The Resurrection Quest Part 7
Tristan rushed into the throne room and glared angrily at Anya. "Where are those guards taking her?," he sked quickly, skipping all formalities.
Anya, who wasn't at all surprised at his entrance simply gave him a slightly exhausted look. "Let me guess...this is about that Sarah," she commented with a frown, avoiding Tristan's glare... only looking up to see his nod, "Figures.. I was hoping you wouldn't find out."
Tristan looked at her curiously and persisted, "Where is she?"
"I can't tell you. Too much of a risk of you allowing her to leave."
"But what's wrong with that? She didn't do anything."
"Tristan, she killed the king," Anya started, "She has to answer to the laws of our world."
"But she didn't know!"
Anya glared at Tristan, seemingly loosing patience, "Tristan, she's lying to you... NO one could possibly be that stupid not to know what they did..."
Tristan shook his head. "She's telling the truth... I saw it in her eyes," he protested, "She even..."
"Tristan you don't know what you are saying," Anya interrupted, "She's a cruel-hearted, spoiled brat who wished an innocent child away! How can you trust someone like that?!"
Tristan took a breath, gritting his teeth, "And why are you so willing to believe her to be such a monster? She made a mistake... a stupid...idiotic one ... but a mistake nonetheless and you want to punish her still? Imprisoning her is not going to help bring Jareth back!"
At the mentioning of this, Anya snarled as she leapt up at Tristan and shoved him. Despite her size, Anya proved to be quite strong as Tristan found himself landing on the floor, looking up at her in surprised. Anya was far from happy.
"I guess the fact she killed a king doesn't matter," she vented, "Or the fact that the king happened to be my cousin!"
She looked like she could kill at that moment. What held her back was beyond Tristan's knowledge and he just looked at her as she hid her emotions of anger behind a mask of indifference once again. She picked up an unsealed letter from a small table and tossed it onto Tristan's chest. "Should you care... I wasn't the one who chose this," Anya said as she left the room, leaving a confused Tristan with the message.
Sitting up, Tristan unfolded the paper and read the message written inside. As he continued reading, he seemed to grow even more tense as his finger traced against the broken seal of the sender. When he was done reading, he tossed the letter to the floor as he scrambled to his feet in an effort to find his queen.
"Anya!"
**********
Cole watched as Jareth studied the ravine and smiled.
"So... How are we getting across?," Cole asked, "Jumping to the other side?"
Jareth nodded, "Something like that."
Cole pulled back and shook his head, "Oh no! I'm not about to jump off a perfectly good ledge!"
"Sure you are, "Jareth replied, "If you don't the cleaners will get you." He pat Cole on the back, "Don't worry about it. I'll jump with you to make sure you have the right timings."
"Oh that makes me feel better. If you mess up you're no worse off. I am!"
"Dammit Cole! You're as stubborn as your babysitter!," Jareth growled, "Personally I don't want my main form of communication with the living to get killed, but if you're so insistent on guaranteeing your demise then so be it!"
Cole was about to ask Jareth what demise meant when he heard a loud crashing noise behind him. Turning around his eyes widened as he saw a large drill like thing coming towards him, "What's that?!"
Jareth smirked and bend down next to Cole, "That... would be the cleaners... Now will you trust me?"
Cole gave a nod which Jareth took as a yes and so gave a simple order, "Jump."
Hearing the cleaners coming from behind, Cole jumped as far as he could.
"I hate this place!!!" Cole yelled as he neared the other side of the ravine only to be alarmed by the fact he had missed the ledge altogether and was falling down the ravine. Instinctively, he grabbed at the side of the wall for anything that could stop his fall. Finding nothing he closed his eyes as he awaited his rapidly coming death but only felt his hand being grabbed and being yanked up slightly. After slamming against the ravine's wall, he looked up and saw that the cleaners had driven into the ravine and was coming down at a rapid rate. Flattening himself against the wall, he watched as the cleaners fell past him quickly. Two figures jettisoned from the machine and floated down, bickering after they deployed their parachutes.
"Idiots," a voice commented next to Cole, "honestly I wouldn't be surprised if the term 'ignorant' was part of the Goblin species scientific name. For crying out loud...They had to go out of the species to find a decent ruler!"
Cole looked over at the ghost of Jareth in surprised. If he was there, then who was holding him from a gruesome death?
Jareth apparently saw the look of confusement on Cole and chuckled, "I may be a bit of a poltergeist but that doesn't mean I work miracles. Good thing this ravine is full of helping hands."
"Helping hands?," Cole repeated as he looked up and saw a withered, slimely looking gray hand covered in warts, holding him. "EW!"
"Now now... don't insult it," Jareth scolded with a smile, "Now the next part of the trip is easy..."
"Easy?! I have to climb out of this damn thing!"
"Would you rather hit those rocks down below? Be one big Shish-Cole-bob?," Jareth snapped back, "You don't have to climb anyway. Just tell the helping hand you want to go right."
Cole gave a suspicious look but then turned to the helping hand, "Ummm... could you take me to the right?" As Cole said that, several other hands appeared on the side of the mountain. Quickly Cole was passed hand to hand until he was pushed into a hole in the ravine wall. A door like structure closed behind him bathing him in the darkness.
"Great. NOW where am I?"
**********
Tristan looked around the castle in vain for Anya but was unable to find her. His thoughts drifting to Sarah, he wondered where she could ha e been moved, the dungeons' were too obvious..
He sighed. Even without the dungeons in his search, that would take more time than he had. Even if he did find her, they wouldn't allow him near her to help. He needed someone who could get close to her without raising suspicions.
He smiled as an idea of who came to mind...
Tristan rushed into the throne room and glared angrily at Anya. "Where are those guards taking her?," he sked quickly, skipping all formalities.
Anya, who wasn't at all surprised at his entrance simply gave him a slightly exhausted look. "Let me guess...this is about that Sarah," she commented with a frown, avoiding Tristan's glare... only looking up to see his nod, "Figures.. I was hoping you wouldn't find out."
Tristan looked at her curiously and persisted, "Where is she?"
"I can't tell you. Too much of a risk of you allowing her to leave."
"But what's wrong with that? She didn't do anything."
"Tristan, she killed the king," Anya started, "She has to answer to the laws of our world."
"But she didn't know!"
Anya glared at Tristan, seemingly loosing patience, "Tristan, she's lying to you... NO one could possibly be that stupid not to know what they did..."
Tristan shook his head. "She's telling the truth... I saw it in her eyes," he protested, "She even..."
"Tristan you don't know what you are saying," Anya interrupted, "She's a cruel-hearted, spoiled brat who wished an innocent child away! How can you trust someone like that?!"
Tristan took a breath, gritting his teeth, "And why are you so willing to believe her to be such a monster? She made a mistake... a stupid...idiotic one ... but a mistake nonetheless and you want to punish her still? Imprisoning her is not going to help bring Jareth back!"
At the mentioning of this, Anya snarled as she leapt up at Tristan and shoved him. Despite her size, Anya proved to be quite strong as Tristan found himself landing on the floor, looking up at her in surprised. Anya was far from happy.
"I guess the fact she killed a king doesn't matter," she vented, "Or the fact that the king happened to be my cousin!"
She looked like she could kill at that moment. What held her back was beyond Tristan's knowledge and he just looked at her as she hid her emotions of anger behind a mask of indifference once again. She picked up an unsealed letter from a small table and tossed it onto Tristan's chest. "Should you care... I wasn't the one who chose this," Anya said as she left the room, leaving a confused Tristan with the message.
Sitting up, Tristan unfolded the paper and read the message written inside. As he continued reading, he seemed to grow even more tense as his finger traced against the broken seal of the sender. When he was done reading, he tossed the letter to the floor as he scrambled to his feet in an effort to find his queen.
"Anya!"
**********
Cole watched as Jareth studied the ravine and smiled.
"So... How are we getting across?," Cole asked, "Jumping to the other side?"
Jareth nodded, "Something like that."
Cole pulled back and shook his head, "Oh no! I'm not about to jump off a perfectly good ledge!"
"Sure you are, "Jareth replied, "If you don't the cleaners will get you." He pat Cole on the back, "Don't worry about it. I'll jump with you to make sure you have the right timings."
"Oh that makes me feel better. If you mess up you're no worse off. I am!"
"Dammit Cole! You're as stubborn as your babysitter!," Jareth growled, "Personally I don't want my main form of communication with the living to get killed, but if you're so insistent on guaranteeing your demise then so be it!"
Cole was about to ask Jareth what demise meant when he heard a loud crashing noise behind him. Turning around his eyes widened as he saw a large drill like thing coming towards him, "What's that?!"
Jareth smirked and bend down next to Cole, "That... would be the cleaners... Now will you trust me?"
Cole gave a nod which Jareth took as a yes and so gave a simple order, "Jump."
Hearing the cleaners coming from behind, Cole jumped as far as he could.
"I hate this place!!!" Cole yelled as he neared the other side of the ravine only to be alarmed by the fact he had missed the ledge altogether and was falling down the ravine. Instinctively, he grabbed at the side of the wall for anything that could stop his fall. Finding nothing he closed his eyes as he awaited his rapidly coming death but only felt his hand being grabbed and being yanked up slightly. After slamming against the ravine's wall, he looked up and saw that the cleaners had driven into the ravine and was coming down at a rapid rate. Flattening himself against the wall, he watched as the cleaners fell past him quickly. Two figures jettisoned from the machine and floated down, bickering after they deployed their parachutes.
"Idiots," a voice commented next to Cole, "honestly I wouldn't be surprised if the term 'ignorant' was part of the Goblin species scientific name. For crying out loud...They had to go out of the species to find a decent ruler!"
Cole looked over at the ghost of Jareth in surprised. If he was there, then who was holding him from a gruesome death?
Jareth apparently saw the look of confusement on Cole and chuckled, "I may be a bit of a poltergeist but that doesn't mean I work miracles. Good thing this ravine is full of helping hands."
"Helping hands?," Cole repeated as he looked up and saw a withered, slimely looking gray hand covered in warts, holding him. "EW!"
"Now now... don't insult it," Jareth scolded with a smile, "Now the next part of the trip is easy..."
"Easy?! I have to climb out of this damn thing!"
"Would you rather hit those rocks down below? Be one big Shish-Cole-bob?," Jareth snapped back, "You don't have to climb anyway. Just tell the helping hand you want to go right."
Cole gave a suspicious look but then turned to the helping hand, "Ummm... could you take me to the right?" As Cole said that, several other hands appeared on the side of the mountain. Quickly Cole was passed hand to hand until he was pushed into a hole in the ravine wall. A door like structure closed behind him bathing him in the darkness.
"Great. NOW where am I?"
**********
Tristan looked around the castle in vain for Anya but was unable to find her. His thoughts drifting to Sarah, he wondered where she could ha e been moved, the dungeons' were too obvious..
He sighed. Even without the dungeons in his search, that would take more time than he had. Even if he did find her, they wouldn't allow him near her to help. He needed someone who could get close to her without raising suspicions.
He smiled as an idea of who came to mind...