Insert the usual disclaimer.
Golden Threads
Chapter 4: Learning
"Child, there is a great deal for me to teach you, but the rest of the world cannot be interfered with. We'll work on it when you get home tonight," Aurie said. Her voice was both ancient and childlike, wise and playful.
"But Aurie, there are so many questions!"
"You have a job, and school. People would begin to wonder where you had disappeared to," the cat began, but Sarah cut her off.
"What of all this gold and sliver on my skin! That would seem a bit odd, ya know," Sarah said harshly. She was worried. This insane evening ended with her talking to her cat, and then being told to go to work as if nothing had happened. Unfortunately, her skin had artwork on it, which was a tad be conspicuous in a coffee shop. Feline laughter chimed, an odd trilling sound.
"They're called disguises for a reason, dear. No time to teach you the glamour to hide it, so you'll have to wear the jewelry, instead," the cat said, matter of factly. Confused, Sarah watched as the cat jumped to the old jewelry box, again. She pulled two small bracelets from the box; one silver, and one gold. Sarah was a little confused by the bracelets. She had never seen them before. They were lovely, really, visions of delicacy and intricately woven. Curiously, she clasped one on each wrist. The patterns on her skin began to fade, and after a brief moment, the bracelets glowed, and things looked normal.
"Too strange," Sarah said, "First, I get all shiny and glowy, and my cat talks, and now my jewelry box is an endless source of wondrous adornments. I think I need a shower." Aurie chortled at her sarcasm, as Sarah picked up a towel from her closet and headed towards the bathroom. Sarah turned the water on a bit warmer than usual, and scrubbed herself under the steaming hot water. She let the spray hit her face, the water's pressure seeming to drain away the strangeness of her situation. She wrapped herself in the large towel and made her way to her bedroom vanity to put on her makeup before work. She put in her contacts, and then realized that she couldn't see with them in. It was strange. She took them back out and could see as clear as anything. Having been nearly blind since birth, it seemed like a miracle. She turned to look at Aurie, who seemed to smile in response.
"Sarah," she said, "you're still wearing the necklace and bracelets, your vision is fine with magic. I'm sure we'll discuss it tonight. Now get dressed, you need to get off to work!"
"One minute, I need to make myself look a bit more human," Sarah said, turning to her mirror. She smoothed some lotion into her skin, and then took a good look. Usually, she needed to do the usual of plucking a few stray brows and using quite a bit of makeup. Her odd sleeping habits gave her daily deep dark circles under her eyes. Today, though, she wouldn't need anything at all. "Whoa, I look great! But I usually don't do the delicate feminine thing, why can't magic make me more punk?"
"Hah! This is the starting point," Aurie said, "you only need to really imagine how you want to look today to make it happen. This is how you wish you looked every time you woke up, right?"
"So true," Sarah replied, "let's try this out." She moved her hands across her face, thinking of the way that her makeup usually looked for work. Striking black eyeliner, shining greens and browns, like a dragonfly for eyeshadow, and luscious lashes, which were naturally hers. Her lips were soft and slightly shiny. She looked fantastic. She tossed on her work clothes, the slightly baggy black pants, and tight colorful tank top under the black t-shirt. Cute, she thought, I'm a little punk...or a lot. Satisfied, she went to blow dry her hair and brush her teeth, only to find that her work was far more effective than usual. She threw on her earrings and beaded necklace. "Aurie," she said, "these bracelets don't really fit the look, can I disguise them, too?"
"Works like your makeup," the cat said tiredly. So, Sarah imagined a really pretty punk picture she had seen a while back. Looking down, she was wearing thick leather bands on her wrists, one with silver patterns, one with gold. With a slight giggle, she ran downstairs to grab some toast for breakfast, the cat close behind.
"I'll do my best to be normal today, ok?" She said.
"Yes, good plan, girlie," Aurie said. "Don't get too tired, today. We'll be doing lessons tonight."
"Oy," Sarah groaned, "Okay, but when do I get to sleep?" She was answered with only a giggle from the cat, which seemed an odd sound in the first place. With that, Sarah rushed off to work.
Jareth sat in his study, facing his adviser. "You've returned from Zandam early, Kaltar."
"Indeed, sire, the council appointed a new observer to the Aboveground, and I felt that you would prefer a personal account."
"Proceed," Jareth said, impatiently. He wanted to return to solving the problem of contact with Sarah, but had to complete his duties to his kingdom.
"Sire, my daughter was chosen. She leaves for the Aboveground at dawn."
"Her position there?"
"She will be with the young adults, sire. She will attend one of their Universities, a place for higher education."
"Kaltar, she was there a few months ago. Why are they reusing the observers?"
"Sire, only these two are being continually reused. The Ladies of Taire and Miled have secured themselves well trusted and influential positions. They are in the same mortal city as the girl you watch," the shorter man said. At this, the king perked up considerably.
"Really?"
"Indeed, my own daughter attends a class with her."
"And the pixie?"
"Holds employment at the same, ahem, establishment."
"An interesting revelation, Kaltar, how is it that I have not noticed this coincidence?"
"The council strips them of all but the most basic magics. Things are provided for them, but they cannot conjure or cast for themselves. It was one of the edicts passed in council two years ago."
" I see, makes some sense, I suppose," the king said, thoughtfully. "Though I admit that sending two fairly influential Ladies into the Aboveground stripped of their magic seems a risky gamble for information."
"Yes, sire," Kaltar said, pulling a seat out at the king's hand gesture. "The council has noticed something that I believe you might have noticed, yourself. Magic is not dead in the mortal realm."
"Indeed."
"Ptah believes the ancient bloodlines have somehow been activated, sire," he said, "The librarian attempted to contact Fu, Lu, and Shou, but they won't respond. This, as you well know from previous experience with the girls, means that they are most likely up to something."
"They activated it," Jareth said, thinking, "they're the only ones who could have. Aboveground mortals require descendants from each of the magical lines to live at the same time to activate their magic. Tiny little Fu took the amulets from the dead mothers after the Third Battle of Magh Tuiredh, just before Separation."
"And," Kaltar said, "the magic they had requires balance. It cannot work if only one or two of the lines exists. All five lines must live at once, and all five lines must have relatively pure royal blood, and..." Jareth interrupted.
"They must all be female."
After a fairly tedious day working around coffee and food all day, Sarah returned home exhausted. Having managed to nearly forget about her odd night and early morning, she immediately flopped onto her bed with a groan. Her muscles were screaming for some sleep. She had managed to relax enough to nearly fall asleep when a heavy weight dropped itself into the middle of her belly.
"Oof! dammit, Aurie, what was that for?"
"Forgotten about our lessons already, Sarah?" The sliding, whispering voice of the cat came to her. "We have much to accomplish."
"I'm so tired, though," Sarah complained. "I didn't sleep last night, and classes start tomorrow!"
"You will rest enough tonight, girl," Aurie chided, "If we start now, you'll be asleep well before midnight." Groaning, Sarah got off of her bed, changing into something more comfortable than her work clothes. Jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. She curled her legs up under her on the sofa in her room, and lit a cigarette.
"I'm assuming we talk first," Sarah said after a drag.
"Indeed, little girl, please pay close attention, though. It will all be important to you later."
With that beginning, a long evening of the discussion of Earth's magical history began. Hours went by, Sarah absorbing as much as she felt she could. She learned of wars that raged across many lands, only to be recorded as mythology in her people's tales. Aurie told her of races that she had never even heard of in the popular stories. She learned of the Nefaireacks and the Nosse, of the Tuatha De Danann and Formorians. Aurie did not have every bit of information possible. She knew the basics though, and then imparted another vital bit. Her family, somewhere, was in possession of a set of books that would be needed to reach her full potential as a magic wielder. The knowledge and history contained would be priceless in their aid of understanding. The Books of the Dun Coe.
"By all the powers in existence," Jareth breathed.
"Oh, wow," echoed Kaltar.
"Contact Ptah," the king said, standing quickly, "he will wish to know about this. The Books survive, and are Aboveground."
"On my way, sire," he said, standing. He drew a small silver wand and drew a circle on the ground, etching a letter on each side. He stepped onto the circle and muttered to himself quietly. Light rose from the floor, and with a shimmering flash, Kaltar was transported to Zandam. Such is the way of Milesian travel, thought the king, though I do prefer the theatrics of my crystals. With that thought, he conjured another crystal to watch the brunette beauty and her raven cat. She was digging through an old wooden box picking out incense sticks and cautiously sniffing them under the watchful eye of the cat.
"Honestly, Aurie, this incense is ancient. It can't possibly do what you say it does, "Sarah was saying, "besides, it doesn't even smell like myrrh."
"It's not myrrh," Aurie said quietly, "just find the one that smells the most like it."
"Kay, I think this one smells more like it than the others, but it still smells a bit like amber," Sarah said, laying a stick in front of the cat. Aurie sniffed at the stick as well.
"Good, this is the correct one. You will need the small dagger from this morning, as well as a length of white ribbon."
Placing the stick in it's holder, Sarah sat on her floor cushion with the ribbon, looking expectantly at the cat. Following instructions, she tied one length of ribbon around each hand, and one across her eyes after lighting the incense. She picked up the tiny dagger, cutting a very small mark on the end of her finger while whispering the words that Aurie had given her. She placed a drop of blood on her lips, and then pressed some at the base of the incense stick. The air around her began to swirl with the misty smoke. Everything began dancing. The visions didn't attack her like they had in the past, but seemed to focus in as she concentrated on them. It seemed a blessing to be able to control the disorientation. She focused and began.
The small hands from before...weaving and sewing. The skin looked like molten caramel. The tiny woman came into view. Black hair with streaks of red and gold. Blue markings in the center of her forehead. She looked like she was a mix of every race on earth. High cheekbones, soft curls, and a generous mouth. Her eyes...they looked vaguely Asiatic, but had no color. They glowed with a soft light that seemed to shift and swirl. Thin draping fabric hung from her hips, held by a low-slung copper belt. The same fabric crossed her chest, connecting to a matching copper collar, with a single black stone set in the center. Sarah's mind formed the name, 'Fu'. The figure actually replied to this, leaning towards the vision-Sarah. 'Not for you, yet, seek other visions.'
Sarah felt herself being pulled inward, into the center of herself. She focused on seeing what she could. The shining string, her soul string floated before her. It looked vaguely feather-like, floating there. She was surrounded by a white mist. Robed figures stepped from the mist. "Who are you," she whispered.
"We are you, each of us. We help make you who you are." Flickering images could be seen through the mist. She headed towards one, and found the place with the strange stone, like opals. The sea could be seen through an open archway, and a quiet breeze blowing. Dark orchids hung from the arch's keystone. She looked towards the sea, and saw great creatures walking in the surf, a good distance from the land. Dark skinned, some were blue, some green, some black. All had thick black hair. They would have looked like giant men and women, but their shoulders seemed impossibly wide, and their hips and legs impossibly small. She turned, and saw great trunks of belongings being locked and transported. A cat jumped atop one trunk exclaiming, "Sieara, it is time for us to leave. The age of Separation is upon us." She watched as the dark creatures slipped into the sea, splashing and singing in sorrowful voices. She set herself into her ship, holding the sweet white cat as they sailed away from the opal palace. Before her eyes, a shimmering light surrounded the isle that had been her home, and the entire land began to descend. "They go under the Earth to the Underworld," her vision self said.
"Nay," the cat whispered, "their leaders called it the Underground."
Author's Note: I know my chapters aren't terribly long, but I'm really enjoying writing this little story! I've actually started doing quite a bit of research on mythology to make things fit well together. Thank you to Not Human and to SilverWing02 for the reviews. I promise to try to fit some JS interaction in the next chapter or two, but school starts this week.