Ch 34
Breakfast was over, and Sarah had said good bye to Julie, briefly explaining where she was going. Julie's eyes had widened, but she'd simply said, "Good luck." Sarah promised to spend some time talking with her later tonight, and then she and Jareth were off.
She'd expected him to just snap his fingers or something and magically make them appear at the Sea of Serenity, but Jareth led her to a stable behind the castle. He saw the question on her face and said, "I figured this way would be better, because now you can get a look at some of my kingdom."
"Is it much bigger than what I've seen?" Sarah asked as he led two beautiful black horses out of the stable.
"Yes, love, much. The Labyrinth is only a small part of my kingdom," he replied. He helped Sarah onto one of the horses. She was a little nervous, since she hadn't been riding in years. But luckily she still knew what to do, and in no time was at ease on top of the magnificent animal.
They started off slowly, with Jareth pointing out different spots of interest to her. Gradually, they picked up the pace, and were soon racing over fields of flowers. Soon, Sarah could see a glittering body of water in the distance. "Is that it?" she called to Jareth. He nodded, and they were soon approaching the lake. They slowed the horses, and after Jareth dismounted, he helped Sarah down. She looked around.
"This is the lake? It doesn't look like a kingdom," she said. Although the lake was very beautiful; the water was crystal clear and almost seemed to shimmer, and Sarah could see strange, brightly-colored fish swimming lazily through the water.
"The kingdom is at the bottom of the lake, remember, that's where the true beauty is," Jareth told her.
"So…now what?" Sarah asked. "How do we get down there? I'm assuming it's nothing as normal as scuba-diving we're going to be doing?"
He grinned at her. "No, it's not." He then closed his eyes, looking like he was concentrating hard. After a moment, a head popped above the water. It belonged to a beautiful young mermaid, Sarah saw. The mermaid glanced around, and spotted Jareth and Sarah.
"You're Majesty! We've been expecting you!" The mermaid made her way over the shore, and as she emerged from the water, her shiny green tail faded into human legs, clad in a flowing skirt.
"Mariella! It's good to see you," Jareth told her, giving her a quick hug. He turned to Sarah. "Sarah, this is Mariella. She's Merelinda's sister, and sort of the 'unofficial' greeter to visitors of their kingdom. I called her to help us down to the city."
Mariella smiled at Sarah. "So you're Sarah? My, we've heard so much about you, I feel like I already know you!" Sarah couldn't help but like her, she was so friendly. "Yes, I'm Sarah, it's nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Mariella replied, her electric blue eyes sparkling. "Are you two ready to go down to the city?"
"Yes, we are," Jareth replied.
"What about the horses"? Sarah asked, worried that they would wander off.
"They'll be fine right here," Jareth assured her. He turned to Mariella. "We're ready when you are."
Mariella magically produced two silver seashells, which she then tossed at Sarah and Jareth. When the seashells hit them, they dissolved, much like Jareth's crystals. Except the seashells left a strange bubble-like structure around them. Sarah spread out her arms, trying to touch the clear layer that surrounded her, but she found that as she moved, the bubble stretched with her.
"That shield will protect you while you're underwater," Mariella explained to Sarah. "You'll be able to breathe, speak, touch things, and swim like you normally would." She shot a worried glance to Sarah. "You can swim, can't you?" she asked.
"Yes, I actually love to swim," Sarah reassured her. "Although I never imagined I'd ever go swimming with a magic air bubble around me."
Mariella laughed, a musical sound, and motioned for them to follow her. She waded into the water and turned, waiting for them to follow. Jareth raised his eyebrows at Sarah. "Are you ready, love?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied, feeling butterflies in her stomach.
He reached out his hand to her, and she took it, with the strange feeling of the magic shield between them. Then they followed Mariella into the water. Mariella suddenly dove underwater, her legs transforming back into a shining aqua tail. Sarah took a deep breath, then she and Jareth dove underwater to follow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A/N: Lady of the Labyrinth, I just wanted to say that I don't think I'm very good at angst :-( But I can try to put more in if you want it! I aim to please! It might not be for a little while though cause I have lots of chapters already written. But I'll do my best! Thank you for reading!