Lost and Lonely
The Underground was constantly changing. Everyone knew it. Every mirror that appeared in every creature's sleeping space testified to that fact. At all times, the constant shift of the ancient magics could be felt.
In the South, the Witches and Vampires felt their magic change as they battled the Wizards and Werewolves. In the East, the Trolls, Yetis and Gnomes tried desperately to keep their tempers in check as the shifting magic caused turmoil within their minds.
In the North, the Goblin and Pixie Kings and the Fairy and Dwarf Queen were kept busy tending to their mischievous followers, even more so now that they could feel the magic moving. The Canines and Felines tried in desperation to calm the anxious monarchs they served. In the West, the Dryads and the Merfolk stopped complaining about each other's morals and looked to each other for help handling the problem that came with the change in magic.
All over the Underground, all eyes turned to the High Kingdom, the Elvish Kingdom. The High King's eyes were the only to move elsewhere, focusing on a young maiden on the borders of the Underground, the only creature who had not looked to him. The only female in the Underground he trusted as the Goblin King's wife. The only creature in the Underground who did not know who he was.
Sarah sat on her sofa, staring at her mirrors. She had accumulated a couple more mirrors. One was shaped like a bird and was showing the time when the sparrow-like bird had landed on Sarah's bed and sat like he was reading the book in front of her. The other was shaped like another cat and showed the man she had met on her first morning in the Underground.
All of the mirrors rotated around the sphere in the center of her room. Though, she was a little confused as to what the man had to do with anything. She'd have to ask Cattie.
Had she been Aboveground, Sarah would have watched TV or played with Toby. Being Underground, the girl could do neither. If it had been any other time, Sarah would have done something with Cattie. However, the maid was currently putting her son to bed. There was only one other person Sarah knew well enough in castle to actually do something.
Standing up almost too quickly, Sarah walked out of her room and knocked on the door across from hers. When there was no answer, she knocked again and called through the door, "Jareth?"
Receiving no reply, Sarah decided to search for her king. She looked in his study, the gardens and got herself terribly lost wandering the halls. At this point Sarah just wanted to see some sign that there were still living creatures in the castle.
Turning yet another corner, Sarah came to a dead end. Or what would have been a dead end had it not been for the door.
Opening said door, Sarah nearly cried at the sight she saw. She had found the kitchen. There were pots, pans and cauldrons of every size. The ovens were enormous. Various kitchen tools were strewn about. In the very middle of every thing, on a tiny stool, disproportionate to the rest of the kitchen, stood a small goblin.
As Sarah entered the kitchen, the goblin turned and smiled. Jumping down and running over to greet the lady, the goblin squeaked, "Lady Sarah." The goblin bowed low, "Burnie is glad to be meeting Lady Sarah. Burnie has heard a lot of things from other goblins."
"Burnie?" Sarah asked. "Is that your name?"
"Burnie is Burnie's name," the little goblin squeaked, standing up, "because Burnie was always meant to work in Goblin King's kitchens. Can Burnie get anything for Lady Sarah?"
Sarah looked around quickly, then back at the goblin. "I'm kind of thirsty."
The goblin smiled and said, "Let Burnie make Lady Sarah a martini. Burnie has read about these drinks in books about food from Lady Sarah's land."
"Oh," Sarah said, "am I allowed to drink alcohol?"
"Lady Sarah can drink whatever Lady Sarah wants," the goblin replied, gathering the supplies to make the drink. "Sit, Lady Sarah. At the table. Just over there."
Sarah sat down at the table Burnie had pointed to. "Tell me about the Underground," she said quietly.
"What does Lady Sarah want to know?" Burnie asked, placing the drink in front of her.
"Are there other kingdoms?" Sarah said, taking a sip of the drink.
The goblin laughed at the face Sarah made from her first taste of alcohol. "There be many other kingdoms. Fairy Princess, Pixie King, Dryad Queen and Wizard Prince are Goblin King's closest friends. Elves don't always like Goblins. Witches and Vampires are always fighting Wizards and Werewolves. Dwarves and Fairies are fighting now. Trolls upset Yetis. Merfolk don't like Dryads morals, and Dryads don't like Merfolk's morals. Canines serve royalty while Felines serve opposing royalty. Gnomes and Pixies start fighting soon, Burnie thinks."
"Wow," Sarah said, daring to take another small sip. "That's a lot of kingdoms. It makes you feel really small. How does everyone keep from fighting too much?"
Burnie laughed again, replying, "Elf King is High King. High King controls Underground magic. High King can give more power and take power away."
Sarah looked straight at Burnie, suddenly concerned. "You said that Elves don't always like Goblins. Does the High King ever take power away from Jareth?"
"Oh, no," Burnie said seriously. "High King likes Goblin King. High King wants Goblin King to find good lady to marry. Elves would like Goblins always if Goblin King were married."
"Why?" Sarah asked, confused.
"Goblin King doesn't always understand what other royalty feels," the goblin responded, pouring more into Sarah's glass. "Elves get upset with Goblins because Goblins like mischief. If Goblin King were married, Goblin King would not be as mischievous."
Sarah laughed, "I highly doubt that."
Jareth walked through the castle, looking for Sarah. It was only when he heard Sarah laugh that he stopped his brisk walk. Opening the door to his right, he sighed in relief. Sarah sat at a table drinking a clear liquid, talking with Burnie and laughing.
"Sarah," Jareth said, startling both girl and goblin. "What are you doing?"
"Drinking martinis and talking with this fine fellow," Sarah said as though it were obvious, words slurring a bit.
"I think you've had enough to drink," Jareth said, walking forward and taking the glass out of Sarah's hand just as she was about to take another drink.
"Jarry," Sarah whined, swaying, "just let me finish this one."
Jareth grabbed Sarah's hands and pulled her up. With a thought, he transported Sarah and himself to her room, startling Cattie, who had been starring at a mirror Sarah had never seen before.
"My Lord," Cattie said nervously, dropping into a curtsey. Coming back up she said, "Lady, I was worried about you."
The only response was for Sarah to plop herself onto the sofa.
"We were all worried about you," came a voice Sarah recognized only slightly. The man from her first morning Underground stood at the Bedroom door. "My wife and I put our son to bed and came back to help you, My Lady," he said, then turned to Jareth, "and you, My Lord." Turning back to Sarah, he added, "My darling Cattie was frantic when she could not find you. Even more so when your newest mirror appeared."
Sarah looked up at the new mirror. It was shaped like a martini glass and showed Sarah talking and drinking with Burnie. "Wait, so, you two are married?" Sarah asked, motioning between the two.
Cattie sat down next to Sarah, as Jareth ran a hand through his hair. "That's not the issue here, Lady," Cattie said quietly, brushing the hair out of Sarah's face. "Your new mirror appeared, which means something huge happened while you were drinking and talking to the goblin."
"Yeah," Sarah said, leaning back, "I made a new friend." She giggled then and added, " An' Jarry wouldn't let me finish my drink. Silly Jarry." The last two words came out as a sigh, causing the Goblin King and his two most faithful Feline servants to exchange glances.
"Let's get you to bed," Jareth said, pulling Sarah up. Cattie and her husband pulled back the blankets on Sarah's bed, as Jareth changed Sarah into her nightgown with a wave of his hand.
"What's your name?" Sarah asked Cattie's husband as Jareth laid her down, pulling the blankets up to her arms.
"Llewellyn, My Lady," the feline answered with a bow.
Jareth kissed Sarah on the forehead, and whispered, "Pleasant dreams, Dearest."
As he started to walk away, Sarah caught his wrist. Look up at him with huge eyes, she whispered, "Stay with me tonight."
Cattie and Llewellyn exchanged a smirk before bowing out of the room. Jareth looked at Sarah for a minute before extinguishing the candles and lying down next to Sarah, not looking forward to the headache he knew Sarah would have in the morning.
As the Goblin King fell asleep, two mirrors appeared, exactly identical, in the shape of a heart depicting the king and his love both fast asleep. One was in Sarah's room, the other in Jareth's.
In the very middle of the Underground, the High King looked away from the image that showed the Goblin King and the Lady Sarah. Smiling, he kissed his wife and whispered, "I love you, My Dear."