Author's Note: HI EVERYONE! So sorry to have taken so long. Doesnt anyone know work isa bitch? Lemme hear everyone say it! Ok, or not. It's alright... So anyway. I'm back. No worries. Patience is a virtue, right? That's what my muse always tells me when she is being a bitch... So my beloved reviewers:
Elenora Rose: Yup, I'm still feelin the love from you. You are most-definitly one of my favorites. Yup! Here's another. And maybe I'll pull a double today, too? Avi? Perchance he will make a cameo for you? 0:)DemonicSymphony: Actually, that ring is mine, and it happens to be on my left ring finger at this very moment! HA! you stole the fake one I planted just in case I had some sneaky-types adoring my writing too... tears up You do adore it, right? Nimiriel: And it's always a joy to read such WONDERFUL reviews, too! That made my day, I'm tellin ya. Heist: I'm sorry, I'm sorry! kisses-it-all-better No pain! And thanks. :)
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The Goblin King faded from her circle just to reappear mere yards away, out of her sight to give her the believed comfort of being alone. He was worried about her. He had sent her the ring in the event that that devil Prince caught wind of her and came looking for her as well. "If that conniving monster dares to lay one finger on her, so help me, I will not be held accountable for what happens to him…" Jareth heard a snap of a twig behind him as he leaned against a tree, watching Sarah sleep through the brush and trees separating them. "You hear that, Braeden? I am not jesting, so don't you dare even laugh." He turned to see his brother silently striding towards him through the trees. Himself in miniature, Braeden was still a youth, but keen enough to know better, and his face was genuinely serious.
"I wouldn't dare to laugh at a matter like this, brother. I hear that in all seriousness, honest." Braeden's innocence shone as brightly as his eagerness to please his brother. "But I was sent to fetch you. Mother wishes to see you in her garden." Braeden's face clouded with worry. "You don't think she'll come to harm here Above, do you? She'll be safe, no one at Court knows where she is. Especially him…" Braeden's face darkened further at the thought and looked at the woman in the clearing. He brightened. "Shall I watch over her for you, brother? While you are busy with Mother?"
"Thank you, Braeden. But I think I'll call Kieran in for help." Jareth glanced at his younger brother and saw the dejected look in his eyes. "I'm going to need your help much more with Mother. You know she wants something, and I'm going to need your strength so I don't give in too easy to her." He winked and threw his brother over his shoulder and faded into the Underground.
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When Jareth reappeared, one struggling little brother still in captivity, the momentum knocked them to the ground, each wrestling for the upper hand. The fight did not last long once they noticed the lingering scent of moonbeams that was their mother, and the telltale gown of midnight blue that belonged solely to the priestesses of the Lake. They each quickly noted the subtle difference and stood, bowing deeply as is due to the Lady of the Lake.
"My Lady, you requested my attendance?" Jareth rose at his mother's beckoning to receive her kisses. As is custom, she kissed him on each cheek, and once on his forehead, as a blessing from each stage of the Goddess. All formalities aside, he grew impatient. "Mother, before we speak, there is one thing I must attend to first, if I may? I just need to speak with my Chief of the Guard, if I may?" He politely gestured to a door leading to the terrace outside his mother's private parlor, and withdrew at her permission. Once outside, he called to his subject and waited the seconds until an unkempt Fae arrived, shirttail half un-tucked and vest and poet's shirt unbuttoned. Jareth took it in with an amused glance, still pacing in front of the terrace railing. "Kieran, I would like to request you to go Aboveground to look after a human for me, just for a few hours, until I return there." Kieran quirked his eyebrow, but did not audibly question his King.
"Ofcourse, Your Majesty. And whom is it I will be looking after?" Jareth faltered, knowing the response he would get. Kieran stepped forward, dropping any pretense of formalities as a scolding tone crept into his voice. "Jareth?" Jareth cringed and took a deep breath. Leaning against the railing, he turned to Kieran.
"Sarah." Kieran paled, clenching and unclenching his shaking fists, he took up Jareth's ceased pacing. Skillfully controlling his temper, with a practiced concentration only one who dealt with aggrivation on a daily basis would have the ability to do so, he stopped abruptly and turned to his King, the cold formal space again between them as he nodded curtly.
"Yes, Your Majesty." He twirled and strode to the door quickly, but stopped just at the exit. Without turning around, he spoke so Jareth would hear. "Jareth, I expect explanations as to why I am being sent Aboveground, of all places, to watch that girl, of all people." Cringing again at the thought of the conversation to come with his best friend, Jareth shook off the uncomfortable experience and entered into his mother's presence once again. He noticed his brother's absence, but ignored it and sat in the armchair next to his mother.
"So what is it you wished to speak to me about, Mother? I dearly hope it is not another betrothal idea, because I am not in the mood." He reached to the table between them and picked up the waiting glass of mulled wine, downing it in one gulp and staring at his mother insolently. She smiled gently, seeing not the full-grown Fae, but the child he still could be at times.
"A proposal, yes, my dear. But not of the type I know you are expecting. I wished to speak to you about your mortal girl. Your Sarah. I've visited with her, and I have taken quite a liking to her. I would like to bring her to the Underground. What do you think?"
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Sarah awoke to a world transformed. Without moving an inch, she knew that she no longer lay in her moss bed, and a slight adjustment confirmed that as she slid her hand over a lush mattress of down and satin. Stiffening with fear, she realized she also was no longer in her tank and jeans, but a silk gown. What the fuck is going on? WHO THE FUCK UNDRESSED ME? She shifted around some more to make sure nothing had… happened during her sleep, and had a moment of relief before fear flooded her senses again. She cautiously opened her eyes to take in her surroundings.
The first thing she noticed was that it was dark. A slight glow illuminated the room from an unknown source, but she let her eyes adjust to take in her surroundings. She lay in a red-velvet canopied bed of dark mahogany in an expansive room of granite. A large vanity and dresser of matching design were placed on opposite walls with a rich rug in the center of the room, beneath several plush armchairs and couches and a low table. There were two doors, one on the opposite wall from the bed, and one to the left of the bed. She sat up and noticed a draft as a gauzy white curtained blew against her bare back. Turning, she kneeled on the bed and gasped as she looked out the wide window above her bed.
Wide, open sky melted into an expanse of tumultuous ocean and craggy cliffs that created a wild, free-falling effect for Sarah. She clutched the bedposts in the attempt to feel grounded, but did not tear her eyes from the star-bathed scenery. Taking a deep breath of the salty breeze, she picked up something other than ocean mist. It tasted like…. No, couldn't be that… But I don't live anywhere near coasts like this… She started shaking and curled up under the covers again, shutting her eyes to the reality of her situation along with the magic of it. No, I will wake up and be in my circle. I won't be gone. This is just a dream. Jareth is just plaguing me with a different dream this time. Jareth… Why do you hurt me so? With a hurt sigh, and curled tighter, unaware of the chaos soon to erupt in both her worlds.
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Aboveground an unconscious Fae was found in a circle of moss in a moonlit wood by a giggling couple expecting to be alone in the dark. A father was beginning to notice the late absence of his daughter as his wife continued to convince him she was just being a selfish brat, and 'why couldn't he see that?' Underground, a son was ranting and being convinced of the merits of Underground education and upbringing by his good-hearted mother. His little brother waited quietly outside the room, attempting to nonchalantly eavesdrop unsuccessfully. Back in the Castle Beyond, a distraught wife was pacing her bedroom, waiting for the return of her ever-mischievous husband. Anyone who had the care to listen would feel the sudden awakening of magic deep in the core of the Labyrinth. The pulsing that awoke with each second seemed to call out a name with a longing heartbeat.
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Braeden pushed his ear up to the door, giving up any pretense. He heard his brother's voice shouting again, and his mother's soft one pleading. He grinned, Yes, yes, Mother is getting what she wants. But what is it? He could only manage one word from both their voices. A name he recognized for some reason… and yet could not quite place. He knew the name was connected with his brother, but could not find the seam between them. Where?
He felt a pulse of his brother's ancient magic twined with that of the land he protected wave out of the room. There she is! That name! The Labyrinth is calling her? How does It know…? Braeden noticed the change in the room. Silence. What happened now?
"Sarah!"