Chapter 48: Caught!

Ludo had followed the crystal to Jareth, who had gone back into the ballroom to see if Sarah had been found yet. Terrillia accosted him and asked him to dance. He turned her down flat, but she dragged him onto the dance floor anyway and held him so tightly that he couldn't get away without hurting her.

Well, okay, so he only hurt her a little as he spun her around once. He was getting sick of her throwing herself at him and keeping him from looking for Sarah. He let go in the middle of the spin and turned to leave. He was stopped by a gigantic, hairy, orange finger lightly tapping him on the shoulder. He turned immediately to see Ludo there holding a piece of parchment.

"Ludo? What are you doing here? What is it?"

The beast handed him the parchment. "This ex—expa—expla—expan… This story for king."

"Jareth, what on earth is this…creature… doing, cutting in on our dance?" Terrillia pouted prettily, ignoring the fact that Jareth had just spun her roughly out of his arms and had been about to leave.

"Ludo help Sawah," the beast informed her.

Terrillia went pale.

So did Jareth, scanning Sarah's account of what had happened. He read to the end, and then glared up at Terrillia.

"STOP!" He roared. All of the music and dancing ceased abruptly. He pinned Terrillia in place with blazing eyes "Where. Is. Sarah?" he demanded.

Alia came trotting over, closely followed by King Daxon, puffing as he tried to keep up with his quadruped queen. Without taking his eyes off Terrillia, Jareth handed Daxon the parchment. Daxon held the message up so that he and the High Queen could read it together.

Alia stomped a forehoof and let out a piercing whinny. With her telepathy, it was so rare to hear make a vocal sound that her daughter came trotting over to see what happened.

"Arien, guard this fae," she ordered her daughter.

Arien lowered her horn and held it against Terrillia's back. She snorted and backed away abruptly. "Mother, I cannot!"

"What?" Alia demanded. She took one step forward and sniffed Terrillia. She snorted and shook her head as if trying to clear it. She turned toward Daxon and spoke to him privately in his mind for a minute.

Daxon curled his lip in contempt, nodded, motioned his guards over to the woman. "Your life is forfeit to me, fae, as you broke my promise of safety for my wedding-guests" he growled at her, beard bristling menacingly. "But I concede the Goblin King's prior claim on it."

Terrified, Terrillia looked to Jareth to see what he would do. So did the powerful little dwarf guards.

Jareth was still pale and quivering with fury. His grey eyes darkened with anger, and he clenched his fists. "Take her to the dungeon," he ordered them in a cold, steely voice. "I'll decide tomorrow, what will be a… fitting… punishment for kidnapping and imprisoning a royal guest who is a princess in her own right."

Terrillia gasped; apparently she hadn't really thought her plan quite through all the way! The tiny guards dragged her away. She went with them quietly, starting to cry. Dwarves were small, but they were the best fighters in the Underground; she knew better than to try and get away.

"That explains why we could not find Sarah behind the green magic," Alia commented. "It was the green of intense jealousy!"

Arien shivered, her skin twitching with distaste. "She made me very uncomfortable. Mother, is that what the 'impure' feel like?"

"Yes, daughter."

"So where is Sarah now?" Jareth asked Ludo.

The beast shrugged; he had already said as many words tonight as he usually said in a year, and quite simply he was exhausted.

"She is coming," Arien informed them. "She went to her room to prepare, and she is on her way down right now."

"I shall make the announcement that she has been found," Alia said. Seeing the Goblin King about to bolt, she stopped him. "Jareth, you wait here. I shall be calling names of the monarchs in a moment, and I want to make sure you and Sarah are both here for it!"