Part Ten - The Arrival
Sarah's eyes sprung open as she realised that the voice had come from the far corner of the room. The melodic tone had been little more than a whisper but it betrayed the figure who had stood so silently observing the young girl as she had tossed and turned in her bed.
Before going to bed Sarah had failed to draw the curtains of the room and so the faint glow of the streetlight below succeeded in casting the small figure in enough light to reveal her perfectly formed features and slight tilt top her mouth.
Sarah stared at the figure and watched as the light of the room appeared to draw itself around the figure until she could clearly make out her appearance.
"Hello Sarah." The husky tones of the stranger's voice stirred a faint memory but Sarah was unable to respond to this greeting. She looked about the room and wondered what other creatures had managed to slip in unnoticed whilst she had been so preoccupied with her thoughts.
"Please, don't be worried. We are alone." As she drew closer the woman's expression was all kindness and Sarah felt a deep knot begin to raise from the pit of her stomach to her throat. The knot contained the anxiety of an abandoned child who wondered what she had done, the pain of various birthday's filled with hope and the love of a child who had never forgotten.
The room was filed with silence as Sarah struggled to give a voice to her feelings.
"You're not real." The face was the same face that she remembered from all those years ago. It was as though time had stood still for this fantasy figure that now stood before her and it was this that finally convinced Sarah that once again the boundaries of reality and fantasy had slipped away.
"You do not truly believe that Sarah" The figure continued it's slow approach to the bed.
"It's a trick - he sent you." Sarah sat up in the bed and clutched at her covers. The tears were forming in her eyes and as the conversation continued the hope was beginning to build in her heart.
"He? Who would have the power to send me anywhere?" amusement tinged the tone of the voice as the figure came to a halt in front of Sarah.
"The Goblin King." Sarah's tone faltered as she looked into the eyes of the woman that stood before her and saw through to the truth.
"I am Talia. Queen of the Underground. I live there with my subjects where I rule over all I survey. There is no one to tell me what to say or do or where to be. In the Underground I have no one to love and no one who loves me, but now I am here now and all has changed. I do not rule here, I cannot. There are people who will try to tell me what I think and how I should behave. There are those who will make demands of me and try to keep me from those that I love. Here I am no Queen." The woman sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch Sarah's hand.
"Here I am nothing and yet I am more." The hands that were held out towards her were covered. The shape of the fingers slightly elongated by the cut and style of the gloves that concealed the hands beneath. Slowly the material touched Sarah's own bare hand and gently caressed the length of it.
"Here I am a mother."
Sarah's eyes sprung open as she realised that the voice had come from the far corner of the room. The melodic tone had been little more than a whisper but it betrayed the figure who had stood so silently observing the young girl as she had tossed and turned in her bed.
Before going to bed Sarah had failed to draw the curtains of the room and so the faint glow of the streetlight below succeeded in casting the small figure in enough light to reveal her perfectly formed features and slight tilt top her mouth.
Sarah stared at the figure and watched as the light of the room appeared to draw itself around the figure until she could clearly make out her appearance.
"Hello Sarah." The husky tones of the stranger's voice stirred a faint memory but Sarah was unable to respond to this greeting. She looked about the room and wondered what other creatures had managed to slip in unnoticed whilst she had been so preoccupied with her thoughts.
"Please, don't be worried. We are alone." As she drew closer the woman's expression was all kindness and Sarah felt a deep knot begin to raise from the pit of her stomach to her throat. The knot contained the anxiety of an abandoned child who wondered what she had done, the pain of various birthday's filled with hope and the love of a child who had never forgotten.
The room was filed with silence as Sarah struggled to give a voice to her feelings.
"You're not real." The face was the same face that she remembered from all those years ago. It was as though time had stood still for this fantasy figure that now stood before her and it was this that finally convinced Sarah that once again the boundaries of reality and fantasy had slipped away.
"You do not truly believe that Sarah" The figure continued it's slow approach to the bed.
"It's a trick - he sent you." Sarah sat up in the bed and clutched at her covers. The tears were forming in her eyes and as the conversation continued the hope was beginning to build in her heart.
"He? Who would have the power to send me anywhere?" amusement tinged the tone of the voice as the figure came to a halt in front of Sarah.
"The Goblin King." Sarah's tone faltered as she looked into the eyes of the woman that stood before her and saw through to the truth.
"I am Talia. Queen of the Underground. I live there with my subjects where I rule over all I survey. There is no one to tell me what to say or do or where to be. In the Underground I have no one to love and no one who loves me, but now I am here now and all has changed. I do not rule here, I cannot. There are people who will try to tell me what I think and how I should behave. There are those who will make demands of me and try to keep me from those that I love. Here I am no Queen." The woman sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch Sarah's hand.
"Here I am nothing and yet I am more." The hands that were held out towards her were covered. The shape of the fingers slightly elongated by the cut and style of the gloves that concealed the hands beneath. Slowly the material touched Sarah's own bare hand and gently caressed the length of it.
"Here I am a mother."