled up as he fought against the urge to transport him into his own goddamned bog.
Jareth, for his part, was surprised that Ayron could show that much spine. But here, out in the open night against the fire glow, he looked strong, not like the boy he still considered him, but like a man. In that moment, Jareth found a new respect for his cousin and the realization of it caused the corners of his lips to curl ever so slightly into a little half smile. This, however, only added fuel to Ayron's fire. The vampire men, still unacknowledged within the shadows, looked at each other, wondering if they would have to intervene. Fortunately for them, a greater power asserted itself first as Anikara stepped into the firelight, followed by the rest of the women.
Anikara's eyes narrowed as she took in the scene and she was tempted to let Ayron beat Jareth senseless after that little trick with the crystal, but somewhere deep inside, her rational side told her it would only cause trouble. Instead she stepped forward to take control before the two of them did what all stupid men tend to do and started a fight.
"Is everything alright gentlemen?" she asked in a saccharine tone that carried poisonous undercurrents. The ice in her voice got everyone's attention, especially the two fae men in question, who had each seen her when she was irritable. It wasn't pretty.
Ayron's anger dissipated when he saw her standing there expectantly. "He.he was."
"Save it!" she snapped, and immediately regretted it as she saw Ayron's shoulders droop miserably. "And you," she intoned, turning to Jareth with a smile that would freeze fire, "don't make trouble." Jareth nodded once, catching the hidden meaning of the statement. They both knew that he had seen Sarah, concealment spell or no, and he saw no reason to continue the charade, but the woman was impossible to reason with when she was angry.
Jareth had felt his body shut down as the women returned to the campsite, spreading their blankets out on the ground in a sort of group, save of course for Anikara and Ilo, who stood watching the exchange with fascination and near awe. Jareth watched five other women, noting the way they moved, their posture and grace, every mannerism. No doubt, he thought, the vampiresses moved like shadows, just as their male counterparts, who had stepped into the firelight and were talking in hushed tones with one of the females.
But one, he noticed, stood out. She lacked the predatory smoothness and stealth of the undead, and her feet made noise as she walked. He tried desperately to tear his eyes from her, but his body wouldn't respond. It was Sarah, his Sarah, after so much longing, waiting, so much misery and loneliness.He knew he was starring and was so very relieved when Anikara spoke to him, breaking the trance. The meaning behind her words was clear to him, but it didn't mean he wanted to comply. Indeed, he would have liked nothing more than to have taken Sarah in his arms and whisked her away from these tiresome people to his castle. It didn't occur to him then to wonder how or why she was there, he simply knew that she was there, right there, and he could not touch her or hold her.
He bitterly looked away from Anikara's angry eyes and into the fire. When he felt sure he could look again without starring like an idiot, he glanced up and was crestfallen to see that Sarah lay on her bedroll with her back to him. He wondered what she must be thinking of, if she had to restrain herself as he was having to, and immediately dismissed the idea. Something in her rigid lack of movement suggested fear reminiscent of a deer freezing before a wolf, praying that if it stayed still enough, it would go unnoticed. In spite of how it hurt him to think of it, he did not fail to notice the curve of her hip under the close fitting black silk dress. He gritted his teeth against the thought. Such things could only cause trouble on a night like this.
Anikara had been trying to get Jareth's attention, shooting dagger glances at him, trying to get it through his thick skull that she needed to talk to him alone. If she hadn't been so thoroughly irritated with the whole situration, she would have felt sorry for the poor man, who looked for all the world like he'd lost his puppy as his eyes drifted continually over to Sarah's motionless form. It was almost entertaining at the same time, watching him try to find something else to look at, mostly the fire or the stars, but his gaze always landing back on Sarah, like a springboard. All roads lead to Rome, she thought with a sigh. She really couldn't help feeling badly for him, but she needed to talk to him alone. She knew he knew some of the truth, but half-truths were dangerous, and she didn't like the idea of Jareth filling in the details on his own. Better to spill it and then put the fear of God into him if he tried anything funny.
Most of the others had settled down in their respective groups. The vampires were curled up very close together, some laying their heads on their companions' shoulders or stomachs, looking like a cross between a pile of corpses and a sexual aftermath.hell, now where did that come from? she wondered.Brexis had dutifully taken up a sleeping space next to Sarah, and had even joined her in keeping her veil in place so as to maintain appearances, not that it would do much good now. Ilo had taken up a postion near the groups mounts and was currently nodding off as she leaned against Jareth's stallion, who was eyeing her like she was an annoying fly, but it made no move to remove her. After getting yelled at by his love interest, Ayron had laid out his sleeping mat, rolled over and was currently pouting as he tried to sleep. Shayan was also trying to sleep, but sensing his master's turmoil as he sat near the fire, was watching out of the corner of his eye. Every once in a while, if you watched the saddle bags that lay across the fire from Jareth, you could see a shiny yellow pair of eyes peek out from under the flap, then drop back in, as Gwib made sure he was not under a sneak attack from Jareth. The poor little goblin would be getting little sleep that night.
"Hmm, Jareth?" Anikara intoned lazily, feeling suddenly very heavy hearted. All this secrecy and scandal was wearing at her. It had been fun at first, an adventure, but now it was a chore and she was sick of it. Still, she'd opened this can of worms, now she had to deal with the mess she'd made. The Goblin King, whose eyes had just returned from a round trip to Sarah's back to the fire, looked up at her in acknowledgement. "I just had a thought. Why don't we set up some wards around the perimeter of the camp, just to alert us if anything approaches? That way we can all get some sleep."
Jareth blinked at her blankly. He was about to speak up and remind her that if anything entered the immediate vicinity, their magic would detect it anyway, but then she gave him the look. The look that said "Read between the lines, you idiot!"
"Very well," he conceded in a chipper tone that contrasted sharply with the slump of his shoulders and the tired look in his normally shining eyes. Standing stiffly, he followed Anikara into the darkness beyond the fire, 14 pairs of eyes following them. No one spoke after they went, but a tension hung in the air.
Just beyond the edge of the firelight, beyond hearing range, Anikara rounded on Jareth, who, being away from the camp and more importantly the object of his desire, felt a surge of something other than hurt, resentment and longing. Oh yes, he felt his anger rising out of the pit of his stomach. He didn't have all the answers, but he had enough to know he could get them out of this willful fae woman in front of him.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he leveled his gaze at her, his spiky platinum hair flirting with the gentle night breeze. He smirked at her as her expression went sour. "You've got some explaining to do," he informed her, relishing her unease. "I want to know everything. Now." His tone left no room for debate.
A/N: Heh, was that a cliffy? God I hope not, I can't really tell tho, its late.that's my story and I'm sticking to it.anywho, like I said, I will work on the next chappy every chance I get and if Jesus loves me, which he does, the next chapter will be here expediently. You know what drove me to post this chappy tho? The reviews I got! Imagine that! K, u know what to do :D Seeya soon (
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