Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters and plot
Authors note: Well I did promise not to leave you waiting too long and I hope you all enjoy this. Im also very glad I was able to persuade a certain someone to keep reading, I wont mention names ;P
To say that Sarah was enjoying herself was a serious understatement. Strolling around in her panther form gave her senses a boost that none of her suitors had thought of. With her ears, she could just about pin point where each Monarch was and what trouble they had gotten themselves into. Her paws gave her the advantage to sneak up and set up a small 'surprise' for them to fall, levitate or disappear into. And her eyes drank in the sight of each of her former suitors failing at 'winning' her.
So far she had tricked Prince Kier into thinking she was in one of her Gardens and was now surrounded by her statues that had gagged him and were holding him prisoner. That, in her mind, had been very satisfying and the look on his face when he had seen her sitting in her panther form, just watching what happened to him, had been enough to make her feel better about his comment.
King Varden had been harder to trick and he was very good at escaping the oubliettes, which had frustrated her to no end. However, she had managed to make him think she was in the Fiery's forest, the fact that she used an illusion spell to make him think she was running through the trees was neither here nor there. Now he was being tormented by the Fiery's, who had managed to tie ropes to his hands and legs and were using him as a puppet, much to Sarah's delight.
And with only two hours remaining, Sarah had finally caught King Maccus in the same trap that was used on poor Ludo during her run through the Labyrinth all those years ago. Opening a pit underneath him and filling it with panthers that looked just like her had been too easy, not to mention that he was now talking to each of them, trying to figure out which one was her.
After listening to Maccus plead and beg to be let loose, Sarah wandered into one of her gardens and waited for the rest of the time limit to end. When Lavena, her great-great-grandmother, had proposed this plan, this had always been the outcome, for none of her four suitors to 'win' her. However, Jareth had not only refused the challenge but had also withdrawn his suit to be her husband, this made Sarah smile.
Thinking back to what Lavena had said when she had proposed the plan, Sarah could only shake her head at the fact that the Goddess had been right. She had told Sarah, that any man who thought her could 'win' her like a trophy, was a waste of her time and needed to be taught a lesson, which is what Sarah had done. Then she remembered what Lavena had said afterwards.
"However," Lavena had said, "for a man to admit he was wrong and to give up his hope of having you, that is what you really need to look for. When the Challenge is issued or during the Challenge itself, if any of them should admit that the way they treated you was unjust and give up their suit to be your husband, that is the one that truly loves you, as he would break his own heart so you could find happiness."
Sarah didn't realise she was crying or that the time limit had run out, till her grandmother wrapped her in her arms and rocked her gently. Sitting on the same bench, the two women embrace the peace around them, knowing that soon, Sarah would need to leave to once again face the Goblin King.
After, what seemed like an age, Sarah dried her eyes, gave her grandmother a squeeze and disappeared in a sparkle of green and purple glitter. Lavena watch her grand-daughters glitter settle on the stone of her garden before adding her own, taking with her the warm smile that had graced Sarah's lips before she had left.