Chapter 15: History Enlightens

Sarah was led to a room decorated mostly in a deep vibrant blue. Her boys were given a room across the hall decorated in greens. She looked out on her balcony and noticed that it looked out over the willow-lined entranceway. "Well, at least we know now how the place got its name..." she said to herself. Sarah found as she opened her closet that her Aunt had taken the liberty of giving her mother her measurements. Her mother! She had never thought to see the woman again after she had disappeared from her life above. How long would it take for her to get used to the idea of having a mother but no father now? She found a dress that seemed suitably simple and exchanged that for her old Aboveworld clothing. If she was going to play the part of her mother's daughter, she was going to have to look the part. She walked around the room several times to familiarize herself with her surroundings. The room was certainly not garish, as she had feared! Indeed it seemed the decorator had incredible taste. She opened every door or drawer to be sure of what was around her. After the short time spent in the Labyrinth, it seemed strange that, when she looked again, everything was where it had been left. Vendae came to collect her and the boys for dinner. Sarah smiled when she saw her boys, who had apparently found wardrobes of their own. The Goblin King's flair was not visible in these outfits, for which Sarah was grateful. Vendae was positively flying! She'd managed to save all three of her dear ones and reunite them with their long-missed mother/grandmother.

"Grandma Lorien, this is delicious!" Daire exclaimed as dinner was served and enjoyed.

"I'm glad you approve, Daire," Lorien answered with a smile.

"Wow, Darien, she can tell us apart! How'd you do that already, Grandma Lorien?" Daire asked in amazement. He was already quite accustomed to new people messing him up with his brother.

"I have watched you grow through the help of an old friend and my dear sister, Daire. I know how to tell the difference between the two handsomest boys I've ever seen." Daire and Darien smiled and returned to their meals. Most of the remaining meal was spent in silence. Everyone was still getting used to each other. After dinner Sarah and her boys were escorted to their rooms. Everyone had experienced some very trying past few days. Daire and Darien had no problems whatsoever falling asleep. Indeed they barely stayed awake long enough to prepare for bed and give their mother a goodnight kiss. Tonight was one the few nights she could count on one hand that the boys had fallen asleep without a song. For Sarah it was quite a different story. No matter which way she turned, she could not sleep. Her mind was still in a tailspin from all she had learned that night. After learning that her parents were Faye and that her mother was still living in the Underground, Sarah had reconciled herself with being still ignored by the woman. Now here she was living in her mother's home with her two sons!

At last she gave up her futile attempts to sleep. She found a robe in her closet and wrapped it around herself. It was not a particularly chilly night, but she felt immodest in the sheer nightgown she had selected. It had been the plainest, but somehow it still seemed to flatter her like a queen. She softly opened her door and crept into the hall. She soon realized that, although the rooms stayed in their places, she could still get hopelessly lost. She, the girl who had defeated the Labyrinth, was lost in a maze of corridors until she passed by a small sitting room that seemed devoted to music. There were a few harps, flutes, and various instruments including ones she didn't recognize. Her mother was sitting in the midst of the room on a decorated chair. A small handheld harp was in her hands and she strummed it almost without thought as she hummed a soft melody. Somehow it seemed familiar to Sarah. Lorien began to sing the words of the tune she'd been humming and she put the harp down on her lap. Sarah listened with amazement! She could still hear the music of the harp and other instruments along with her mother's sweet soprano voice.

"It is late for you to be up and about my Aranel," Lorien called softly after her song's last strains had been carried away on the breeze coming through the windows.

"I could not sleep, Mother," Sarah said with a soft sigh. Perhaps she would never get used to the idea of having her mother in her life again, but it was so nice to hear. Lorien appeared to agree. She sighed closing her eyes as the words came slipping from Sarah's lips.

"I don't know if I shall ever get used to hearing you say that, Aranel," Lorien said quietly.

"As I am to get used to a new name?" Sarah questioned with a hint of a smile. Lorien shared in the smile.

"I only wish you could remember the times before I had to leave," the elder Faye wished as her eyes misted over. "So many times did I wish we could be a family here in the Underground..."

"I know, Mother. I wished countless times as a child that my family could be together again. Then father remarried and I lost all hope..." Sarah regarded her mother curiously. "That tune you sang... It almost seemed familiar... But who played the music when you were singing?"

Lorien smiled as she responded. "It is one of my gifts. Everything around me plays music to match my song. I was also born with a natural affinity to music. I would pick up an instrument as a child, and within a day, I could play it with the best. The tune certainly should be familiar to you. I sang it to you every night I had with you even before you were born! In the common tongue it is rendered thus..."

Maidens fair, your wombs beware
New life within you shall blossom
Your heart shall sing, its love you'll share
To babes you'll sing and hum
For the Faye maiden that gives
New life to her love
In this she truly lives
As decreed by the Maker above

"It almost doesn't seem to fit the nearly sorrowful melody you gave it," Sarah commented as he mother finished.

"No, it doesn't. You see, Aranel, as a Faye mother, I should've been the happiest woman in all the land! But my precious daughter was stolen away from me, and so I have been in mourning over my husband and daughter since."

"What was it that drove such a wedge between you and father's family?" Sarah asked. "Why did your families hate each other so?"

"It's all about power, Aranel. It's all about power. You see millennia ago the present dynasty overthrew the old one that had ruled for longer than the oldest Faye can remember. My family had been favored by the old dynasty so they had to fight for position with the new one. The head of your father's family had been the best friend of the new conquering king. They went from little known Faye lords to most important lords of the Kingdom! By the older noblesse, such as my own family, they were still considered little better than country bumpkins! My family in particular was unsettled since some of our titles of old were transferred to that of your father. Yet another war may have broken out if the new king had not given new titles to my family. They were not as important, but they were at least convinced not to go once more to war. The king may have been trying to avert further bloodshed by the citizens of the Underground since the war to put him on the throne had been somewhat costly in valiant lives. Unfortunately he also firmly cemented the feud between our two families when he insisted that to show their allegiance to him, one of the daughters of my family was to marry the son of your father's. My family utterly refused! The matter remained unsettled to this day until in a way your father and I finally fulfilled that order. My family's claim to fame is the beauty of its women, Aranel."

"I'm afraid I'll be the end of that reputation," Sarah said with a shake of her head.

"Oh, no, Aranel!" Lorien cried in shock. "Why you are the loveliest beauty yet to grace our household!"

"What will Jareth say when he finds out I was Faye all along?" Sarah pondered.

"Alas, I hope he does not find out until good is once more found in him," Lorien lamented. When Sarah looked at her oddly, she explained. "There is a law that prohibits Jareth from stealing Faye of any rank or age. Granted your situation was unusual, but Jareth could be in trouble if it were found he had stolen a Faye through negligence. We also do not yet know how your magic will show itself. If you two got into a bad argument as I am told you have a tendency to do, your magic might be dangerous! If Jareth perceives you as a threat, he could prove a deadly enemy."

Sarah and her mother were soon forced to say their farewells as sleep finally convinced them to go to bed. Sarah found the next morning that her Mother and Aunt had decided to teach them to be Faye. Weeks went by full of lessons on the history and customs of the Faye and other Seelie cultures. Sarah and her boys learned fast, and they began to feel more and more at home in the Underground. Sarah and her sons accompanied the Lady Lorien to many social events where they applied their lessons in customs. Sarah noticed, however, that when the Goblin King was actually present, and that was a rare event, he ignored Sarah and her sons completely beyond necessity. Something about them seemed to yank his chain whenever he had to associate with them. Sarah and her boys took very quickly to flying in their bird form. They were soon comfortable flying great distances as though they had been born doing so. It was not uncommon to see a lovely trumpeter swan flying over Willoway followed by a black hawk and a red- tailed hawk. Yet in all their happiness in their new life, Sarah and the boys could not forget the one they had left behind in the Labyrinth. How did Elaine fare along with their new friend Destiny? How did the trio, Hoggle, Ludo, and Didymus fare now that Sarah had left once more?