Wow - more than two hundred reviews now and chosen as 61 times as a favorite story. #Author humbly bows to the yay-ing audience#. The confrontation is approaching, the thunderclouds are gathering and Sarah is about to find out what it is to be Fae...
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"Oh, my God!" Sarah cried and touched herself in wonder. She was Fae? She didn't know whether to feel terrified or exhilarated, but a combination of both filled her and made her tremble all over.
"You look great!" Fenella said, coming to stand by her and patting her hand comfortingly. "Now you're truly one of us."
"But what happened?" Sarah whispered in a half choked voice. "This… I thought… How can I suddenly be Fae?"
"Maybe His Majesty will know?" Fanny suggested. "You look really pretty, Lady Sarah!"
And she did. This Fae version of Sarah was graceful, unearthly, aloof and yet with all the looks of the old mortal Sarah as well. With a bit of make-up and the right hair style she might even pass for human to the people Above, should she want to. Above? Sarah's mind whirled. Hadn't Jareth said that once she turned Fae, she would be tied to the Underground forever and never get to leave? So she could stay!
"I can stay!" she said out loud and the biggest smile spread on her face in the mirror. She spontaneously lifted up Fanny and swung her around in joy, making the little goblin squeal in surprise. "I can stay! I won't have to leave him!"
Setting down Fanny, she ran to the door. "I have to tell him! He will be so happy!" Then she stopped, feeling the cold stone floor under her bare feet and remembering she was half-naked. She ran back to find some clothes, but suddenly remembered while dressing that Jareth had forbidden her to interrupt him before he had dealt with Corran. She mentally fought with herself to contain her exhilaration and finally, as she tied the bodice, she relented and went over to the window and looked out into the evening instead of rushing out the door. The weather had gotten worse and it had started raining. In the distance, she could hear the rumble of thunder. A perfect night for a dramatic confrontation, she thought, but not a perfect night for flying out to a magic-depleted section of the Labyrinth.
"Fenella." Sarah turned. "Is there any news about Jareth and Corran yet? Has he arrived?"
"We don't know, My Lady. His Majesty has forbidden us access to the throne room, and most are huddled in the kitchen below anyway, being scared of C...C…Corran." Fenella stammered slightly speaking his name, and Sarah realized the twins were scared as well. She felt the anger against him stir in her and kneeled down by the goblins, giving them a quick reassuring hug.
"Don't worry. It will be all right – I won't let anyone hurt you. But I just wish I could see Jareth right now."
Something hard and round pressed against her right hand, and as she snatched it away, a crystal ball bounced to the floor and rolled away from them.
"Jareth?" Sarah called in surprise and stood up, looking around. "Are you there?"
"Did you do that?" Fanny asked timidly, but Sarah shook her head in denial.
"Of course I didn't. It must have been Jareth."
Fenella closed her eyes for a second and then shook her head. "He's not here – he's down in the throne room."
Sarah slowly picked up the familiar crystal ball and looked at it. A small picture was visible inside, showing Jareth sitting casually on his throne and staring out into the room. He was completely alone and dressed all in black. The hair was tied back and he was wearing an open shirt clearly displaying the royal pendant resting on his bare chest. At his side hung a long rapier with a golden handle, and he was fingering it impatiently. It seemed clear that he was still waiting for Corran and was as restless as Sarah.
The feel of the crystal in her hand was strangely comforting and she wondered how he could have known she wanted it. Then a thought dawned on her – maybe it was her own doing?
"Show me Corran," she said, but the picture didn't change. She shook the crystal like a child's snowball, but it remained the same. Concentrating, she tried to remember how she had done it the last time. "I wish I could see Corran right now."
The picture immediately changed, this time to show Jareth's brother. He was walking down a corridor that she recognized as being inside the castle, and Sarah drew a sharp breath knowing the confrontation would come soon. He was still dressed in red, but this time slightly less frilly and more practical, and he looked self confident and cocky – too cocky for Sarah's taste. He was brandishing a light sword in front of him and slashing the air with it, as if fighting an invisible enemy. Passing a bewildered brown chicken in the corridor – which made Sarah sure he was close to the throne room – he stopped and looked at it with a nasty smile. He poked at it, lightly tapping it on the head with the sword, and to Sarah's horror, it gave a jerk and collapsed. There were no blood and no apparent injury, but the mere touch of the weapon had felled it.
"What on earth has he done with it?" Sarah asked the crystal, but it only showed Corran sheathing the sword with a satisfied and determined look on his face, before he moved on. Sarah rephrased: "I wish I could see what Corran has done to the weapon."
The picture blurred again and showed a differently dressed Corran standing in an ill-lit cellar room, staring a range of bottles on a dusty shelf. Slowly he picked a bottle and turned around, and Sarah shuddered at the hateful smile on his face. He went to a nearby table and drew his sword, putting it carefully down. Putting on a thick pair of gloves, he opened the bottle and tipped it, letting a small stream of dark liquid follow the length of the sword so the blade was covered in it. Turning the sword, he emptied the bottle on the other side and threw it into a nearly fireplace, where it splintered. The crystal grew dark.
"Poison!" Sarah murmured between clenched teeth. That sneaky little bastard! She sprang up – promise or no promise, she had to find a way to warn Jareth.
"Do you know a short-cut to the throne room?" she asked the twins impatiently. "We must get to Jareth before Corran does!"
"Of course," Fenella said and resolutely headed for the door. "This way."
Running down the corridors after Fenella, who were keeping a good pace considering her size, Sarah concentrated on being silent and calm. Fanny was trying to keep up with them, looking extremely nervous and unhappy. Passing familiar places, Sarah was distracted by the feeling that something was different about the castle, and suddenly she noticed the little specs of light everywhere – it almost seemed as if everything had been touched with fairy dust. When the dust began to swirl in a corner and sparkled like confetti, she realized she was seeing the mists of magic for the first time. The twins had been right – it was really beautiful, and if she hadn't had so much else on her mind, she would surely have stopped to investigate. After passing through two small doors that Sarah would never have thought of using herself, Fenella stopped in front of an insignificant wooden door.
"In there," she whispered and pointed. "We dare not follow you – His Majesty has absolutely forbidden it!"
Sarah wavered as well, thinking how furious Jareth would probably be at her for being there, and maybe he already knew that this was the kind of trick that Corran would play? But the way he had talked about their duel earlier that day had suggested that he thought it would be a reasonable fair fight, since none of them would be able to use magic. She looked at the door again and then took a deep breath and turned the knob.
"So, dear brother, are you ready to give me what is mine at last?" Corran's voice was confident and taunting. Sarah's heart stopped as she realized she was too late after all. Corran was already there and the confrontation had begun. She could not see them, but through the half-open door their voices reached her easily.
"Yours, little brother?" Jareth drawled in a bored and casual voice. " Aren't you taking a great deal for granted now?"
"You know I have your little wench!" Corran sneered. "As before she will be the destruction of the Labyrinth unless I release her. Will you really allow your love of the throne to come before the Kingdom and your subjects?"
Sarah winced. What would Jareth have done, if Felix had not found her? This was an impossible choice – no matter what he did, the Labyrinth would lose.
"I know your tricks," Jareth answered after a pause. "I sent the girl back, and that's where she has stayed. How could she have entered the Underground without my knowledge? This is a trick and I will give you nothing!"
"You fool!" Corran sounded angry. "Of course I have the girl. Just take a look at that precious Labyrinth of yours in this crystal."
"Which you will have bewitched so I see only what you want me to see? No, I believe only my own eyes when it comes to you, and yesterday when I flew out, the Bog was no different than always."
"You try my patience, brother," Corran hissed. "Why don't we go there, right now, and I'll show you the state of the kingdom!"
"In this weather?" Jareth had apparently got up, for his mocking voice sounded closer now. "Since we cannot know the exact location of the Bog, if you have done what you claim, we'll have to fly and not transport ourselves there. You always were a bad flyer, Corran, are you sure you want to take on a thunderstorm?"
A hard laugh echoed in the room. "As this is one of the theatrics that usually comes with picking up children from Above, I expect I might as well get used to it. Or maybe you are scared of what you're going to see?"
"I can see I must indulge you in this," Jareth sighed. "Very well, I'll race you to the Bog, then."
The room grew silent and Sarah waited a moment, before she slowly opened the door fully and peered out. The room seemed empty, but through the window she was just able to see two shapes flying away, before they were lost in the darkness. She shuddered and felt hopelessly lost – if only she had had the time to warn him.
"Will you follow him?" Fenella had dared to enter the room now that Jareth were obviously gone and she looked up at Sarah with a concerned frown, biting her lower lip.
Sarah shook her head. "How can I?" she whispered. "They are going towards the raft maze, but I have no idea where they will end. And even if I did, you couldn't take me there, because the mists will be gone."
"But – you could fly!" Fanny suggested from behind the door, not wanting to enter the throne room. "You're Fae, you can fly like His Majesty, can't you?"
Sarah looked out the window into the storm. "You mean – like an owl? I don't know. How does he do it? And will it work?"
She didn't wait for an answer, but closed her eyes and clenched her fist, concentrating deeply and taking a deep breath. She didn't have the faintest idea of how to do it, but since Jareth had said it was part of the Fae nature, this might actually be the one magic she could do. And the crystal had responded to her. I want to be an owl, I want to be an owl… I wish I could be an owl right now…You can do this, Sarah, you must go to him… how difficult can it be to be an owl…?
And suddenly she felt her arms grow and her legs shorten, and with a shriek she opened her eyes to a world where everything was drained of colour and she could see much more at once and much sharper with her new round eyes. She reacted on instinct and flapped her wings, soaring into the air and almost crashing directly into a wall. At the last moment she managed to turn away and instead made a crazy loop and dive, nearly grazing the little dumbstruck goblin near the throne. She tried to focus and slow down, and by really concentrating she managed to fly around the room three times.
Enough practice, Sarah the Owl thought, I must not lose them. Gathering all her courage, she hooted and dived recklessly out into the thunderstorm, just as a great lightening flickered over the sky and illuminated the Labyrinth. In the distance her sharp owl eyes could easily make out the outline of two fellow owls, and she set the course after them, thinking only of not losing them of sight.