A Prophecy Speaks
a/n: I do not own labyrinth.
Chapter 37 –or- Crimsonfire City
Jareth swore to himself that he would not call a crystal to look at Sarah while he was gone. It would be fruitless. He could neither help her, nor go to her right now. He would rather march through the war believing she was fine, and that everyone else was fine. Once the battle was over he would permit himself to look.
Damned magic. If he could have he would have just transported his entire army back and forth. But this many bodies and this many wagons would present too large an amount to keep together in a transport. So they were forced to ride and march to Crimsonfire City, and then onto the Dwarf kingdom.
They were actually not far now from Crimsonfire City. Danol's watchmen should be riding out to indentify them soon. Only another day's ride through the dunes and arid plains that made up the almost desert like Dragonlands.
Jareth wiped his brow and let his thoughts dwell on his kingdom. The battle would be starting soon in the Labyrinth. He knew Sarah was very capable, but he still worried like every other good husband.
On the horizon, a good hundred soldiers rode towards them on sturdy horses. They held aloft the banner of the Dragonlands. Jareth's standard bearer came forward and held his banner aloft. When the the men reached them they dismounted and gave Jareth a short bow. Jareth dismounted and nodded at the soldiers.
"Your Majesty, we are here to escort you and your army to His Majesty's castle," a sharply dressed Lieutenant told Jareth.
"Your name Lieutenant?" Jareth asked.
"Lieutenant Edain, Your Majesty," he said as he gave another bow.
"Well, Lieutenant Edain, we should ride on, shouldn't we?" Jareth proposed as he mounted Drago once again. The horse gave a snort before starting to walk again.
The next day found them outside the gates of Crimsonfire City. The tall spires of the sand colored castle towered elegantly over everything else. Lieutenant Edain spoke with a gate guard briefly before they were admitted.
People bowed and curtsied as Jareth made his way through the city. They stopped in front of the castle gate and waited to be announced.
"His Royal Majesty, King Jareth of the Goblin Kingdom!" a man intoned loudly over the grounds. The gates opened and Jareth rode in. Lieutenant Edain guided his army of goblins to the barracks where they would be staying.
King Danol and Queen Carys came out to meet him on the front steps of the castle.
"Your Majesty, well met," King Danol greeted him with a nod of his head. Jareth responded in like. Carys skipped the formalities and just kissed the Goblin King on the cheek. Jareth gave her the best smile he could manage, given that he was tired and not a little hungry.
"Jareth, you must come inside and eat with us. Then we will show you to your room. Tomorrow we will discuss Nogrod," Carys told him, and they all stepped inside the Dragon Castle.
The conversation at dinner turned to matter in the Goblin Kingdom.
"How was Cara when you left, Jareth?" Carys wanted to know.
"Oh, she was sad to see me go, but I do not doubt she got her mind off of it while playing with Aaron. They have a pretty solid friendship. She wrote a letter, I have it," Jareth said as he handed the envelope to Carys. She tucked it away for later.
"And Sarah, how was she?" Carys asked.
"Big and happy. Pregnancy suits her. She had the nursery decorated before I left," Jareth told the assembled people before taking another sip of his wine.
"Your Majesty, have we had news from the border areas yet?" a satyr named Kir asked.
"Our scouts have reported that the elves have come around the southern end of the Tree kingdom. It also seems that some forces from Belegrat have come down the mountain into the encampment to bolster the forces. That dwarf is insane. If he had stayed at Belegrat he may have had a sporting chance. He's devious, but he seems to think he is a lot bigger than he really is. He thinks no one can beat him. Insanity will do that. His encampment is basically made up of crudely made forts. We will take some catapults with us to crush those. The real time consuming task will be choosing a new ruler for the dwarves, and handling the punishments he capture but do not kill," Danol told those assembled.
The group ate quietly with war on the mind. Soon after they all retired to their quarters.
Jareth relaxed in the nice sized tub. The quarters he was given were not as nice as his own at the Goblin City, but that was too be expected. Jareth tended not to mind as long as the bed was warm, soft, and not in a tent.
Jareth worked the knots out of his blond hair and crawled into the large bed. With war on the brain sleep did not come easy, but when it did it was thankfully deep and dreamless.