Chapter 13: A Show of Power

Jareth did not escort them the following day. Elves they had rarely seen because of the King's presence escorted them to their places. Damien was mounted on a fine bay and stood at attention on one end of the lists. Although the Labyrinthian Knights sat in their places before the throne, today their squires did not bear their standards. The standards of their divisions had been placed in brackets specially made for the purpose while the squires bore their lord or lady's shield. Most of the knights had shields that represented their personal crest as opposed to the one on their standards. The younger centaurs had variations of their mother's, which was a picture of the centaur constellation. Apollo had the constellation done with crystals as opposed to stars, and Isis' shield had the constellation done in small flowers found in the forest. Today, however, Sarah noticed an extra seat had been placed between Lady Isis and Lady Ione. Beside that seat stood a squire who held no shield or standard but stood at attention. The trumpets announced the arrival of the King and Queen who took their places amidst applause from the crowd. Soon after the crowd rose once more to welcome a knight dressed in black armor. Even if he had not been carrying a black shield emblazoned with a very familiar symbol wreathed with a crown of flame and even if this same familiar symbol were not embedded in the black armor, Sarah would've recognized him. Very few in any realm would dare copy the Goblin King's flamboyant style. He rode into the lists and saluted his father before dismounting and taking his place amongst the gathered Elders. A servant placed a standard bearing the signature of royalty and took the horse while the waiting squire accepted the King's shield. What Sarah could not know was how much she played on the mind of the prince sitting below with his esteemed knights. Already he had been approached about the adoption of his three guests, and he knew he would get no better offer for them. He could not well refuse the one who had asked first, but he hated to give that woman to a good home! What's more the interested party wanted all three of them! He had thought that at least he would be able to watch the mortal suffer over being separated from her sons! It almost seemed as if someone was watching out for them...

Too soon it seemed it was time for him to drag his mind back to the present. Knights from many different kingdoms rode forth. True to the old English custom, which was learned from the Underground at some point anyway, the knights chose their opponents by striking the shield of the opponent they wished to fight. But the hierarchy of the Elders was visible in this selection. There was a minimum number that must meet the four highest Elders as well as the Goblin King. Though the method seemed primitive, it was thorough. Lots were drawn from a pot made of salt. Salt was a natural deterrent of magic so there would be no cheating. If the knight drew a lot with a number on it, he had to challenge the Elder of that division. If the knight drew a lot with a crown symbol, they had to challenge the Goblin King, but if the knight drew a blank lot, they had their choice. The latter knights always chose the knights more or less on their level. The centaurs being that their torsos were connected to their horse bodies were nearly impossible to defeat. To beat the centaurs a knight had to hit them so hard that they lost their footing and fell. Another way of defeating them was to make them lose their shields, but this procedure required three bouts with the same result. The centaurs by nature had a sure grip and footing so they were tough opponents in a joust. The King was recognized to be the greatest in the Underground. There was no question of him cheating or being specially treated. He needed none of it! Miluien was fairly shocked when Sarah asked her about it. Since the Faye were immortal, they didn't worry about being hit or the fall from a horse. The lances were all checked prior to each bout to be sure there were no traces of deadly iron, so there was no need for Jareth to fear for his life in these games like there was for mortal men in the Aboveworld. As for cheating, the tourney grounds were lined with salt to block any magic from interfering, and the heralds were very watchful for any breech of honor on the field. Jareth's skill was so great that there was no need for him to cheat anyway. Jareth had been trained in such sport since childhood.

Sarah watched with awe as the group of knights from different kingdoms rode forth. It almost seemed to her like a dance on horseback. Somehow amidst the rushing of fine horses, every knight chose his opponent then wheeled the mount back to the end of the lists without interfering with the next knight to choose that particular opponent. She definitely noticed that three of the Elder Knights were more popular opponents than Jareth, London, and the centaurs.

"Why do most of them choose those three Elder Knights?" Sarah asked.

"It is a choice of skill. King Jareth, Lady London, and Lady Ione are considered the three best warriors in the Underground! Lord Apollo and Lady Isis are the Lady Ione's children, and they have proven to be following in her hoof prints. The centaurs have good advantage as well as skill," Miluien explained.

Sarah merely nodded and watched. Miluien told her that it was highly unlikely that even the least of the Elder Knights would be unhorsed this day. As the day progressed, Sarah could see how right Miluien was. Jareth was by far the best warrior on the field, but his Labyrinth Knights were definitely worth the applause they received. The day ended with different sport challenges. The centaurs showed their skill with javelin, spear, bow, and sword. But they were barred from entering any of the races held. They preferred to not enter a horse race as Sarah latter heard because of the handicap required of them. Since they carried less weight, the centaurs would have needed to wear specially weighted belts to make up for the weight of the head and legs they were missing. Because the centaurs hated wearing excess clothing, they typically stayed out of racing events although even with the handicaps they could've blown away the competition.

The third day began as the second did since Jareth would once again side with his Labyrinthine Knights against all comers. Sarah finally saw her Aunt amongst the crowd, but she glanced at the familiar woman only momentarily as her gaze fell on the woman she was with. The woman beside Vendae never took her eyes off of Sarah, and Sarah found it increasingly difficult to pull away from the woman's gaze. Miluien had to jab her none to nicely in the ribs when the King rode into the lists. Once Jareth's father was settled, he gave the signal to let the battle commence. Sarah looked over the knights as the herald reviewed the rules. Had Sarah not witnessed the superior skill of the Knights the previous day, she would have been concerned over the odds against them. The Labyrinth Knights all had sashes of scarlet or scarves of scarlet around their arm to signify their side of the battle. All opposed wore blue. Those bearing the color of blue seemed to be at least twice the group from the Labyrinth if not more! Sarah assumed that those opposite the Labyrinth Knights might actually have a chance this day. Her gaze traveled once more to the beautiful friend of her Aunt's. The woman seemed younger, but in the world of Faye, the appearance was irrelevant. Although she appeared younger, the woman could well be hundreds of years older. The woman's eyes still seemed glued to her. Sarah was beginning to find it disconcerting! Miluien soon pulled her attention back to the battle beginning in the lists, and for a moment Sarah forgot about the woman. Swords were allowed in this battle, but they were all made of silver instead of iron or steel as Miluien explained. Doing any real damage, no matter the immortality of the combatants, was still seen as irrevocable dishonor. The battle was going pretty much as everyone had imagined. The Labyrinth Knights were proving once more why they were the reigning champions of sport in the Underground. But one can never tell completely how such things will continue. One of the knights opposing the Labyrinthians held a deep grudge. He had registered in the tournament as a mystery knight, which was still a common practice. Royalty often used this technique to get a truly challenging fight. This Mystery knight, however, was an ex-Labyrinthine Knight. He had been found guilty of falling asleep at his post, which constituted one of the worst things a Knight could do. It was a humiliation to both Knight and country. He had been the Elder Knight of the Junkyard... a position held by the Lady Ione. Ione had been the witness that had cemented his guilt, and he had never forgiven her. The object of the battle was to disarm the opponent you were fighting. Since the combatants were all immortal, a hit on one's opponent did not matter especially with swords of silver. No warrior on the field gave concern for defense. It was a very different style of fighting. This was what Lord Tyrone was counting on. In the midst of the battle, he engaged the Lady Ione in combat. For a while he concentrated on attempting to disarm her, but he soon found she was as good as she was claimed to be. Without considering his options, Tyrone wheeled his sword away from her blow and drove it deep into her heart. Perhaps in the midst of the battle's havoc he had forgotten the rules. Perhaps he had simply forgotten how dear the Knights held the rules. Or perhaps the Faye simply didn't care! Whatever the reason for his lapse of judgement, every sword in the battle ceased it's work and pointed toward him until Tyrone and Ione were surrounded by a circle of razor sharp swords. Pain broke Ione's composed featured as she dropped to her knees in shock. Unlike the Faye, centaurs were open to pain. While the Faye felt pain only in the presence of iron or in the lack of magic, centaurs would heal from any cut but feel the pain as any normal person. Tyrone had driven the sword nearly to its hilt so that the point had completely cleared her back. Sarah had leaped to her feet along with the rest of the crowd and watched as the scene unfolded. The heralds who acted as the police of the event had seized Lord Tyrone, and Sarah watched with awe as the centauress stood shakily to her feet and slowly pulled the sword free from her chest. Ione's eyes were closed and her lips parted slightly as she took ragged breaths to regain her composure. Sarah had to look twice when the sword seemed to pull clean from the centauress. Then she saw a few drops clear as diamonds fall from the place were her back was healing before their eyes. She whispered this to Miluien who simply shook her head.

"Centaurian blood is different than Faye or Human blood, Lady Sarah. That is why they do not care about iron as the Faye does. As you see she heals rapidly, but she feels the pain of it. A Faye would not have felt near as much pain, but they would've been out of commission for the rest of the day most likely."

Sarah could only marvel but then she realized that Lord Tyrone was being addressed. The buttons of his jacket were stripped off one by one, and all symbols he had of his family were ripped away by none other than his father. In the eyes of the Faye, he had disgraced himself and his family. He had been summarily rejected by his family and was disowned. Such was the penalty for breaking the rules of chivalry. Jareth, who Sarah just realized was standing beside his knight, banished the man from the kingdom and threatened him with death should he be seen within a mile of the Labyrinth or any of its inhabitants. Tyrone was escorted away between two knights who would take him a mile from the Labyrinth's borders. Before he left, however, King Dayton and Queen Ithilia had a parting gift for the dishonored one. They stripped Tyrone of all but the most practical magical capacity least he use greater gifts to harm his own kind. He was reduced to a standard of living amongst the Faye that was little better than begging.

"The Faye certainly take their show of power seriously!" Sarah stated in an awed whisper.

"Harming one's own kind is always serious, Lady Sarah. If he acts in such vengeance toward a brother at such a simple sport, what would he do if real danger befell his fellow Faye?" Miluien responded quietly.