"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
Reverend Meyers smiled down at the congregation from the raised pulpit. The light from the clusters of candles cast a halo around his fiery red head and danced in his merry green eyes.
"At this beautiful time of joy and happiness," he continued, "It is especially important for us to be kind. Be kind to the less fortunate. Be kind to your families. Be kind to travelers and strangers. Be kind to those who may have even been unkind to you. Show love and forgiveness and peace and goodwill to all people. Amen."
"Amen," echoed Sarah and the rest of the congregation of the little stone church. The organ music swelled in a rousing chorus of "Angels We Have Heard on High" as everyone stood and began gathering coats and gloves and bags and preparing to file out into the frigid December air.
Moira made her way across the sanctuary to where Sarah and her brother waited.
"Wasn't that a lovely service?" she asked.
Sarah nodded. "Reverend Meyers is quite a change from ol' Clarkston," she remarked.
"I'll say," agreed her friend. "It was nice to have a happy message of hope and peace rather than one of doom and gloom and eternal judgment. Especially here at the holidays!"
She shook her head. "Didn't take that old goat long to clear out once his sins came to light."
Sarah smiled. "Thanks for standing up for me," she said. "Without you and Jareth, I don't think anyone else would have had the nerve to stand against Clarkston."
It was Moira's turn to smile. "I only wish we'd done it sooner, Sar. Where is your adorable Jareth anyway?" She looked around the sanctuary trying to catch a glimpse of him.
"Church isn't really his thing," said Sarah. "He's at my house decorating and making dinner."
Moira gave a little swooning sigh and Sarah rolled her eyes.
"I'm telling you Sarah," Moira said with a playful nudge, "If you don't marry him…"
"Gross," muttered Toby, who had been staring at his phone.
"Hey Tobes," Sarah began, "Didn't you have something you wanted to ask Moira?"
"Huh? Oh yeah!" Toby gushed. "Could Kevin come over tomorrow afternoon? I have some new games we could play."
Moira looked uncertain. "I don't know," she said. "I'm not sure how he would react…"
"Moira," said Sarah. "If you are hoping for me to marry Jareth, Kevin is going to have to get used to being around him, right? Besides, Toby can serve as a buffer. Kevin likes and trusts him and I think he might do better with Jareth if Toby eased him into it."
"Well, I suppose you're right," Moira told her. "I certainly don't want to have to stay away from my favorite couple because of poor Kev's freakouts. Especially when you guys start having adorable angel-haired babies-"
Toby made a gagging sound and Sarah elbowed him in the ribs.
"Okay," said Moira. "I'll bring Kevin over tomorrow evening. But if things get out of hand-"
"We'll call you," Sarah promised. She followed her friend down the aisle to the vestibule, where Reverend Meyers was greeting his parishioners.
"Miss Williams," he said extending his hand. "I want to sincerely thank you for your very generous gift to the Missions Fund. It is greatly appreciated."
Sarah blushed. "You're welcome," she told him. "I'm just glad to be able to help."
Reverend Meyers smiled warmly. "Please tell Jareth that I really enjoyed the spice cake and shortbread cookies he sent over. They were delicious!"
"I'll tell him," Sarah said brightly.
Moira gave her a knowing look and Sarah shook her head. She knew her friend wasn't going to be satisfied until she had a ring on her finger and a baby in her belly.
Toby took Kevin's hand and led him to the front door. The older boy quailed and tried to hide behind him, already sensing who was inside Sarah's house.
"Kev, it's okay man," soothed Toby. "I know you're afraid, but I promise you that it's okay."
Kevin looked up at him, uncertain. Toby put a hand on his shoulder.
"You trust me, right?" he asked. Kevin shook his head. "Okay then, listen." Toby leaned in close and looked Kevin squarely in the eyes. "I know bad things happened between you and Jareth. But he wants to help you. He won't hurt you or anyone else. I promise. Let him talk to you, okay?"
Kevin swallowed hard, but nodded his consent and Toby took his hand once more. He led him into the house where Sarah and Jareth waited. The boy visibly trembled when he saw Jareth, but he didn't scream or throw a fit. He held tightly to Toby's hand as Jareth stood and cautiously walked toward him as if approaching a wounded wild animal.
"Hello Kevin," Jareth said gently. "Thank you so much for coming. I would like to talk to you, if you would allow me. Would you do that, Kevin?"
Kevin looked back at Toby who nodded reassuringly. Looking back at Jareth, the boy gave a quick head nod.
"Thank you, Kevin," Jareth said with a smile and a relieved sigh.
Sarah left Jareth and Toby and Kevin in the lounge and excused herself upstairs to work on her manuscript. She could hear muffled voices downstairs and was pleased that things seemed calm and peaceful. Jareth had explained his plan to her, and while she didn't understand the mechanics of it, she trusted that he knew what he was doing. He had assured her that Toby's presence would make sure that Kevin remained calm and that the enchantment wouldn't harm him.
"I can't fix him," he'd told her. "But I can help him deliver a message to his mother."
When Moira arrived a few hours later to collect her son, she was surprised and delighted to see him seated next to Jareth, eating gingerbread cookies and helping Jareth cheat at a game of Whist.
"How?" she breathed, watching her son easily react with the man he'd so violently recoiled from only a few weeks prior.
Toby smiled up at her from his seat beside his sister. "What can I say? I'm the Kevin Whisperer!"
Moira laughed and hugged him and gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek which he scrubbed at with the back of his hand.
"Thank you, Toby," she said. "I know your sister says that you're an ass, but I think you're charming."
"Hey!" Toby cried, nudging Sarah in the ribs.
"Kevin, are you ready to go?" asked Moira. "It's Christmas Eve and we have family coming in for dinner tonight."
"Which reminds me," said Jareth. He stood and walked over to the Christmas tree he'd brought in and decorated with twinkling lights and glittering ornaments. "We have some gifts for you and your family," he told her, handing her a stack of brightly colored packages.
"Oh my, thank you!" replied Moira. "I have things for all of you too, but I'll have to bring them by later. You'll be here in the morning?"
"Yes," said Sarah. "We're having a simple family Christmas tomorrow. We're going to open presents and watch movies and eat all day. Jareth's cooking what he calls a 'Traditional British Christmas Feast.' I'm not sure what all that entails, but I'm guessing there will be a Figgy Pudding in there somewhere."
"Sounds nice," Moira laughed. "Don't you miss your parents though, Toby? You're away from them at Christmas…"
"Oh yes," Toby answered, the sarcasm evident in his voice. "I am heartbroken over missing out on Dad's awful eggnog and the family photo session in our matching Christmas pajamas."
'It's giving Dad and Karen some time too," added Sarah. "They're celebrating in the Poconos."
"I'd just better not get a little sister for my birthday next September," Toby grumbled and they all laughed.
Moira frowned at the robin's-egg-blue box in her hands.
"Oh Sarah," she said aloud. "I was only joking about the whole 'Tiffany and Company' thing." She untied the white bow and slipped the ribbon off the box and removed the lid.
She gasped as she peered into the box. There, on a pillow of bright blue satin, sat a perfectly round crystal orb. Moira lifted it gingerly out of the box and examined it. It looked clear and slightly iridescent at first, but on closer inspection, she saw that it was clouded with swirls of glitter and prismatic bands of color.
Kevin shuffled into the room and smiled at the gift.
"Did you know about this?" his mother asked.
He nodded his head and motioned for her to follow him. She did and he led her into her bedroom. Carefully taking the shining crystal from her, Kevin placed it on a little table next to his mother's side of the bed.
"Don't you think it should go up on a shelf?" asked Moira.
Kevin shook his head emphatically.
"Okay then," Moira said. She kissed her son on the forehead and smiled. "Come help me get dinner ready."
Kevin nodded and followed her toward the door. He turned in the doorway and looked back at the bedside table where the shining crystal gave a glimmering wink. Kevin grinned and turned away.
"Where am I?" asked Moira. She had thought she was alone under the blazing orange sky, but suddenly there was a presence near her. A warm, familiar presence. She looked behind her and saw Kevin leaned against a leafless tree with a large clock suspended from its bare branches. The clock had thirteen hours.
"Hi Mom," said Kevin. He pushed away from the tree and walked to her. His eyes were clear and focused and he wore a gentle smile. "You're Underground," he told her.
"Am I dead?" asked Moira.
Kevin threw back his head and laughed. "No mom," he reassured her. "You're not dead. Just dreaming."
"I've never had a dream like this," his mother told him. "It feels very real."
"It's a special dream," Kevin replied. "That's why I'm here. I want to talk to you and tell you things, but I can't outside of this dream."
"I don't understand,"
"You don't have to understand, Mom. Just listen."
His mother nodded and he stepped forward and offered her his hand. It felt small in hers, like a little boy's hand.
"Like when you were seven…"
Kevin smiled. "I want to try to tell you about Kieran," he said and Moira gasped hearing him speak his brother's name.
"I can't tell you everything," he continued. "You wouldn't understand and you probably wouldn't believe me. Just know that Kieran died trying to save Lily."
"Why?" asked Moira. "What happened to Lily to put her in danger?"
Kevin lowered his head and looked at the ground. "My brother did something foolish, something he came to regret. Lily was going to be lost forever, but Kieran made the decision to go in after her. He saved her, but he lost his own life."
"How?" Moira said, now sobbing. "What happened? Please tell me more."
Kevin put a hand on his mother's shaking shoulder. "Okay," he said.
He told her about his brother's wish and the goblins, but he left out the Goblin King, saying only that the goblins had taken Lily away. He showed her the sprawling Labyrinth and told her how Kieran had agreed to run it to win his sister back. He took her to the place it had all gone wrong, a place where loose rocks and a heedless boy had collided in tragedy. His mother wept over the spot.
"How did he get back to his bed?" Moira asked her son through her tears.
Kevin paused, searching for the right words. "The King," he said at last. "The King of this land returned both Kieran and Lily. He was very upset that such a thing happened. There were others who would have kept Lily, but the King protected her."
He paused again, seeing his mother's deepening frown.
"You don't believe me, do you, Mom?"
Moira shrugged. "I've prayed for the truth for so long," she told him. "If you tell me this is the answer to my prayers, I'll believe you, Kevin."
"It's the truth, Mom," he answered. "I know it's difficult to understand and accept, but this is what I've held inside for ten years."
Moira choked back a sob. "Why? What happened to you that night?" she asked. "You shut down. I felt like I lost you too."
Kevin sighed and squeezed his mother's hand. "I lost part of myself when I lost my brother," he told her truthfully. "Part of me that I'll never get back. But I'm still here, deep inside. I can't always express what I think and feel, but I understand the things you feel. I know you've been burdened with the unanswered questions. I hope I have eased that burden somewhat."
"Yes," Moira said with a sniffle and a little smile. "I don't fully understand, but I don't have to. What you've told me is enough. I've only ever wanted to know what happened and now I do."
"I'm sorry, Mom," Kevin said softly. "I'm sorry about the story and Kieran and all those years of silence."
Moira clasped her son to her breast and squeezed him tight. "Kevin," she said. "My darling boy, don't be sorry. You're not to blame. No one is."
"You're not to blame either, Mom," said her son. "I know you've carried guilt as well. Guilt over not knowing, not being able to help him or me."
He brushed a tear from his mother's cheek. "I love you, Mom," he told her.
"I love you too, Kevin."
Light was pouring through the frosted window panes when Moira opened her eyes. She sat up in bed and brushed a hand over her cheeks. They were damp with tears.
"Kevin," she sighed.
Pulling on her robe and sliding into her fuzzy slippers, she crept from the bedroom and down the hall and pushed open the door to her son's room. He was still sleeping, his long body sprawled out across his bed, arms and legs at angles. Moira went to his bedside and kissed his forehead. A sweet smile spread over his face, but his eyes remained closed. She turned to leave, but stopped in her tracks at the sound of a soft mumble from his lips. Whirling around, she saw that he still slept, but she knew she had heard him speak in the same voice from her dream. Just one word.
"Mom."
A/N: Thank you for your interesting insights to last week's chapter! Let's keep the convo going. What do you think about Jareth's solution to the problem with Kevin and Moira? What would you have done differently?
We're nearing the end, so please stay with me and let me know what you think. Thank you!
~Fanny~