CHAPTER 12

She needed to get back to the inn and get the coins in her locket. They went down the street back the way they came. They passed a bakery. Sarah went in and looked at the cookies and pastry. She got a bag of two dozen cookies and ten different pastries.

They took their stuff back to the inn and went to their room and locked the door. Sarah took off her cloak, put the pastry on the bed and Azrael on the floor with a ball and rolled it. He wobbled and chased it. Sarah dumped 290 pieces of gold into her locket making 9730 gold in it. Sarah slipped one gold in Brie's coin purse on her belt. Brie grinned.

Brie said, "I don' know why ye give me money when ye buy me everything."

Sarah said, "Because I don't want you to feel I wouldn't think you deserve your own money to spend. I would not deny you anything you truly need or may want. You know, a lot of this money is yours too. Maybe I'll hold on to some for when you grow up and want to do something with it like buy or build a house. Maybe you'll have your own family some day. I don't know. You will always be my little one I love though."

Brie sat down next to Sarah and put her head on her shoulder and said, "I be grateful ye found me an nobody else did. I love ye, Sar."

Sarah said, "I love you too, baby girl."

—--

A kingdom away, Jareth was bored and decided to look in on Sarah and watch. She was with that human child. He yelled out, "WHAT IN BLAZES IS SHE DOING BEING FAE!!!"

—--

Brie asked Sarah, "Sar, ye ever been in love?"

Sarah sighed, "No, I was infatuated once when I was young. He was very handsome, but too much older for me at the time. He offered to be with me, but it wasn't the right time. I was too immature and didn't understand. I was scared and suffered anxiety when he was around. He was very arrogant and manipulative. It was a stressful time. Ever since then my life has been kinda dreary and lonely, but he won't bend anymore than I can."

Brie pouted and said, "Don' be sad, Sar. We be sisters now an I love ye." Sarah smiled and caressed her face.

Sarah said, "Yes, I have you and a little wild thing sitting on my foot. They giggled. Sarah scooped up the pup and cuddled him. She said, "You are a little wild thing, Azrael." She kissed and cuddled him. Sarah got up and grabbed the little bottle of meat milk and shook it and poured some in Azrael's bowl and he went to town eating. Sarah and Brie ate a cookie and a pastry. Sarah was licking her fingers.

—--

Jareth was watching her lick her fingertips and was getting heated up. He thought, 'I want her in my kingdom badly. She was so beautiful before but now, she has changed into a fae and that dark hair. No faes have dark hair. It makes her sexy and exotic. I wonder if it's just her appearance or if she can use magic? I did give her the wish power, but I gave her that to bring her back to me. Seems she never used it to my dismay. She is my match and I want her badly. How did this happen that she is fae, it's so peculiar? I want my healer to examine her and find out what happened.' He popped the crystal.

—--

Brie said, "I think our lunch be spoiled."

Sarah said, "A little bit of sweets are good for your soul. It makes you smile." Sarah nudged and bumped Brie with her shoulder. Brie looked at her. Sarah grabbed another cookie and grinned. Brie did too.

Sarah selected twelve more pieces of jewelry, two bejeweled daggers in silver and put them in the leather pouch. She and Brie went downstairs to get a wine and see if there was a different jeweler to sell too. Sarah talked to a fae that came in and he thought she was lovely. He gave her directions to a jeweler ten blocks away in a different place. Sarah and Brie set out to go there.

This jeweler was a thirty looking human man. He looked at her pieces and the two daggers and offered her 360 gold Sarah agreed. He counted it out to her in stacks. Sarah put it in the bag. Sarah and Brie made a beeline back to the inn. They went up to the room and Sarah dumped the 360 into the locket making it 10080 gold in the locket.

Throughout the week, Sarah and Brie took the horses to sell the jewelry and four bejeweled daggers all over the city until it was almost all gone. Sarah looked into any magical jewelry. She found a self-protection ring that protected her from physical attacks. She bought it for Brie. It was a small gold ruby ring with a pair of tiny diamonds on each side.

She put it on Brie's finger and said, "Nobody can hurt you physically with this ring on. You must never take it off no matter whatever happens. Nobody will be able to do what Dirtball did to you ever again. When I find one that protects you from magic, I will get you one of them too. Ok, baby girl?" Brie tackled Sarah in a fierce hug and started crying. Sarah petted her head, sitting down and rocked her in her arms.

Brie cried saying, "I love ye so much, Sar. Ye take care of me an I feel safe now I be with ye."

Sarah said, "It's all I want for you."

Sarah felt better that most of the jewelry was liquidated. She would try to get rid of the rest in Loch Criostail the next city they were in she only had a much smaller bag left of it. She had 11,119 gold in the locket now.

On their last day of being in the city, Sarah dumped everything out of her locket and bagged up the 1200 copper and the 1740 in silver, but put the gold back in. It was all worth 186 gold. She split each in two equal amounts of 93 gold values of half the copper and half the silver each. She wrote two letters to the two innkeeper brothers that she and Brie had made friends with during this whole week. They both agreed to share with them. Sarah wanted to leave them with something to help them out with their inn. She didn't want the coin of lower value and she and Brie were blessed with more than enough.

—--Day 45

The morning came to leave and the roads were cleared on the mountain to Crúb at the top. Sarah and Brie were back in their men's clothing and went down to breakfast concealed. They each had a bag and a half of coins on the bed upstairs with the two letters. Willem and Thaniel had the cook and maid watch the counter while they helped bring down Sarah and Brie's baggage to the horses. While in the room, Sarah knew they both had rooms and lived in the inn. She gave them each the two bags each and the letters to each of them.

Sarah said, "Brie and I agreed to help both of you equally. There is a value of 93 gold in each of your two bags of silver and of coppers. Brie and I have been blessed and now we want to pass some to you. The letter is for each of you and how glad we can call you friends. Thank you for a pleasant stay and finding new good memories. The brothers were speechless. They each hugged the girls.

Thaniel said, "This be tha nicest gift anyone be ever given us. Ye both be fine an generous ladies an we be missin' and wishin' ye well an safe journeys."

Willem was choked up and said, "Thank ye both fer thinkin' bout' us. Ye be careful and come back anytime. I be wantin' ta teach Brie chess next time." The girls smiled.

The men locked their bags and letters in their rooms and brought down the baggage with the girls. Sarah had Azrael in his bag on her hip with a soft thick flannel piece of fabric to cover him or to cuddle with. It was still a little big but he will grow. The girls waved goodbye to the men and headed west to the mountain. It was very cold and sunny but crisp in the snow, but they were warm in their double layered clothes. Once they were out of town Sarah put the bag with Azrael on the inside of her cloak and covered them both up with him sitting between her legs on the saddle in front of her. It was more comfortable and kept him warmer.

They started the incline of the mountain trail that zigzagged up the mountain. Sarah watched the road and had Brie follow behind. They got to the top at dusk and it was even colder with the dark sky and the altitude. Sarah unloaded and walked into the inn. She saw a male dwarven innkeeper. The place was full of fae, dwarves and humans. They all seem to be mixing and talking.

She said lowly, "May I get a room for a week, please?" He looked at her hard and said, "one gold a night, meals seven coppers, drinks three coppers. Room five." Sarah put down seven gold. He gave her a key. She took her bags to the room, dropped them and put Azrael on the bed in his bag. Sarah locked up and got Brie and the bags in the room and locked them in.

Sarah went and boarded the horses for one silver a night. The blacksmith was a thirty looking fae. The place was expensive but it was isolated and they had to make their money somehow. Sarah unsaddled the horses and patted them and brushed them quickly down. She headed back to the inn.

She went up to the room and Brie had laid out their night clothes and put the blankets on the bed and had a fire going in the room. Sarah noticed the room had heavy curtains and bedding with more wood stacked up on the sides of the fireplace. Sarah knew, being the winters were harsh up here, she figured they needed it. Sarah got Azrael's bowl and poured thicker meat gruel into it. He was six weeks old now and getting much cuter and bigger. His ears were standing up and he was getting his incisor teeth. His fur was filling in nicely and he weighs at least over 10 pounds now and is growing like a weed. She had him on a leash already. He liked the snow his first time playing with Brie in the snow he dove face first into a snow pile and peed in it. Sarah didn't let him stay out long and brought him back inside. She knew he needed to venture out more but she didn't want him to get sick being it's so cold now and he's so young still.

Sara had a little light piece of rope with a clip for his collar and a loop for a handle tied on it. She clipped his collar and the girls both went down with their hoods down to eat. The innkeeper was surprised that they both were females and one a fae. He had never seen a female fae with dark hair or traveling as a man with a young little human girl and a black wolf pup with her.

It went silent when everyone stopped and stared at the pair with the little wolf pup as they sat down at the counter together. Brie took Sarah's hand because she got nervous with so many eyes on them.

Sarah asked the innkeeper, "May we have two dinners and wine, please?" She put down two silver. He nodded and poured them wine and got them both plates of roasted venison, potatoes, carrots and chard.

—--

Jareth was watching Sarah and her human girl again.

—--

Sarah and Brie ignored the people watching them and they began to start talking again. Azrael started to whimper sitting on the floor so Sarah scooped him up and sat him in her lap and continued to eat. Sarah said, "Azrael you had your dinner, this is mine."

The dwarf innkeeper asked, "Where ya buy the little pup? I hear they are pricey."

Sarah said, "I didn't buy him. I saved him from death. A man destroyed his mother and two littermates. The mother killed the man before she died. He crushed the two pups and this one must have been able to be thrown clear."

The innkeeper said, "That was fortunate you just happened to be there." Azrael tried to howl and it went all wonky. He said, "GrrWhooo… *whimper*" The innkeeper smiled at the pup.

Sarah laughed and said, "I was camping overnight and heard the fight in the night but didn't find out what it was until light." Sarah took a little piece of potato with juice on it and let him eat it out of her hand. He licked and nibbled it down.

He asked, "How did you get him up here on horseback?"

Sarah said, "I had a fur lined bag with a strap that goes around me and my shoulder. I turned it inside out to keep him warm and in front of me on the saddle with my cloak around him."

The innkeeper said, "That is a smart way to do it."

Sarah and Brie were finishing their meal and a dishwater blonde fae man sat down next to Sarah. He said, "I don't mean to be rude but, where are you from? I have never seen a dark haired pretty fae like you before."

Sarah turned and looked at him emotionlessly as the innkeeper watched. Sarah said, "I'm from a very far far away place. That's why I talk differently too."

The fae said, "Do all your people have dark hair? You are quite lovely. Is this little human girl your servant?"

Sarah said, "Not all, thanks. My little girl is no servant." Brie took her hand letting her know she was done. Sarah stood up and said, "Have a good evening." She took Brie by the hand and she held Azrael in the other. She went upstairs.

The innkeeper said, "I think you insulted her about the human child being a servant."

The fae stretched out his legs and said, "I would love to taste her. She is very pretty without any makeup too."

The innkeeper said, "Something tells me, I would be counting on it, Jassin." The fae man shrugged and went back to his table.

—--

Jareth was pissed that the fae was trying to charm Sarah, but she did ignore him. She was actually insulted about the child being a servant. What does this child mean to her? Why does she care so deeply for her?

—--

Sarah and Brie got settled in the room with a chair under it. They got undressed and took turns in a hot bath and washed their hair and clothes. Sarah put out Azrael's leather balls and rolled them around so he could attack them. Sarah had the clothesline up and the clothes drying, as well as their hair.

—--

Jareth enjoyed watching her naked body when she bathed. She was filled out perfectly with such muscle tone. He got hard watching her soap and smooth her skin. Yes, he couldn't wait to taste her beautiful body. He popped the crystal. Jareth knew that Sarah was different and he realized she had convictions. He needed to be careful when it came to her because she was a human in a fae body. She may look fae but not of like mind like most fae.

—--

Sarah brushed Brie's long hair. She loved Sarah doing that. It reminded her of how her mother used to do that for her. Brie closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling.

Brie asked, "Sar, were tha fae man flirtin'?

Sarah said, "I think he was."

Brie asked, "Did ye like it."

Sarah said, "No, I didn't like him asking if you were my servant, no matter how many compliments and flattery he used."

Brie said, "They don' understand us, Sar. They be thinkin' everone' be lower."

Sarah said, "Well, we are both better people than to treat someone like they don't have value. To me you're priceless." Sarah kissed her cheek.

Brie and Azrael slept snuggled up to Sarah. Brie had been doing that every night since Eireaball when the man scared her coming in to steal. It affected her quite a bit even putting chairs under doors. Here she was trying to help a traumatized child and that bastard set her back.