Chapter 4
Mara gets Company
Over two months had now passed since the boys had teleported themselves into the Labyrinth and Jareth had taken away their magical powers. Peace and tranquility had returned to the castle and the Labyrinth Kingdom. Sarah didn't miss the constant stress being caused by two unruly toddlers causing mischief wherever they went, and Aria and Aviana had never been happier. Sarah liked it that way, and she wanted to keep it that way too.
Jareth missed playing magic games with his sons, but he did understand that because of those magic games their lives had been endangered and it could no longer happen, at least not until they were about six or seven and understood the consequences of their actions.
Sarah's twenty fourth birthday was approaching fast and Jareth started to reminisce about that day him and Hoggle had decided to give Sarah more time to get older. Hoggle had suggested seven years, which would have only been up a year ago. Jareth was glad he hadn't listened to Hoggle and instead had opted for five years.
He could not even imagine a life without her and the two boys anymore. These past three years had felt like absolute heaven to him, despite a few bad happenings. Those three people in his castle had become his whole world, his entire reason for existing, and he wanted it to last for eternity.
"What should I give Sarah for her birthday?" Jareth contemplated one nice autumn afternoon, as he sat with Faron in the garden discussing further troop movements and reshuffling of units. Faron had recuperated from his injuries quite nicely, but he had to promise Chayrone to take it easy and resign his commission as an active battle leader.
Jareth hated to lose his best man, but approved Faron's resignation and application for retirement. He had earned it a hundred times over. But, he did make him his official advisor for all military actions within the Underground World. The only thing that had really changed, was, Faron was still in charge as before, but he didn't have to go into battle himself anymore, he only directed it. It seemed to be a win, win situation for all involved.
"What to get Sarah for her birthday?" Jareth asked again under his breath and seemed far away in thoughts.
"Peace of mind", Faron suggested out of the blue as he smiled at Jareth who looked up at him with surprise.
"What? I'm sorry I was somewhere else", he apologized and sat up straight in his chair; but as soon as he finished saying it, he was drifting off again
"Give her peace of mind", Faron repeated himself and looked intensely at Jareth. "What Sarah wants more than anything, is knowing her family is safe and she doesn't have to constantly worry. Give her peace of mind."
"How do you give peace of mind? You want me to put a spell on her? That doesn't seem like a nice thing to do", Jareth was baffled. Faron only laughed.
"What did you give her two years ago for your own peace of mind, because you were worried about her and couldn't sleep for weeks on end as you felt you had to watch over her twenty six hours a day?"
"Oh, ooooooooh", Jareth finally replied and Faron could tell his suggestion had finally taken root.
"I know where there's a couple really good ones. They are a bit older as they belonged to the same litter as Mara. Two brothers. Excellent powers. I had them reserved back then, in case we may need a couple more", Faron smirked and had a mischievous look on his face as if to say, 'let's go and get them'.
Jareth jumped up with a big smile and waved his goblin stick through the air.
"What are we waiting for? Lead the way old man", he commanded him as he and Faron vanished from view.
Sarah had a great workout at the gym and she was getting better and better in her self-defense. Even Faron was becoming impressed, and he didn't impress easily. After the incident in the Labyrinth with Jay and Jeremy she wanted to work twice as hard on her fighting skill. She even had started to take daily lessons in sword fighting from Kaden, with the blessings of Jareth, who was more than happy to teach her an hour every day.
Sarah made sure to pay him well, as he was wanting to buy a small house for him and Aviana. He was planning to offer her the dream crystal at the winter solstice and wanted to make sure to surprise her with a nice new home of their own. Sarah thought that was so romantic, and she promised not to say a word to anyone, including Jareth.
Jareth was not home when she got back and Sarah wondered where he was. Jay and Jeremy were playing in their nursery and behaved like little angels. Aria was in heaven and smiled happily at Sarah when she came into the room.
"How were the boys today?" She asked as she picked up each to give them a hug and a kiss.
"They could not have been better", Aria beamed. "If I wouldn't know better, I'd say those are not the same boys from two months ago. What a difference a little magic blocking spell can make. For all of us", she winked at Sarah who laughed out loud and agreed with a nod.
"Come on guys, time for dinner. Your dad ought to be home soon", she took the boys' hands and walked down to the room.
She tried to avoid teleporting with them as much as possible, as she didn't even want them to remember or experience any such tricks. Jareth agreed to do the same, and the only time they teleported them was if they had fallen asleep outside their nursery.
They were already sitting at the table as Jareth came running in huffing and puffing. Sarah looked at him with suspicion.
"What are you running for?" She asked with a slight laugh.
"Well", Jareth huffed, "someone said no teleporting in front of the boys. So what do you want me to do?" He smirked and gave her and the boys a quick kiss before he sat down.
"I had a late meeting with Faron and just got done with it."
"I hope everything is all right in the Labyrinth?" Sarah asked with a hint of worry. She did not fully trust the defenses in the Labyrinth as they had been broken twice now.
"No, everything is fine", Jareth assured her.
After dinner the boys sat around the fireplace, which at this time of year was not lit, while Sarah read them a little story about 'The three little pigs', and Jareth cleaned up his desk which it desperately needed. It had been cluttered with duty roosters and vacation requests, as well as invites to all sorts of parties and gatherings they never attended, but he had to respond to them just the same.
"Why are you reading them a story about food that talks?" Jareth asked mumbling while trying to organize his rosters. Sarah laughed out loud.
"It's not about food, it's about three pigs being chased by a wolf."
"Well, like I said, food that talks. Let the poor wolf have his dinner", he went back to answering invite requests. Sarah shook her head with a chuckle and went back to reading. It didn't take long before both boys were sound asleep on the floor.
"There, mission accomplished. The talking food put them to sleep", she said with a smirk on her face looking at Jareth. He beamed from ear to ear because he could finally teleport them back to their nursery. Walking was so overrated.
"I wrote a new song today", Sarah told Jareth after the boys had been put to bed and they sat together on the couch relaxing.
"Sweet, babe. Let me hear it", he was ready to get up to play his piano, but Sarah stopped him.
"It's not ready yet. I'm still working on chord progressions and rearranging some things. I'm not happy with the bridge yet either." Jareth nodded and leaned back into the couch.
"What's it called?" he inquired twirling with one of her strings of hair in his finger.
"I can't tell you. You'll have to wait or it'll give the song away." She smiled at him with a devious look on her face. Jareth lifted his eyebrows and gave her a disappointed look.
"Why are you telling me you wrote a song, but then won't tell me anything about it, not even the title? Are you teasing me again?"
"Maybe", Sarah just laughed and shrugged her shoulders.
"Ooh, you cruel thing you. You're bill is getting longer by the day", he smirked back. "And I haven't received a payment lately either. Feeling kind of neglected here actually come to think about it." He tried to sound hurt and sorry for himself. Sarah only laughed more.
"Oh you poor thing, you", she mocked him and laid down on her back over his lap, looking up at him. "I can pay you some right now, would that make you feel better?"
She seductively untied her blouse and made sure he saw she didn't have a bra on.
"Oh boy would it", was all he said before he quickly put her in his arms and teleported her straight into the bedroom; and as usual Mara stood watch outside the door.
Faron and Jareth had been together nearly every day for the past week, sticking their heads together and talking quietly. Sarah didn't know what to think, but figured it was about some secretive military mission or something alike.
Tomorrow was her birthday and she wanted to call Marjorie. They were not able to make it this year, so Sarah decided to not have a party at all, but maybe just a quiet little dinner date with Jareth. With the boys around now, she much more enjoyed quiet times with Jareth over big parties.
"Hey birthday girl", Marjorie shouted into the phone, "how is the kingdom and how are my nephews?" Marjorie always inquired about Jay and Jeremy first since she had become an aunt. She took that title very serious.
"Oh they are doing great. Jareth finally blocked them from doing magic. They were truly getting out of hand."
She didn't tell her about the Labyrinth teleporting incident, or Marjorie would have gotten a heart attack right there on the phone.
"Well, make sure you let them see all the little movies I send them via crystal balls so they don't forget their Auntie Marjorie", she cooed into the phone and Sarah rolled her eyes while she laughed out loud.
"So, what are you going to do tomorrow on your birthday? Has Jareth planned any sexy, romantic dinner date for you, and plans to ravage you afterwards?" Marjorie was always so direct, it still threw Sarah off kilter and she blushed.
"Ehem, knowing Jareth, he has something planned. About the ravaging, who knows? It would fit his modem operandi", she replied with a laughter and Marjorie followed suit.
"Yeah, we know guys, don't we? Mark is the same. You can get him to do anything with a little bribery and a 'floor show', if you know what I mean." Sarah knew exactly what Marjorie meant and they both laughed again.
"I hope you guys can come for Halloween though. What better place to spend Halloween than in a real fairy tale world with real goblins, and dwarves and other creatures." Sarah giggled. Marjorie agreed wholeheartedly. Her and Mark were not going to miss it.
Today was Sarah's birthday. Being a mother of twenty months old twin boys, it almost slipped her mind when she woke up, had it not been for Jareth. He was already awake sitting at the window sill sending off his morning greeting crystal balls, but he also seemed to receive more than usually.
"What's with all the balls floating around?" Sarah murmured still half asleep.
"Birthday greetings to the queen from her loyal subjects", Jareth smirked and had a dozen of them float over to the bed and hover above her.
"What? All these for me? I almost forgot it is my birthday today, and I had just talked to Marjorie about it yesterday. I'm getting old."
She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and grabbed a few out of midair to read the messages:
"Happy birthday to the prettiest queen in the Underground", said one. "Aw, how sweet", Sarah cooed.
"Happy birthday. May all your wishes come true," said another. "That's really sweet too", Sarah replied happily.
"Happy birthday Queen Sarah. If you ever decide to leave that no good king, consider me as a replacement."
"What?" Jareth huffed. "Who wrote that? I'm going to toss them into the Bog of Eternal Stench." Sarah couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Seems I have a secret admirer." She grinned from ear to ear as Jareth sat at the window sill pouting. She kept reading more messages.
"Happy Birthday Queen Sarah. If you ever need a real man to light your fireworks, let me know. I'm available 26 hours a day."
Jareth was about to have a hissy fit as he slammed the crystal ball against the wall where it burst.
"Imbeciles", he muttered, "no one can measure up to me when it comes to lighten your fireworks". He kept complaining under his breath as he sulked on the window sill.
Sarah found this all very amusing and continued reading her messages, but this time she kept them to herself. No need to get Jareth all huffy puffy by some of them. One was an outright marriage proposal that challenged Jareth to a dual. She decided to keep that one a secret too. Jareth probably would dump the author into the bog for sure, or worse.
After Sarah had read most of the messages, she got up and disappeared into the bathroom for fifteen minutes. When she reemerged, a beautiful table had been set up with flowers and a service set for two; and a small box wrapped in beautiful paper laid besides the flower vase.
She looked with big eyes and a big smile at Jareth.
"You did this for me?" Her eyes sparkled as he walked up to her and put his arms around her waist. Sarah put her hands against his chest and looked happily into his eyes.
"I have the entire day reserved for you. No meetings, no paperwork, no duty rosters, no babies, no classes, nothing, we can do whatever you want to."
He looked deep into her eyes and Sarah couldn't help but to kiss him with a feeling of deep love.
"What are we having for breakfast?" She asked looking over at the table.
"Your favorite, cinnamon rolls with chocolate milk", Jareth replied a little surprised that breakfast would be the first thing on her mind.
"Oh good, so the food won't get cold then."
She smirked and pulled Jareth close to her while opening his bath rope and letting it slide off his shoulders. As she gave him a passionate kiss she guided his hands down her body underneath her rope.
"I want you first", she declared in a sultry voice and pulled him towards the bed. Jareth didn't need to be asked twice and was more than happy to oblige. He took birthday wishes very serious.
"Ok, now what?" Jareth asked lazily while lying on his back after they had finished making love.
"Now we eat", Sarah declared laughing and threw a pillow at him as she got up and sat at the table. He rolled himself out of bed, put his robe back on and joined her.
"For you", his hand moved the little gift box towards her. Sarah gave him an excited look. She opened it quickly and held two large round golden tags in her hands. She gave Jareth a puzzling look.
"Turn them over and read", Jareth motioned with his hand as he sipped his coffee. Sarah did as he had asked her to, and there was an inscription on each. One read 'Deimos', and the other read 'Phobos'. Sarah stared at them for a moment and then a smile came across her face as she looked at Jareth.
"You mean we got...? There are two? Where are they?" Her face glowed with excitement. Jareth smiled and put down his coffee.
"We can go and get them any time today."
He wanted to pick up his coffee again, but Sarah jumped at him, knocked him off his chair and onto the floor. She kissed him with such passion that he contemplated to return to the bed for another round.
"Hey babe, I'm happy you like it. If I could be assured you won't thank everybody like that, I'll tell you that this was actually Faron's idea."
Jareth smirked at her as she slowly let go of him and sat back at the table to finish her breakfast.
They decided to take a horynth coach to pick up the faewolves as they were at the military base in Elvenwood and Sarah always enjoyed riding the coach at a slow speed to enjoy the view. Jareth had to tell her all about the faewolves. Sarah was not the only one interested, so was Mara, as those two faewolves were her brothers she hadn't seen in two years.
"Sounds like a family reunion for you girl", Sarah told her as she scratched her behind her ear. Mara closed her eyes and enjoyed the personal attention.
"I'm still the alpha though", Mara telegraphed into Sarah's mind. Sarah only smiled quietly, and so did Jareth.
The wolves were impressive and even a tad larger and more massive than Mara, them being males. Both were light grey with green eyes, a black tipped tail and black tipped ears.
"They look identical like our boys", Sarah said astound.
"They should", Jareth replied, "they are identical twins, just like Jay and Jeremy. That's why they are so perfect. It's hard to find twins like that. Extremely rare."
He called the wolves over to him with his mind and they obeyed and sat in front of Sarah.
"You choose who gets which name", Jareth said. "Just attach the tag to the collar of the chosen wolf. When we get home, each wolf will chose his boy."
"Ok", Sarah heaved a sigh and attached the tags to each wolf's collars.
"You chose perfect names. Deimos and Phobos, the sons of Ares in mythology, and your wolf's name was Ares." Sarah looked at him and smiled happily.
Jareth smiled back and once again he had a hint of sadness in his eyes, a look of long lost memories of someone he had cared deeply about. Sarah noticed and she gently grabbed Jareth' hand.
"I love you", was all she said before she gave him a long sensual kiss.
"Get used to this. They do this all the time", both Sarah and Jareth heard Mara tell Deimos and Phobos, and Sarah swore she heard them giggle. Jareth only laughed out loud and kissed Sarah again as to proof Mara right.
Sarah was happy. Her sons now had protectors like her and she instantly felt at peace. Nobody would dare getting near Jay and Jeremy now, not with these huge grizzly bear sized magical wolves guarding them with their lives. She wasn't quite sure though how Marjorie would take it. She couldn't help but chuckle about that prospect. Maybe she would climb that nearly fifty foot tall spruce in the garden again.
Since Jay and Jeremy spend the day at Chayrone's and Faron's, the wolves joined Mara, Sarah, and Jareth for the day. They would be introduced to the boys tomorrow. Jareth wanted to take Sarah out for a nice lunch at Elven Grill. Sarah had really enjoyed it last time and wanted to return.
It was a bit different with three huge faewolves in shadow form, but Sarah felt incredibly safe. A horde of goblorks could have stormed into town and she would not have been afraid. She literally had a pack of giant wolves with her. Jareth knew she felt completely at ease and smiled at her with content and a happy heart.
After lunch, they strolled the little cobblestones of downtown Elvenwood and went shopping in all the little antique stores that lined the street. They even discovered a quaint little ice cream bar in a side street named 'Frozen Dreams', and Sarah had a huge version of what could qualify as a banana split in the Surface World.
Jareth and her were completely content, strolling hand in hand, and often arm in arm through the streets. People recognized them and gave them friendly nods, some wished her a happy birthday, but overall they were left to themselves. Sarah was in heaven and Jareth stole a kiss every now and then when he thought no one was looking.
The day went by quickly and after a small dinner at the GobliNaut in their private little nook, they decided to take a stroll up on the hill that overlooked the Labyrinth and Goblin City. Sarah always had liked the view as it was the first view she had gotten of the Underground seven years ago.
She couldn't believe it had been that long ago already. Time had a way of flying by, especially down here in the Underground.
She gazed at Jareth and thought how handsome he looked with the wind blowing in his hair, his mesmerizing eyes sparkling with the setting sun, which bathed the entire Underground in an amber light. She was so glad she had chosen to be with him.
She could no longer imagine being anywhere else, but here, with Jareth, her boys, Mara, Hoggle, Krum, Chayrone, and Faron, and all the other people she had gotten to know and who had become her family. Her family was ever so fast expanding.
Yes, Jareth was right when he had told her father she would never be alone again. She sighed happily and squeezed his arm as she leaned back against his chest with his arms around her waist.
"I love you Jareth", she sighed happily.
"And I love you, precious", he whispered back.
Sarah turned around to look into his eyes and kissed him once more while the sun set behind Goblin City and gave way to the moon and the stars.
They stayed there for quite some time before they teleported back to the castle to finish the night out at home, in the privacy of their quarter.
