A/N: Wow! Thank you all for reviewing! Sorry for the delay in
updating...with the holidays approaching it is just madness at work and
home! Warning: this chapter has some violence in it so if you're
underage or can't handle it then I wouldn't advise you to read. Now on
with the story...Enjoy!
Chapter 11: Cold Trails of Danger
Jareth arrived at the edge of the forest, Jacen and a few other guards waiting for him. "What is so important to bring me to this dreadful place?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"Sire," Jacen bowed. "We have done a search along the border and found some disturbing evidence that we may be in danger."
Jareth arched an eyebrow. He looked towards the forest, disliking the idea of entering such a forbidding place especially since his magic would be useless to him. He conjured up his armor and sword and strapped them on. He then motioned for Jacen to guide him in.
They walked for a couple of hours before finally coming to an old campsite. Another group of guards surrounded them as Jacen knelt down and examined the prints covering the ground. "Look at these Sire," he motioned.
Jareth knelt beside Jacen and glanced at the ground. Scowling, he reached down and traced a finger over one of the prints. "These are demon tracks!" Jareth exclaimed, worry creasing his brow.
They continued examining, Jacen tallying up how many demons were camped here. "I count at least ten...maybe fifteen at the most." Jacen frowned, rubbing his chin. He motioned to a pair of the guards and whispered something to them. They bowed and disappeared into the forest.
"Did you follow their path to find out where they went?" Jareth asked, still taking in the details of the camp.
"We followed them as far as we could before losing them on the far side." Jacen brushed his hand through his hair, frustrated. "They were very thorough in concealing their destination. The trail went in circles and then branched off in several directions," Jacen gave a frustrated snort.
Jareth stood up straight, looking at Jacen. "Is there any guards left in the Labyrinth?"
"Just the goblin guards right now. I sent two guardians just now to look after lady Sarah. They have instructions to summon more guards from the borders when they exit the forest."
Jareth nodded, "Show me where you lost the tracks."
*******
Sarah paced around the garden, deep in thought. Worry creased her brow as the dream played through her mind. Trying to recall every detail of the dream her concentration was broken when two Fae guards appeared before her.
"My Lady, we are here to keep you company," the dark-haired one announced as he bowed to her.
"Um...Ok," Sarah replied hesitantly. "Will King Jareth be back soon?"
"I am not sure my Lady. They were examining an old campsite when we left."
Sarah looked at the two guards, examining their outfits. They both wore leather armor and had swords strapped to their backs. Her eyes widened suddenly as they fell on the creatures approaching them.
"Watch out!" Sarah yelled, just as an arrow pierced the dark-haired guard. He fell with a grunt, frantically clawing at the arrow embedded in his back. Sarah knelt by the fallen guard, trying to pull the arrow free.
The other guard drew his sword and charged at the demons. Sarah watched as he dispatched one of the creatures, but was soon overwhelmed by the others.
Sarah stood and motioned with her hand, tossing the crystal that had formed at the nearest shadow. The orb exploded on contact, causing the demon to screech in pain before disintegrating. The rest of the demons charged at her, howling as they saw another of their companions disintegrate before them.
Before Sarah could conjure another crystal a demon grabbed her around the waist and slapped iron shackles on her wrists. A deep throaty laugh echoed from within it causing Sarah to shiver. Struggling against the iron bonds, she thrashed out and caught one of the demons with her foot. It howled in pain as it doubled over. Straightening up, it backhanded Sarah across the face causing her to fall to her knees.
Sarah coughed, spitting blood on the ground before her. She fought to stay concious but found herself slowly sinking to the stone walkway, giving into the darkness.
"Don't damage the King's toy!" yelled a very large demon. He hastily grabbed up Sarah and threw her over his shoulder.
"What about this guard that's still alive?" one of the demons asked his leader.
"Leave him. We need a witness to let the Goblin King know what has happened here," the large demon replied, grinning evilly.
"Let's get back to the forest," he motioned to the rest of the demons.
Unknown to the demons and Sarah, a little creature observed the whole battle. It waited until they were out of sight and then flew off to find help.
*******
Sounds of swords clashing, screams, and the sickly smell of blood woke Sarah from her blackout. She found herself slung over the shoulder of a demon as a battle raged on around her. Looking up, Sarah gasped at what she saw. Goblin guards were charging at the demons but with no success. They were being slaughtered as the demons laughed at their feeble attempts.
Sarah tried to conjure a crystal but nothing appeared. Feeling ill to her stomach, she realized it was because of the iron that was binding her wrists blocking her magic and keeping her from assisting the helpless goblins. Tears trickled down her face as she saw the last guard fall from a blow to the head.
The demon hoisted Sarah further up on his shoulder and started trotting towards the forest, followed closely by the others who were still thrilled by the spilling of blood. They didn't notice a red splash moving through the trees but Sarah caught a glimpse of it. Her spirits raised a bit when she saw who it was.
*******
Lorien frantically explained to her friends and family what she had just witnessed. They gasped at the thought of Sarah being in the demons' possession.
"We need to do something about this!" one of the older fairies exclaimed.
"Spread the news. Tell every creature you see what has happened and have them meet us at the gate," Lorien announced, taking control of the situation. She knew that they had to be quick before the demons got too far away.
"Fly quickly and safely! Our Lady's life depends on us!" They dispersed, flying in all directions out towards the Labyrinth, seeking out any and all who would help them in their mission.
Lorien found Hoggle pruning bushes half way through the maze. She quickly explained everything to him.
Hoggle gasped, his eyes wide. "Sarah! We's gots to save her!" He looked around frantically, "I'll go get Sir Didymus and Ludo and will meet you at the gate," he said, rushing away as quickly as his little legs could carry him.
Lorien continued to gather reinforcements, sending them to the meeting point. Finally making her way to the gate, she was amazed to see over a hundred creatures, great and small waiting for instructions. Many of them carried garden tools, sticks, and other items. Their faces were full of anger as they brandished the crude weapons.
As Lorien was readying the group a Firey jumped from the wall and approached her. "The demons went into the Dark Forest." he announced, pointing.
Lorien nodded and sent the rest of the Fireys to track the enemies progress. They needed all the advanced warning they could get with their inexperience in battles. Finally organized, the group set off with a Firey leading them.
*******
Jacen led Jareth to the place where the tracks had ended. A quick flowing stream crossed their path.
"They entered the stream here," Jacen said, pointing towards some muddy tracks in the bank. "We followed the stream for several miles but could not find their exit point."
Jareth studied the tracks and then looked around the area. Rubbing his chin he tried to remember where the stream led. He shivered, not liking the forest at all. Not being able to sense his magic made him feel very weak.
He turned to Jacen and pointed upstream, "what's in that direction?"
"About 20 miles is the border that leads to the Troll Kingdom." Jacen turned and pointed downstream, "if you go that way you will eventually run into the southern borders of the Labyrinth. Maybe around 25 miles."
Jareth paused in his pacing, concentrating on something in the distance. His face darkened as he turned to his guards. "Let's go! Back to the Labyrinth. They have Sarah!" he announced, taking off in a run downstream.
*******
A cry on the wind brought Alenda to a stop in her ministrations of an injured kitchen elf. She concentrated, searching for the source of distress. Again the cry was heard. Bolting out the door she ran as fast as her feet would carry her.
As she entered the gardens the sight that met her eyes made Alenda cringe. Kneeling down by the guard she put her hand over his heart, her head sinking when there was no heart beat.
Standing, she heard someone calling for help nearby. Running over to the source she found another guard with an arrow sticking from his back.
"They..." he coughed, blood tinging his lips. "The demons...they have the Lady," he finally gasped out between breaths.
Alenda tried to help the guard but he pushed her away. "Go! You need to find help!"
"Where did they go?" she asked, wanting all the information the guard could give.
"They went through the Labyrinth, heading back to the Dark Forest," the guard bit out, gritting his teeth against the shooting pain.
Alenda concentrated, closing her eyes and emptying her mind. Focusing on her King, she made a connection with him. "Sire! They have Sarah! They are going into the forest," she said, feeling his reaction to the news. The connection was broken leaving Alenda drained. She rarely if ever used her telepathic powers but with the King being in the Dark Forest it was the only way of communication left to her. She turned her attention back to the injured guard.
"King Jareth knows about Sarah." Alenda brushed the hair back from the young man's face. "Let's see about this arrow." She examined the wound finding that it didn't hit any major organs. "You will survive," she said soothingly, resting her hand on his forehead.
*******
A/N: Time to thank all my reviewers...
kili-2: Thank you for your review! No...I won't delete it unless I have rewritten the parts that need to be reworked. I'm happy that you like it.
Jessica White: LOL yeah I do have a tendancy to over do it sometimes. I like to try to blend the emotions in a story...sometimes it doesn't work out but hey...gotta try! Thank you for your review.
Bali1: Thank you for your review...I know it's not easy to give criticism sometimes.
Yami+Hoshi: I'm happy that you like my little story. Thank you for your review.
Desdemona321: *grins* Thank you very much! I'm glad you are enjoying it.
draegon-fire: Their feelings are there...but neither one of them have really let the other one know yet. Jareth was given a suprise at the depth of Sarah's feelings for him when she made that mistake through her magic. Some announcements coming in the future. Thank you for your review.
Orphelia-Rose: Thank you very much! I was thinking that I might not have been moving along smoothly enough with their getting to know each other. I'm really happy that you are enjoying my little fic.
Angelic Moonlight22: Thank you for your review! *grins* so I got ya hooked, eh? LOL Thank you once again.
Xienika: Thanks a lot for your review! Yeah, I was going through a period there when I was a little distraught with parts of the story. You are quite correct! We are our worst critics! Maybe that is why I should look for a beta...so I'm not so darn critical of my work. I'm happy that you are enjoying the story...thank you.
Rakshasa: Thank you for your review! You like the characterizations, eh? *smiles* Sometimes I think I portrayed Jareth a little too nice...but hey....I like him this way too! Thanks once again.
cranapple: "gathers up all the goodies and hides them from the hubbie" Thank you for your review!
Sharkdiver: *waves* hey! Thanks a lot for your review! I love the magic part too...it's fun trying to imagine that when writing. Hopefully I will be able to update quicker now...the plot is firmly in place in my head now (that's if I can stop being so critical). Once again thank you!
Lady Shadowlight: I'm happy that you are enjoying it so far. Thank you for your review!
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Is everyone on the edges of their seats now? I'm off to start the next one....have a Happy Thanksgiving! *Hands out peach cobbler*
Chapter 11: Cold Trails of Danger
Jareth arrived at the edge of the forest, Jacen and a few other guards waiting for him. "What is so important to bring me to this dreadful place?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"Sire," Jacen bowed. "We have done a search along the border and found some disturbing evidence that we may be in danger."
Jareth arched an eyebrow. He looked towards the forest, disliking the idea of entering such a forbidding place especially since his magic would be useless to him. He conjured up his armor and sword and strapped them on. He then motioned for Jacen to guide him in.
They walked for a couple of hours before finally coming to an old campsite. Another group of guards surrounded them as Jacen knelt down and examined the prints covering the ground. "Look at these Sire," he motioned.
Jareth knelt beside Jacen and glanced at the ground. Scowling, he reached down and traced a finger over one of the prints. "These are demon tracks!" Jareth exclaimed, worry creasing his brow.
They continued examining, Jacen tallying up how many demons were camped here. "I count at least ten...maybe fifteen at the most." Jacen frowned, rubbing his chin. He motioned to a pair of the guards and whispered something to them. They bowed and disappeared into the forest.
"Did you follow their path to find out where they went?" Jareth asked, still taking in the details of the camp.
"We followed them as far as we could before losing them on the far side." Jacen brushed his hand through his hair, frustrated. "They were very thorough in concealing their destination. The trail went in circles and then branched off in several directions," Jacen gave a frustrated snort.
Jareth stood up straight, looking at Jacen. "Is there any guards left in the Labyrinth?"
"Just the goblin guards right now. I sent two guardians just now to look after lady Sarah. They have instructions to summon more guards from the borders when they exit the forest."
Jareth nodded, "Show me where you lost the tracks."
*******
Sarah paced around the garden, deep in thought. Worry creased her brow as the dream played through her mind. Trying to recall every detail of the dream her concentration was broken when two Fae guards appeared before her.
"My Lady, we are here to keep you company," the dark-haired one announced as he bowed to her.
"Um...Ok," Sarah replied hesitantly. "Will King Jareth be back soon?"
"I am not sure my Lady. They were examining an old campsite when we left."
Sarah looked at the two guards, examining their outfits. They both wore leather armor and had swords strapped to their backs. Her eyes widened suddenly as they fell on the creatures approaching them.
"Watch out!" Sarah yelled, just as an arrow pierced the dark-haired guard. He fell with a grunt, frantically clawing at the arrow embedded in his back. Sarah knelt by the fallen guard, trying to pull the arrow free.
The other guard drew his sword and charged at the demons. Sarah watched as he dispatched one of the creatures, but was soon overwhelmed by the others.
Sarah stood and motioned with her hand, tossing the crystal that had formed at the nearest shadow. The orb exploded on contact, causing the demon to screech in pain before disintegrating. The rest of the demons charged at her, howling as they saw another of their companions disintegrate before them.
Before Sarah could conjure another crystal a demon grabbed her around the waist and slapped iron shackles on her wrists. A deep throaty laugh echoed from within it causing Sarah to shiver. Struggling against the iron bonds, she thrashed out and caught one of the demons with her foot. It howled in pain as it doubled over. Straightening up, it backhanded Sarah across the face causing her to fall to her knees.
Sarah coughed, spitting blood on the ground before her. She fought to stay concious but found herself slowly sinking to the stone walkway, giving into the darkness.
"Don't damage the King's toy!" yelled a very large demon. He hastily grabbed up Sarah and threw her over his shoulder.
"What about this guard that's still alive?" one of the demons asked his leader.
"Leave him. We need a witness to let the Goblin King know what has happened here," the large demon replied, grinning evilly.
"Let's get back to the forest," he motioned to the rest of the demons.
Unknown to the demons and Sarah, a little creature observed the whole battle. It waited until they were out of sight and then flew off to find help.
*******
Sounds of swords clashing, screams, and the sickly smell of blood woke Sarah from her blackout. She found herself slung over the shoulder of a demon as a battle raged on around her. Looking up, Sarah gasped at what she saw. Goblin guards were charging at the demons but with no success. They were being slaughtered as the demons laughed at their feeble attempts.
Sarah tried to conjure a crystal but nothing appeared. Feeling ill to her stomach, she realized it was because of the iron that was binding her wrists blocking her magic and keeping her from assisting the helpless goblins. Tears trickled down her face as she saw the last guard fall from a blow to the head.
The demon hoisted Sarah further up on his shoulder and started trotting towards the forest, followed closely by the others who were still thrilled by the spilling of blood. They didn't notice a red splash moving through the trees but Sarah caught a glimpse of it. Her spirits raised a bit when she saw who it was.
*******
Lorien frantically explained to her friends and family what she had just witnessed. They gasped at the thought of Sarah being in the demons' possession.
"We need to do something about this!" one of the older fairies exclaimed.
"Spread the news. Tell every creature you see what has happened and have them meet us at the gate," Lorien announced, taking control of the situation. She knew that they had to be quick before the demons got too far away.
"Fly quickly and safely! Our Lady's life depends on us!" They dispersed, flying in all directions out towards the Labyrinth, seeking out any and all who would help them in their mission.
Lorien found Hoggle pruning bushes half way through the maze. She quickly explained everything to him.
Hoggle gasped, his eyes wide. "Sarah! We's gots to save her!" He looked around frantically, "I'll go get Sir Didymus and Ludo and will meet you at the gate," he said, rushing away as quickly as his little legs could carry him.
Lorien continued to gather reinforcements, sending them to the meeting point. Finally making her way to the gate, she was amazed to see over a hundred creatures, great and small waiting for instructions. Many of them carried garden tools, sticks, and other items. Their faces were full of anger as they brandished the crude weapons.
As Lorien was readying the group a Firey jumped from the wall and approached her. "The demons went into the Dark Forest." he announced, pointing.
Lorien nodded and sent the rest of the Fireys to track the enemies progress. They needed all the advanced warning they could get with their inexperience in battles. Finally organized, the group set off with a Firey leading them.
*******
Jacen led Jareth to the place where the tracks had ended. A quick flowing stream crossed their path.
"They entered the stream here," Jacen said, pointing towards some muddy tracks in the bank. "We followed the stream for several miles but could not find their exit point."
Jareth studied the tracks and then looked around the area. Rubbing his chin he tried to remember where the stream led. He shivered, not liking the forest at all. Not being able to sense his magic made him feel very weak.
He turned to Jacen and pointed upstream, "what's in that direction?"
"About 20 miles is the border that leads to the Troll Kingdom." Jacen turned and pointed downstream, "if you go that way you will eventually run into the southern borders of the Labyrinth. Maybe around 25 miles."
Jareth paused in his pacing, concentrating on something in the distance. His face darkened as he turned to his guards. "Let's go! Back to the Labyrinth. They have Sarah!" he announced, taking off in a run downstream.
*******
A cry on the wind brought Alenda to a stop in her ministrations of an injured kitchen elf. She concentrated, searching for the source of distress. Again the cry was heard. Bolting out the door she ran as fast as her feet would carry her.
As she entered the gardens the sight that met her eyes made Alenda cringe. Kneeling down by the guard she put her hand over his heart, her head sinking when there was no heart beat.
Standing, she heard someone calling for help nearby. Running over to the source she found another guard with an arrow sticking from his back.
"They..." he coughed, blood tinging his lips. "The demons...they have the Lady," he finally gasped out between breaths.
Alenda tried to help the guard but he pushed her away. "Go! You need to find help!"
"Where did they go?" she asked, wanting all the information the guard could give.
"They went through the Labyrinth, heading back to the Dark Forest," the guard bit out, gritting his teeth against the shooting pain.
Alenda concentrated, closing her eyes and emptying her mind. Focusing on her King, she made a connection with him. "Sire! They have Sarah! They are going into the forest," she said, feeling his reaction to the news. The connection was broken leaving Alenda drained. She rarely if ever used her telepathic powers but with the King being in the Dark Forest it was the only way of communication left to her. She turned her attention back to the injured guard.
"King Jareth knows about Sarah." Alenda brushed the hair back from the young man's face. "Let's see about this arrow." She examined the wound finding that it didn't hit any major organs. "You will survive," she said soothingly, resting her hand on his forehead.
*******
A/N: Time to thank all my reviewers...
kili-2: Thank you for your review! No...I won't delete it unless I have rewritten the parts that need to be reworked. I'm happy that you like it.
Jessica White: LOL yeah I do have a tendancy to over do it sometimes. I like to try to blend the emotions in a story...sometimes it doesn't work out but hey...gotta try! Thank you for your review.
Bali1: Thank you for your review...I know it's not easy to give criticism sometimes.
Yami+Hoshi: I'm happy that you like my little story. Thank you for your review.
Desdemona321: *grins* Thank you very much! I'm glad you are enjoying it.
draegon-fire: Their feelings are there...but neither one of them have really let the other one know yet. Jareth was given a suprise at the depth of Sarah's feelings for him when she made that mistake through her magic. Some announcements coming in the future. Thank you for your review.
Orphelia-Rose: Thank you very much! I was thinking that I might not have been moving along smoothly enough with their getting to know each other. I'm really happy that you are enjoying my little fic.
Angelic Moonlight22: Thank you for your review! *grins* so I got ya hooked, eh? LOL Thank you once again.
Xienika: Thanks a lot for your review! Yeah, I was going through a period there when I was a little distraught with parts of the story. You are quite correct! We are our worst critics! Maybe that is why I should look for a beta...so I'm not so darn critical of my work. I'm happy that you are enjoying the story...thank you.
Rakshasa: Thank you for your review! You like the characterizations, eh? *smiles* Sometimes I think I portrayed Jareth a little too nice...but hey....I like him this way too! Thanks once again.
cranapple: "gathers up all the goodies and hides them from the hubbie" Thank you for your review!
Sharkdiver: *waves* hey! Thanks a lot for your review! I love the magic part too...it's fun trying to imagine that when writing. Hopefully I will be able to update quicker now...the plot is firmly in place in my head now (that's if I can stop being so critical). Once again thank you!
Lady Shadowlight: I'm happy that you are enjoying it so far. Thank you for your review!
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Is everyone on the edges of their seats now? I'm off to start the next one....have a Happy Thanksgiving! *Hands out peach cobbler*
