Wow, I was so surprised to see everyone's reviews! The last time I had anything posted a remember feeling lucky to get 4 or 5 and here you guys sent me over twenty! I hope this chapter meets your expectations. There's a lot to explain, especially with my idea of how magic works. If you have questions, please ask in a review and I'll do my very best to explain it to you either in the next or upcoming chapters or in a note posted with a chapter. I haven't proofed this yet either, so forgive the mistakes, word says its clear and I've been typing for three hours so I'm in the mood to post! Tell me what you think! Ideas welcome. I have no plan for this story other than to continue. Gomen for the late post!
Predawn light shifted on the horizon as Sarah watch the scenery fly past in her window. Merlin lay on the back seat occasionally sitting up to peer out the window as well. Merlin loved car rides and did exceptionally well on long trips to the joy of his entire human family. It meant they could bring their beloved pet with them on weekend trips more often.
Sarah was just grateful to have the comfort of her big shaggy dog with her, especially as conversation in the car was shaky at best. Sarah didn't know what to ask. She barely knew what was going on. Her father didn't want to frighten her or delve into complicated matters. The fact was, everything in their lives was now complicated and he didn't know where to start. He would answer any questions Sarah had as best he could, but he felt it would be better coming from his parents. His parents were experts in complicated matters.
The road turned into a thicket of trees and Sarah could no longer see the horizon. "We're almost there, Sarah." He father announced, just as the road turned from paved to fine gravel. Merlin began pacing the backseat. Her father seemed sympathetic to the dog. "It's alright Merlin, you'll get used to it."
Used to what? Sarah wondered until her the hairs on her arms began to stand on end. She sensed something in the air, but as soon as she tried to hone in on it, her head felt like it had been smashed into a wall. She rubbed at her temples. Her father looked at her worriedly. "You alright, Sarah? You look pale."
She nodded. "What's with this place?"
"You're probably just sensing the aura for the first time. Its best to try to ignore it. Merlin's having trouble with it, too." He explained. His heart pounded, he'd sensed her trying to reach for the magic surrounding his parent's estate. He hadn't expected her to have enough control to touch circle magic yet, or he'd have warned her. The headache would likely stick with her throughout the day now. A sense of pride and foreboding swept over him. Sarah would be full of surprises, he realized. None of the family had gone so long without the formal training, not in centuries. Now, without any training, Sarah had escaped a legend, not just with her own life, but with the life of another. There would be a price for her to pay, he knew. Magic always exacted a price. A more intriguing lesson of magic, however, indicated even more in Sarah. Magic, powerful magic, chooses those who will access it, unlock it, empower it. Sarah had been chosen specifically to confront the legendary maze of powerful monsters and magic. He grit his teeth in anger. And his parents had given his little girl the gateway.
Sarah gasped as wrought iron gates swung open for the vehicle and misty lawns with artfully trimmed hedges stretched across her view. She could see stables to the east and greenhouses to the west. And in front of her, stood a grand palace of a home. A huge fountain greeted arrivals who drove around the flowing waterscape in a wide circle to the front entryway, a grand marble stoop with lovely cherry stained double doors carved with scenes right out of her fairytale books. Sarah turned excitedly to her father. "This is where you grew up!"
Her father smiled at her, happy that she was embracing this part of him. "Yes, I guess so. It didn't seem as exciting when I was a child."
The front door opened to reveal a woman dressed in black leggings and a black, long sleeved shirt with a simple white over dress that flowed halfway down her calves, split on either side up to her thighs, and laced across her back. A white string barely held her pile of dark tresses atop her head in a messy bun with red-tipped black feathers dangling down in various places. Her tanned skin made her look exotic, but not so much as her high cheekbones and dark, almond shaped eyes.
Sarah and her father got out of the car and Sarah leashed Merlin. Richard started up the marble stairs, Sarah following with the dog. The exotic woman smiled. "Welcome back Master Williams"
"So formal Deirdre?" Richard asked, hugging the woman. She smiled and stepped from his embrace. "The Lady asked it of me. I think she wishes to make an impression on her granddaughter." She looked to Sarah who stood with Merlin, awestruck by the massive house.
"Sarah, this Deirdre FallingStar." Richard introduced.
Sarah stood awkwardly until Deirdre snatched her up in a warm hug. "Oh child, you look so much like your parents." The woman cooed. Sarah blushed but Deirdre ignored it and took her free hand in her own rough palm. "Come, we have to sort you out. Richard, Christopher wanted to speak with you as soon as possible. Regina said I could take Sarah around the house and when you're done speaking with Christopher we will all meet and discuss the rest together." she explained briskly, clearly dropping the formalities. She pulled Sarah inside and unclipped Merlin's leash. "Go through the kitchen, dog, and be quick relieving yourself. Sarah needs you close right now."
Merlin woofed and padded off down a hallway, seeming to obey Deirdre's command. The woman turned to Richard who still stood with them. "Off with you, Richard. You're worse than your daughter's pet!"
Richard shook his head in defeat and started up a grand staircase. "Deirdre, you never change." He commented as he trudged up the stairs. "Good luck, Sarah!"
Sarah suddenly felt very overwhelmed and quite alone. Deirdre giggled lightly at the sick color on her face. "Don't look so nauseated, Sarah. I don't bite" Deirdre assured. "much" she added with a wink. "Look, people here won't give you the time of day unless you're firm and confident with them. The sooner you learn that, the better."
Sarah nodded accepting and storing the bit of information. "So what exactly are doing until we meet with the others?" Sarah asked tentatively.
Deirdre smiled warmly. "I'm going to show you around the house, and hopefully explain some basics about your unique situation to you." The woman started walking in the direction Merlin took. "For starters, besides knowing the name of people, its beneficial to you to know their class and relative level. For example, your father is a Life class, many don't know his actual level b/c Life magic isn't exactly considered useful to the high classes, but he's actually one of the most powerful Life mages in the realms. You follow so far?"
Sarah nodded. She understood the gist, but a few things remained unclear. "So, class is like...magic type and level is power?"
Deirdre nodded in affirmation. "Exactly! Do you know the classes?"
"I'm afraid not" Sarah admitted. "And how would I tell class and level without being told?"
Deirdre gave Sarah an excited half hug. "Oh, you pick up quick! You're getting ahead of yourself though! Usually a mage will wear a crest in plain view of his or her class. Power is something you have to look for with your own magical senses, but don't try it yet. We haven't sorted out your class or circled you for learning. We'll get to that later. The classes are Wild, Natural, Element, Spirit, Celestial, Life, Light, Shadow, eight all together. Some scholars and philosophers think there are other classes, but they apply mainly to other species and can be related to the magic classes identified and manifested in humans. Actually wild magic isn't even typically associated with human control."
Sarah took in this new information, hoping to remember it all. She barely realized it, but as Deirdre explained the classes of magic and the associated abilities, Sarah also learned the lay of the house. The place was enormous with sitting rooms, offices, a two story ballroom, a huge library, study rooms, music rooms, game rooms, an indoor pool and gym, a sparring room, a massive galley kitchen with industrial sized freezer and refrigerator, three dining rooms that could seat fifty, living quarters for over a hundred people and even an observation deck on the roof where they met her father, Karen, who'd only just arrived, and her grandparents, Regina and Christopher.
Regina and Karen sipped tea conversationally while Christopher and her father regarded the property. She noticed the men wore riding gear, and had clearly taken to horseback earlier that day, while the women looked comfortably relaxed in turtleneck sweaters and blue jeans as if they'd been sitting there all day. Deirdre announced their presence and Karen and Regina rose to hug her. Regina pulled back and appraised her granddaughter. "Oh, you're so beautiful my little Sarah! Have you been getting my gifts? I do hope you like the outfits. I wasn't sure you'd like them with all the new fashion fads out right now?"
Sarah smiled. "I loved them, Gran! I wore them often. I didn't bring any with me though."
"That's alright, I can easily make more!" Regina announced. Christopher gently pulled her back so he could have his chance to fawn over Sarah.
"Have you been reading the books I've sent?" He asked, his deep voice commanding yet endearing. Sarah hugged him. "You know I have!" she said. "Oh they were wonderful!"
"I understand one got you into quite the fix?" He asked, eyes shining with pride. Richard had told him what he knew, and Christopher couldn't be more proud that his granddaughter matched a powerful fae monarch.
Sarah sighed, remembering her predicament. "Apparently."
Regina stepped in, hoping to lift Sarah's spirits. "Oh, don't worry, dear! The estate is circled. You're safe here. Now is a time to celebrate! You're going to be learning so much!"
Sarah smiled gratefully. "That's what Deirdre said. She said we have to do a spell to find out in which class exactly I am gifted, and then my appointed tutor would have to place a circle of protection around me so that while I'm learning I cannot harm myself or any other."
Regina nodded the affirmative. "Well, we're ready if you would like to find out your class right now?"
Sarah nodded and Regina led her to the center of the observation deck where a circle of black granite lay embedded in the floor, surrounded by alabaster tiles. Around the circle, evenly spaced, someone had drawn on the white tiles unfamiliar symbols with thick pigments, each a different color. Karen handed her a white cushion from one of the chairs she had sat on and motioned for Sarah to kneel. Deirdre took the other cushion and knelt across from Sarah. Christopher placed a silver bowl between them and a simple, but sharp looking dagger with symbols etched on the flat of the blade. Merlin, who'd joined them after Sarah and Deirdre toured the kitchen, sat impatiently by Richard. Only Sarah and Deirdre remained in the circle and Deirdre smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry Sarah. I am Deirdre Fallingstar, born under the heavens protection and faith. I am a celestial mage sent to guide you on your path. You are in good hands, Sarah for I have known you for a very long time."
Sarah sat stunned at Deirdre's words but the mage simply smiled and lifted her hands to the sky. She called out a thrumming chant and Sarah felt the air suddenly thicken with power. The symbols on the tiles burst to life with light and created a shield around them. Sarah focused back to Deirdre, who's eyes were glowing with power. She now held the bowl up between them and light trickled down from nowhere into it, blending colors into white liquid. She set the bowl down, gently and took Sarah's hand. "Powers the be, shine truth on this spell. Show us the magic hidden in this, your child. Let us who are blind see truth and light. I offer you the requirement, power and blood." That said, she quickly pierced Sarah's hand all the way through the palm with the dagger. Sarah barely felt the pain as something more than just blood rushed from the opening. The light in the bowl consumed the crimson liquid, but the light from Sarah's wound flooded the dagger. The light of power flowing from Sarah didn't ebb like the blood. Instead it pulsed and when the dagger could contain it no more, it flared and surrounded Sarah in brilliant light.
She saw the Labyrinth, as though it were in one of Jareth's crystals. The maze twisted on itself, writhed like a living thing. She could see Jareth, in authoritative black clothing working desperately to contain something. He had only succeeded in calming the area around the castle and Goblin City. The maze, one beautiful and exhilarating to her now seemed a frightening menace. Why couldn't he control it? Why was it backlashing against him? Had she caused this terrible unrest?
With sickening velocity the imagery changed, removed her from the underground and spun her into a bright place, out of doors, on a rooftop. She realized she lay on the cold stone floor, her father cradling her head. She felt exhilarated but shaky, like an overboiled noodle.
"Sarah, are you alright?" her father's concerned voice asked.
Sarah took a deep breath. "That didn't happen right, did it?" she asked.
He smiled, knowing Sarah was just fine. "Not exactly."
Merlin licked her face and she laughed and sat up with her father's help. "So did it still work?"
Richard wondered the same. When the spell collapsed and Sarah hadn't been conscious and he saw the hole in her hand, he nearly panicked. He instantly focused his attention on Sarah and ensuring her safety, reaching out with tendrils of soothing, healing magic. He hadn't noticed the others' initial reactions to the information on the blade, and eagerly awaited the news.
Karen handed her the dagger with a smile. "You certainly are full of surprises, Sarah, but it worked."
The dagger's symbols were gone, mostly. Two of the original eight remained, but Sarah didn't know what it meant. Deirdre gave her a grave look. "Sarah, you possess two classes of magic." Her father seemed surprised and all but Karen looked unsettled. Thanks to Deirdre, Sarah knew that in humans, only one class of magic usually manifested, but many of considerable power could study to gain the lower level abilities of other classes. Sarah accepted that maybe because her power had so much time to grow, she had developed two kinds. "So what classes am I?" She asked impatiently.
"Spirit and Wild" Deirdre announced. Richard choked on something, likely air and Karen patted his back.
Sarah looked bewildered. "That can't be right. You said humans couldn't control wild magic because the blood price." Sarah exclaimed addressing Deirdre.
The other woman sighed deeply. "Child, you can exist without a body. With no body, there is no blood price." Sarah tried to grasp the implications. "You're already tapping your power, Sarah. You astral projected when your power escaped control. It was your blood that made the wild magic explode. You've probably been restless lately, and that's why. You'd been building magic that needed a release. The wild magic triggered the expulsion of your soul from your body and guided it somewhere. Wherever you went, your wild magic is drawing you there. It's very important that you learn what it is the wild magic is calling on you for. To go against your nature will surely rend you. Do you know where you went?" Deirdre asked, trying to convey the importance.
Sarah sat, stunned with all that had just been placed upon her shoulders. She hadn't expected so much in so short a time. The thought about Deirdre's question and weather or not she needed to alarm them further. "Sarah, please. We need to know where you went so we can deal with whatever it is your power is calling on you to do." Christopher implored. Richard gave her shoulder a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Merlin's head rested in her lap. Regina and Karen gave her comforting looks and Deirdre remained calm and impassive.
It occurred to Sarah that she barely knew these people. Deirdre seemed to know so much, but Sarah recalled her comments before invoking the spell. Deirdre knew her, but how? And her grandparents had known her without meeting her. They sent her stunningly fitting gifts from miles away, rarely seeing or hearing from her. Her father had only just told her of a massive secret and plunged her into a world full of frightening and wonderful things when Sarah had been dreaming up fairytale worlds for years. Karen...her stepmother had tried to help Sarah in so many ways, but blundered hopelessly because Sarah never let her close enough to know her.
An image of Jareth's face plunged icily into her mind. His brow beaded with sweat, set sternly in concentration as he fought to stabilize a now raging Labyrinth. His mismatched eyes bored into her imagination. His lips formed her name and she knew he needed her to tame the roiling beast of stone and earth.
She returned to herself, shaking her head. "I have to go back to the Labyrinth." she announced, shoving to her feet and fleeing the observation deck.. She needed some time to think.
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