CHAPTER SIX
Sarah had volunteered to assist Liam with the cows today. Liam was surprised but delighted to have extra company in the fields alongside Robby.
That had been the plan until Sarah made the mistake of mentioning to Helena that Terry was coming to pick up the baskets at some point today, and then Helena flustered and blustered about it being imperative she stay around the cottage. She assured her that it had nothing to do with Terry, but everything to do with it being laundry day.
Sarah was skeptical and wondered what Helena would achieve out of Sarah meeting Terry again. She even went as far as to ask her. The response being some mumbled gibberish about sensing a change in weather patterns, and the sheets needing to dry fast.
So now Sarah was assisting with the laundry, washing the sheets, rinsing the sheets and then hanging them out. Of course half her attention was consistently being drawn to the road for a sighting of the man himself. The other half was longing for her modern expensive washing machine.
It was around noon when the last of the sheets were being hung out, and Sarah was covered in sweat and her hands red raw, when he approached their residence.
He greeted Sarah warmly, as she chucked a bucket of water from the laundry over the vegetable patch. She dried her hands on her apron as she greeted him in return.
"I will just fetch your baskets," Sarah mopped her brow with her handkerchief and scuttled off inside, still clasping the laundry bucket firmly in her grip. .
She had spent the night sleepless and deep in thought about the mysterious man currently waiting in the garden. She couldn't make head nor tail of him or her own incredibly complex feelings. Avoidance had been her master plan, yet here she was about to pass him the baskets he had come to claim.
Helena was peeling potatoes at the table as she headed inside. Sarah dumped the bucket on the hardwood floor, and hung her apron up by the door, replacing it with an old rough shawl.
"Terry's here for the baskets," Sarah informed her, aiming to keep her voice neutral but the slight waver as she said his name felt glaringly obvious to her. Helena indicated with a lackadaisical wave of her hand towards the baskets that were located next to the rug full of reeds gathered the day before. They would be used for reworking furniture or parts of the cottage thatch roof if necessary, and Sarah also hoped to learn how to use them for basketry. Sarah grabbed the baskets and turned around to face Terry who was standing in the doorway and not where she left him outside.
"Oh," she exclaimed.
"Apologies," he nodded towards Helena in greeting, before turning his attention back to her, with eyes that glinted with an unknown light source. "I was just thinking, Sarah, if you're not already busy, that you could join me in a walk up the hill. It is such a nice day out and I believe the view from the top is quite stunning."
Sarah wanted to scream her unwillingness, but an irrepressible part of her was curious to go with him. She felt herself equally drawn to this stranger as she was repelled. Repelled by the knowledge of how much power he could have over her, with only one slip of the tongue in front of his employer, but the reasons she was attracted to him was less definite and certainly not as describable or palpable. She knew she would be needed on the farm, so a ready made excuse was ready on the tip of her tongue.
"What a lovely idea," Helena piped up. "I don't believe in all your time here you've ever made it to the top. Your friend here is correct. The view is spectacular. You've been working hard so you deserve a break. Why don't you go?"
Sarah clenched her jaw as each one of her refusals died in her throat. The truth was she had always been curious about the walk to the top of the hill. She only really left the house to go to the market or the river. There weren't enough hours in the day to go for a jolly up the hill.
"I promise you the view will be worth it," Terry smiled from the doorway, much like a cat with the cream.
Worth putting herself in the path of a man she barely knew, hardly trusted?
A few minutes later, against her better judgement, she found herself climbing up the hill with Terry at her side. In silence. The only sounds were the birds chirping in the hedgerows, a breeze rustling through the cornfields and the odd bawl from the cattle. If she ever forgot she was Underground she could mistake it for the English Countryside.
"Ghent reminds me of England," Sarah found herself saying out loud.
"Indeed?"
"I could almost forget that I'm far from home," not that she was English but she'd been there once when she had tried to spend some time with her mother, Linda. All she had succeeded in doing was seeing her twice. She made the most of it, however as she explored independently around the UK.
"Ghent is quite secluded in that way. Most of these people are the descendants of Abovegrounders. They established their town based on what they knew from whence they came. Mostly European inspired. However if you went to some of the other Villages in the Goblin Kingdom, you would see all manner of different creatures, and you'd know you were in the Underground."
"I never knew there was so much more to the Goblin Kingdom than the Labyrinth."
Sarah realised she had given herself away again, first with Hoggle and now this. But Terry either didn't notice or didn't care to press her about it this time.
"The Labyrinth has its function but the Kingdom itself is more than just the maze and the goblins," Terry explained. "A lot of other creatures from other lands and realms seek sanctuary here and as long as they don't pose a threat, they are granted safe haven. Your friend Hoggle is one of those who are under the King's protection."
"That sounds -" Sarah furrowed her brow. "Benevolent? I mean, what are they seeking refuge from?"
"Tyrants, war, famine, disease and sometimes just personal reasons."
"I see."
They lapsed back onto silence, less awkward than it had been before.
"Sarah, I would like to apologise to you," Terry slowed down and took her elbow to guide her to a stop. "For my brother and for myself. I'm sure we did not make a very good impression on you. And I apologise for not telling you earlier that I was the Goblin King's employee."
They made shifty eye contact before glancing away. Sarah didn't know how to answer immediately.
"It was never my intention to deceive you, and I realise how uncomfortable I made you, but I hope regardless of my omission, you feel secure enough with my confidentiality," he continued, almost beseechingly.
Sarah bit her lip, still uncertain of how she could respond. She shuffled her feet across the pebbles that were sprinkled all over the road, like a socially awkward teenager talking to a boy for the first time.
"I have to admit, where I'm from, we don't trust strangers at all. As a woman, I'd only ever meet a man in a public place, never going to a second location. So for me to be here, right now, alone with a stranger, it's beyond madness. And the fact you hid vital information from me - I must be certifiable to even still be in this village."
"Words mean something here, Sarah and when I say you're safe, you're safe. When I say I won't tell the Goblin King about you being here, then I won't tell the Goblin King."
Sarah maintained eye contact this time. She couldn't detect any sign of trickery or falsehood in his words or his eyes. She stared away into the middle distance as she mulled his words over.
"What's said is said," Sarah muttered to herself more than anything, recalling the Goblin King's words all those years ago when she implored him that she didn't mean to wish her brother away.
"Exactly, I couldn't have said it better myself."
"I don't know why, but I feel like you're telling me the truth," Sarah shrugged. "I am usually smart enough not to trust someone who has already lied to me."
"Lied by omission, but please let me explain," he paced side to side as he took a deep breath. "I was saying before that the Goblin Kingdom is a haven for those trying to find refuge, and I think you're no different than the others who seek asylum. It is unusual for someone not to gain the King's judgement when entering the land as a refugee, and it is a risk for you not to do so but I think there may be a very particular reason you have been kept safe from any repercussions on this count.
"I didn't tell you I worked at the castle when I first met you, because I didn't want to reveal who you really are in front of your friends. Sarah, have you run the Labyrinth?"
"What?" a knot tightened in her stomach as she listened to Terry explain his secrecy.
"Well you know Hoggle, you claim to have met the King, you're familiar with the Labyrinth. You haven't been discovered by any of the King's guards or spies as someone living here without Royal Permission. All signs point to you having been a runner."
"I..." Sarah backed up, her hands clenched and unclenched as she did her best stunned mullet impression.
"Sarah, stories have been spread across the land about the Champion of the Labyrinth," he continued. "Not all truthful or factual. I may have not witnessed your defeat of the Labyrinth, but I certainly can sense it from you. You're the one - the only one who has beaten the Labyrinth, and this offers you certain protection, and indemnity from seeking his permission to be a refugee. As the only one who didn't lose their baby to the fae and the Defeater of the Goblin King, it makes you an honorary citizen. However, your defeat of him - that's why you're so scared of him. It is the only conclusion that makes any sense."
"This just keeps getting more and more fucked up," Sarah blurted as she hastened a few more steps in retreat, her back colliding with the fence.
"Sarah, I understand why you hide from the King," he bit his lip and looked at her through those emblazoned brown eyes as if he could see her very soul. "I have suspected for a while, I just didn't want to reveal your past to everyone. For if you wanted them to know, you would have told them yourself."
"Yes," Sarah stuck her chin out with defiance, remembering herself. She was no wilting flower. "And what do you plan on doing with this information?"
"Absolutely diddly squat. I hope that we could be friends, Sarah. I don't plan on making an enemy of you, or putting you at risk of discovery by your kidnappers, or anyone that may be connected with them."
"Then you understand why I don't want to be discovered, by my kidnappers or the King. I don't know the King well enough to know if he seeks revenge or will try to get to Tob- my brother. Or even risk my friends here. I don't want to sound arrogant, about my achievement or my infamy. I just wanted to get my brother back."
"I understand, though nothing I say will probably convince you that none of that is a possibility. Our King is more intelligent than to be vindictive, besides your brother will be protected from all fae. He will have the Labyrinth's protection, more so than yourself. That is my understanding anyway. No one can hurt him, Sarah. He is safe."
Sarah nodded hesitantly. "And who is to say he even remembers me? I may just be over inflating my self worth after all. But better to be safe than sorry. I made a mistake wishing my brother away. I've paid for it all my life."
They started walking back up the hill, the tension seemed to have left them both.
"How have you paid for it, Sarah?" Terry asked after they had resumed their walk.
"Guilt," Sarah confessed. "It ate me up inside. It still does. I wouldn't be here trapped Underground if I hadn't been so foolish. My parents may still have been alive. I wouldn't have married my ex. So many life choices I made through guilt."
"Your parents? How is that connected?"
"They died in a house fire," Sarah inhaled deeply to stem the pain. "But eye witness reports say that a person was seen fleeing from the scene, that literally just disappeared into thin air. I firmly believe it was a fae."
"You believe it was a particular fae?"
"My one brush with magic, I encountered a smell. This aroma I have never ever experienced before until I ran the Labyrinth. But when I went to the site of the fire, I could smell it. I could smell the magic. That fire wasn't an accident. What other fae have I ever got myself entangled with would have reasons to murder my family?"
Terry stopped walking again. His eyes flashing dangerously. "Sarah, I can assure you there are many dangerous fae out there that would do such a cruel thing, but not the Goblin King."
"So quick to jump to his rescue," Sarah snapped. "But what better revenge than to take my entire family from me and then leave me stranded here?"
"Indeed," Terry growled, before he seemed to collect himself. "I understand your encounter with the King was fraught as that is the usual relationship between monarch and runner, but he is not capable of this - this calamity. I am so sorry Sarah for your losses. We will get to the bottom of this somehow. I suspect the two fae you met would have something to do with it."
"That's the thing though. Who are they and what the hell have I done to them?"
"You say you know about Stolen Pearls? The fae couple who were ready to adopt your brother weren't exactly happy when you - when you won. They swore their revenge. Your brother would have been protected by the King and the Labyrinth against any repercussions. However you and your family would not have received the same level of protection, unfortunately, some but not the same. I am so sorry Sarah. Fae can be the most cruel race sometimes."
"See, it is all MY fault. If I hadn't have been a spoilt, selfish idiot and wished my brother away, this would never have happened."
Sarah sat down in the dirt and openly wept, heedless of Terry's presence. Years of guilt and self blame found an opening and went for it, leaking her regret, her culpability, her grief down her cheeks into the dust.
Terry sat down, cross legged at her feet. "Magic always has consequences, it is so unfortunate that for you it was so catastrophic."
"Yeah, even if it wasn't the Goblin King's doing, it certainly gives him reason to gloat," Sarah cried bitterly. "His revenge is complete without even getting his hands dirty. My life has had everything of value stripped away from it. The only thing I have is myself, and my hope that I may one day see my brother again."
"Sarah, I didn't know - "
"Of course you didn't. You only met me two days ago."
"And yet, I feel like I have known you forever," he said in hushed tones, almost aeolian in nature.
Sarah wiped away her tears with the back of her hands. "My tears won't bring them back, nor change the past and my very bad decision, shall we continue our walk?"
Without waiting for a response, she marched on up the hill, heedless of whether Terry followed her or not. Her pent up grief still ravaged her body but she would not allow it to make her appear weak. She used it to power her muscles up the steep slope instead. Her eyes no longer took in her surroundings, her senses immune to further input. All she fixated on was putting one foot in front of the other and maintaining stable respiration.
In this mode she made it to the top of the hill and her senses came back in a flurry. The view from the top of the hill was as astounding as everyone said.
She was looking down on the Labyrinth, it's vast expanse stretching as far as the eye could see. The castle beyond the Goblin City sat amidst the twists and turns of the maze, glistening in the afternoon sun, looking from this distance, very much like a crystal formation rising up from rock.
Her breath caught at the magnificence below her. She felt like a God looking down on her world. It was more beautiful than she ever remembered it. Since her arrival here, she only saw the outside wall and never anything more.
She forgot about everything in that instance; her pain, her grief, her loneliness. Her eyes were drawn to the towers of the castle, wondering if her nemesis was safely ensconced in its turrets. She shortly chastised herself for even thinking for him. She instead considered how the Labyrinth melted into the mountains, how the lush green forests lapped at the edges here and there, making the whole sight a picture perfect painting.
"Are you disappointed in the view?" Terry had caught up to her and now stood by her side on the crest of the hill.
"Not at all," she inhaled deeply as she surveyed the realm. "Quite the contrary, I assure you. It is worthy of poetry or song, but alas I am lacking in both."
Of all this I could have been Queen, she thought and then laughed. He had been trying to trick you not wed you.
Apparently she had laughed out loud.
"Is something amusing?" Terry asked cautiously.
"Oh, just I have been here two years and this is the first time I've seen the labyrinth," she lied. It was a true statement but not the reason she was laughing. She self consciously smoothed her hands down her stained brown work dress before wrapping her arms around her own shoulders, pulling the shawl tighter.
"It must be a pretty remarkable place to work," Sarah continued. "As long as you don't work anywhere near the Bog of Eternal Stench or have the cleaners sent after you."
Or end up in a peach induced ballroom dream.
"I work in the Royal gardens," he admitted. "I rarely go to the Labyrinth."
"What are the gardens like?"
"Colourful, fragrant, incredibly well tended," Terry said with a grin. "Even if I do say so myself. They are not part of the Labyrinth but the castle grounds."
"I never saw gardens as such. Only the castle and that place was a god awful mess."
"Well trust me, the gardens are exquisite," his face tightened into a guarded expression.
"How long have you been working as a gardener?"
"Ah, many years," he shrugged. "We needed more money after our parents died. Stephen runs the farm, and I tend to the castle gardens. We played to our strengths."
"And neither of you married?"
"No," Terry glanced her way with a subdued look. "But you have?"
"Yes, though not successfully," Sarah moved to sit on a nearby rock so she could still survey the view.
"I am sorry to hear that," he sounded genuine as he made to sit down on the earth next to a small pond nestled into a dip at the summit, enclosed with thick foliage and shrubberies. "What made it so unsuccessful?"
It was a rather personal question to be sure. Sarah considered not answering it, but here sat the only man who knew who she really was. The only man with any power over her. It was better to keep her friends close, and enemies closer. It wouldn't do to upset him or scorn him, in case he used his power to be her downfall. On the other hand, telling him anything personal was like handing him a weapon, which on reflection she had done tenfold already in their short acquaintance.
"Mark was - ," Mark was many things. How to explain how things went so wrong? "I met Mark when he was an engineering student and I was pretty established in my career. He filled a hole in my life at that point. He needed me and I enjoyed the power that it gave me, I guess. But he continued to climb his ladder, and my career and ambitions became a bit stagnant. The power dynamic shifted and he needed me less, and I didn't enjoy being more dependent upon him, then he was me."
Terry shifted his booted feet across the patch of shingle they were resting against, bringing her out of her memories. Glancing down at him, she saw his eyes focused on her face and his body angled towards her, showing his genuine interest. Her heart fluttered at his reciprocity. He indicated that she should continue with a slight hand gesture.
She sighed. None of this was easy to talk about, knowing how much she was to blame for her disaster of a marriage, and how raw and vulnerable she felt after their walk up here, not to mention the handing-your-enemy-a-weapon aspect previously considered. "I resented his success while I peaked early and I started withdrawing my affections. I felt my pride had been hurt by his success and rationally I knew that as partners we should be supportive of each other, rather than resentful. But the more he achieved, the more arrogant he'd become, the more I pushed him away."
Terry pulled his arm from dangling into the pond, to rest his elbow on his knee. "Why did his arrogance bother you? Did he not have a right to feel pride in his achievements?"
"Of course, but it was more that he knew he was better than me. He started arguments that would result in him telling me that he could do so much better than me. I started to believe it. He reveled in earning more than me, and I guess that is what I get for marrying someone that I enjoyed having power over to begin with.
"Then the gaslighting and arguments about money started - "
"Apologies for interrupting but what is gaslighting?"
"Oh, it's when someone says something untrue and you start believing it. It's the go to tactic for many bullies. Have them doubt their own sanity and you have all the power. And that's what he would do to me, tell me something and then argue that he never told me, or accuse me of being a drama Queen or making things up or imagining things or being too sensitive."
"I see," Terry said in a way that Sarah couldn't determine what he was feeling.
"It was a relationship that didn't have a bad guy or a good guy. It was not clear cut. It was messy and angry and frustrating. We both were incompatible but I am not completely innocent and he is not completely guilty. Until the day of my parent's funeral where I caught him shagging my best friend.
"Then it turns out he was shagging her for a while and spending a lot of the money on her, the same money he accused me of spending. He holds to his belief that I wasn't good enough for him."
"Do you believe him?"
"I did for a while. I don't any more. I know that I was happy to have a relationship that satisfied my selfish needs until the balance shifted and I am guilty of that narcissism for sure. I enjoyed being worshiped. It turns out Mark did too, so as I withdrew my affections, he found it elsewhere. I should never have married him. I have learnt from it. I will probably never marry again."
Terry blinked rapidly for a moment or two but showed no other reaction on his tanned face.
"You can at least acknowledge where you failed your relationship, though him betraying your trust and faith like that is on him. You're blameless for his actions there."
"I didn't always think like I do now. Two years of solid self reflection enabled me to process where I was at fault too. If you had asked me two years ago I would have told you he was utterly and completely in the wrong for everything that was rotten in our marriage. My pride wouldn't have accepted any blame whatsoever."
"I wonder what drove you to such deep self reflections?"
"I adore the Spriggets but conversation with them is limited and unvarying, so I have been left to my own meditations for a long time. I guess it's the Underground to the rescue of my character for a second time in my life, forcing me to re-evaluate my life."
"How did the Underground rescue your character the first time?"
"We're doing a lot of talking about me, Terry," Sarah gave a watery smile.
"It's been a long time since I got to talk to a new human being," he smiled. "You were the last runner, did you know that?"
"Was I?" Sarah was surprised. "How do you know?"
"We employees know whenever there is a runner in the Labyrinth. His Majesty informs us of the rules."
"Rules?" Sarah's scoffed. "Such as you get bogged if you help or befriend a runner?"
"Exactly, and since you stole the babe back, we haven't received another runner."
"Stole him back?" Sarah exclaimed incredulously. "I won him back. He is my brother."
"Yes, fair and square but with quite a bit of destruction left in your wake," he teased.
"I did what I had to."
"Yes, you did it for love," he said with admiration tinting his tone. "Now tell me how your character was rescued during your run?"
"Only if you then tell me something about yourself,"
"You drive a hard bargain but I agree to just that."
"Fine," a sigh. " I guess I was a spoilt, selfish teenager who, if you'll forgive the comparison, spent most of the time away with the fairies. The Labyrinth taught me to value friends and family over material things. And it taught me that yeah, the world isn't fair but you have to keep going. I learnt that dreams are important but not at the detriment of living. But saying all that, it also taught me about my self worth.
"There are better ways of not letting myself get taken advantage of than throwing a tantrum and wishing my problems away."
"That's an awful lot to learn in thirteen hours."
"Ten. The King does not like to play by the rules apparently," Sarah rolled her eyes at the memory.
"Even better then."
"Your turn," Sarah sat up straighter and placed her hands on her knees signifying her attentiveness. "I talk far too much, and you shouldn't encourage that habit."
"I do not think you talk too much at all. What would you like to know?"
"Anything," Sarah laughed. "You practically know my entire life story against my own better judgement but I know next to nothing about you."
"You know my name is Terry, my brother is Stephen. I work as a gardener at the castle. You know my parents have died. There is not much more to say about me."
"You must have interests or a story to share? Like your ancestors? Do you know if you're a wished-away or your parents were?"
"No, the wished-aways haven't been adopted by the human population for generations. The fae have stolen the babies for an incredibly long time. So my ancestors would have been wished away before my memory or that of my parents.
So I am not sure of my history. The Underground is all I know. But you know the human communities are a testament to humanity at its finest."
"I've said it before, but Aboveground could use a lesson from the humans here. I couldn't be more grateful to have the Spriggets take me in."
"We look after each other. Not to say it's a Utopia, but it certainly is a supportive system the humans have created to ensure their- our survival. The children are happier living in the human settlements than with the fae. It worked well for many years. Perhaps one day, it could return to that system."
"Do you think the fae would just one day decide they don't need to steal other people's children?" Sarah raised a brow, and curled her lip in disbelief.
"They are 'wished' away Sarah, for many reasons. Neglect, abuse, incapable parents -"
He didn't say it out loud but Sarah could almost hear him thinking that teenage tantrums were amongst the more frivolous reasons people wished children away. Sarah had the good grace to look ashamed of her own actions.
"From what I gather, maybe nature is trying to stop the fae from breeding, if they're such cruel creatures."
"You wouldn't be far from the truth. The myth is that they have been cursed with infertility. You think they deserve it?"
"Look, I can't say I have a world of experience, but one fae sent a murder machine with sharp, twirling knives after me when I was just trying to save my brother, amongst a laundry list of other things, another two kidnap me, then abandon me. But yet more fae steal babies, raise them in some cases worse than their original situation. It's not looking good from my standpoint."
"You're right, and humans kill, rape, torture, abuse, torment and hate each other. Totally blameless," Terry muttered sardonically.
"Yeah we're pretty shit too," Sarah agreed.
"But?" Terry prompted. "That can't be the end of your sentence."
Sarah shrugged. "I wished my baby brother away to an evil fairy king. I'm no better."
"Evil? You don't really know evil if that's your basis for comparison,"
Sarah flinched. "You sound like you're in love with him."
"No, I just know the difference between an evil fae and a good fae," he chuckled.
"Good?" Sarah stared at Terry with disbelief. "I guess good and evil can be subjective."
"Perhaps, or you're just quick to misjudge what you don't really understand."
Sarah ran her fingers through her long hair, picking out the knotty sections and working them out. "You'd have to agree he is at the very least, morally ambiguous."
"Sure, based on your personal Aboveground moral code, but he'd be closer to the good end of the spectrum than the evil."
"Why do we always end up talking about him? He taints everything. I want to get to know you, not hear anymore about that insufferable King."
"I am honoured you want to get to know me more," he smiled warmly at her, like he had the first day he'd met her. She felt her heart skip a beat and her stomach flip.
"How did you end up working as a gardener?"
"We needed a way to support ourselves as the farm is only small and not really enough work for both of us. I applied to the castle and was granted work. Been there for many years. See? My life really isn't that interesting."
"I find it interesting, tell me more."
They sat for a few hours longer watching the sun lower over the Labyrinth, changing its colour to a dusky orange colour, and instead of shining, the castle merely glimmered in the crepuscular light. They headed back to the cottage before twilight bled into night.
"I go back home on the morrow," Terry reminded her. "Will you be attending the Twilight Festival in two weeks time?"
"Unsure," Sarah shrugged. "We did last year so I guess we could do so again this year."
"If you do attend, will you save a dance for me?"
"Sure, but I warn you, I'm not much of a dancer."
"I'm sure you're a dream dancer. I will be making the trip out here specially to have that dance with you."
Sarah was grateful for the low light so he couldn't see her inflamed cheeks.
He took her hand in his gloved ones. "Until then, my lady."
Soft lips pressed upon the back of her hand, and his chocolate eyes melted into the night as he took his leave. All her emotions that she had experienced today, should have left her exhausted but her talk with Terry had been somewhat cathartic as she felt exhilaration pumping through her veins.
Was there anyone that Sarah hated more than him?
He sat upon his throne tapping his riding crop against his leg as he contemplated the past few days. As Terry, he had found Sarah enchanting and easy to talk to but he was now buried crotch deep in lies of his own making.
It wasn't as simple as deceiving her to get to know her better. Now Jareth was piling on the lies to win her favour, and it could only end up in ruination. But he couldn't confess his real identity. Perhaps he could at the upcoming festival when he saw her next. However, he needed to get her alone.
Damn Sevlydi and damn him for being right. Sarah resented him, Jareth, resented the fae and he was betraying her trust in order to try and gain her trust. Even to him it didn't make sense anymore. Why was he doing this? He saw first hand how Sarah carried her guilt and her grief for her wish, did he really need to punish her further by deceiving her? He wasn't sure his ego could take much more of a beating as she, his wife, spewed her hatred of him at every opportunity she got. Was he willing to be second in a list of terrible husbands Sarah had landed herself with? It would almost be simpler to just pretend to be Terry for the rest of his existence. A reality that could not be realised, however he may now wish it to be.
Another thought battling with his own ego: had she grieved properly for her family at all? Which was another thing; he strongly suspected the Pinnsburrs of her parents' murders. They couldn't touch Toby, but if Toby wasn't there at the time, then they had access to his family. They wouldn't be hidden by Toby's bubble of magical protection. If he had gone away for whatever reason during any of the times of the year when the veil was thinner, he left his parents open and exposed.
Was this just revenge for the Stolen Pearl they were denied, or was there more at play than he first thought? The Pinnsburrs were merely puppets played by more powerful fae in their usual dealings, having no real initiative themselves. Surely, this was the same? It would explain the magic blocking spells that had stopped him finding Sarah.
Who would hate Sarah enough to go to these lengths? To kill her family? To take her brother away from her? To kidnap her? To block her from his detection? By her own admission, she had limited experience with the fae. Who hated her enough to make her think he, the King of the Goblins, was responsible for all those actions?
The Pinnsburrs were weak. They seeked revenge, and they definitely had a hand in all of this. But someone was their master. And Jareth was going to find out who. She was his wife and he wasn't going to sit idly by while some faceless fae took his future away from him.
A small part of him, that was less selfish, was also furious that Sarah had all that pain inside her, that in some ways, she had been right. It was his fault. All of it.
That cursed red book had brought her here to start with. He could have found another way to discover who his wife was to be without her having to resort to wishing a child away. He swore that when she was secure in the bonds of matrimony, he would destroy that book and put a stop to the Stolen Pearl trade.
A/N: Thank you to my reviewers and followers. I am honestly so blown away.
This is going to be quite a long, slow burn of a story. I can promise that in the next chapter we get to see some Jareth and Sarah, and not Terry and Sarah. But that is all I am saying for now. ;)
Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to Henson, et al.