It's Not Fair

Jareth woke up the next morning to the feel of eyes watching him. Keeping his eyes closed, he said quietly, "What do you want?" His eyes shot open when he felt someone lay their head down on his lap. Looking down, he smiled to see Sarah awake, bright eyed and with no sign of Gummy Bears anywhere.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I've put everyone through a lot lately, and not one of you deserved it. Especially last night." The girl sat up and looked down at Quillan's sleeping form. She motioned to the boy, "he warned, you know. He told me that the papers we got from the Fire Gang were bad." Sarah looked back up at Jareth, "I want to stop drinking, too. I'll need help, though."

Jareth stretched and looked around to find Sarah and himself to be the only ones awake. He leaned forward and looked intently at Sarah. "It will be hard," he warned, "and it will take some time. I've heard of a spell that will break you of your drinking habit, but I will need to talk with my closest friends."

Sarah rushed forward to hug the King. "Thank you, Jareth," she said, tears threatening to spill. "For everything."

The Goblin King stepped forward to greet the four monarchs who had just arrived, shaking the Pixie King and Wizard Prince's hands and hugging the Dryad Queen and Fairy Princess. Quickly, he introduced Sarah to each one.

The Pixie King was named Keenan. He had long, dark brown hair, which was tied back by twisted cords of bark. His eyes were green and seemed to be laughing constantly, though Sarah could tell he could be serious when need be.

Amaryllis was the Dryad Queen. She wore her long, silver hair in a loose bun. It was held in place by leaves that had been sewn together with what Sarah thought was spider webs.

Galvin was the most cheerful of the bunch. The Wizard Prince wore long golden robes with a silver cord around his middle. Dangling from the cord were many silver pouches of different shapes and sizes. His hair came to his shoulders, and seemed to change color with each movement. His eyes were a brilliant purple.

Of all the four monarchs, Sarah liked Belladonna the best. She had wavy auburn hair that came down to her waist. Her eyes were silver, and she constantly wore a smile. There was something about the Fairy Princess that drew the girl towards her. Sarah hoped she would get to see much more of the Princess as time went on.

The four arriving monarchs and the Goblin King went into Jareth's study to discuss the issues at hand. Sarah sat in the hall with Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus and Cattie. Occasionally Llewellyn and Quillan would stop by.

"Do you think they can help?" Sarah asked quietly after the door to the study had been shut. Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus exchanged glances. Cattie just shrugged and wrapped an arm around the girl.

"My dearest friends," Jareth said, addressing the monarchs seated around his study, "I have called you here because I am in need of your assistance. What I am about tell you I trust will be held in the strictest confidence."

"It must be very serious then," Keenan said. "You have our attention." The other monarchs nodded, and Belladonna's smile faltered slightly.

"As you all know," Jareth continued, "I have developed feelings for a mortal by the name of Sarah Williams."

"Sweet girl," Belladonna said, smiling again.

Jareth looked down for a moment before continuing. "What you may not know is that she is currently going through a difficult time. Her stepmother, Karen Williams, and she fight constantly. Sarah couldn't take it anymore, so she ran away. Her younger brother- the one she had wished away a couple of years ago- Toby," here Galvin nodded, recognizing the name, "sent the dwarf, Hoggle, and his friends to get my help. Since she has been in the Underground, she has discovered both drugs and alcohol."

Jareth paused, sinking into an armchair next to Keenan, his best friend. Belladonna spoke before Jareth could start up again, "She's addicted to them, right?" Jareth nodded. "How can we help her then?"

Jareth and Keenan exchanged amused glances at the Princess's willingness to help. Amaryllis and Galvin laughed.

"What?" Belladonna asked, completely confused.

"You've become attached to Sarah almost as quickly as I did," Jareth responded, still amused. "In answer to your question, though," he added in a more serious tone, Amaryllis and Galvin quickly quieting, "there is a spell I have heard of that may help her. Of course, it will take all five of us to properly cast the spell."

Galvin looked up quickly, eyes slightly widened. "I know the spell you are thinking of. It would be best if we didn't use that spell on your girl, since she is mortal. If it is not cast exactly the way it was intended, the addiction will become worse and worse, until it kills her or she kills herself, whichever comes first."

"We can do it," Amaryllis said quietly. "The five of us have never found a spell we couldn't work together."

Galvin looked over at the Dryad Queen skeptically and said, "My dear Ama, this spell has not been properly cast since the first time it was used for the first time on one of the Ancients of the Aboveground."

The room sat was silent for a minute until the oldest of the five monarchs spoke up. "Galvin," Keenan asked quietly and seriously, "do you know of another method we could use? One not so dangerous?"

Galvin thought for a moment, before smiling and looking at Jareth, "What is the traditional mortal method?"

"We're not doing that," Jareth said with a sigh, raising his hand to rub his forehead. "I can only stand one Belladonna, thank you very much."

The other monarchs, except for the mentioned Princess, laughed. "I'm not that bad," Belladonna said mock indignantly.

"There is one spell," Amaryllis said. "The spell will give take three weeks to get the addiction out of her system."

"Let's do that, then," Belladonna said cheerfully.

Amaryllis looked over at Jareth and said, "I warn you, however, she will not be pleasant to be around. And you should probably keep sharp and heavy objects away from her during those weeks. In fact, if you decide we should use this spell, then we should make a Safe Room for her and keep her in there."

"Easier said then done," Jareth said, lowering his hand. He looked over at Galvin. "Any suggestions?"

The Wizard Prince shook his head. "I'm all out of ideas." Jareth sighed.

"The answer is simple, Jareth," the Pixie King said, smiling slightly. "You must truly be worried about the girl to not have seen it."

Jareth smiled at the older Fae, "Don't tease."

Keenan laughed. "As I said, the answer is simple," Keenan responded, standing. "We cast the spell Amaryllis," he motioned to the Dryad Queen, "has suggested, only after we cast a spell so the girl will not be able to leave the room until the addiction has been released from her system."

The room was silent for a moment, all eyes watching Jareth as he sat, staring off into space, his mind working frantically. "That just might work." He turned to the Pixie King again. "You are a genius my friend."

"I know," he smirked. "Now let's get to work on those spells."