A/N: I'm moving right along here. Only a few more weeks till I leave, and there are still at least three chapters to go until I'm where I want to be.
HAUNTED
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Karen was pacing around her kitchen nervously. It was nearly nine o'clock, and Robert hadn't come home yet. She had good right to be nervous; Robert usually got home around seven, and even at his latest, he was always home by eight. Had something happened? No, if he had been in an accident, she would have heard about it by now. He must just be running later than usual.
She had already put Toby to bed, and Sarah was locked up in her room as usual, so she wasn't concerned with them. If they needed something, she was right there. But even though she was more than capable of taking care of herself, she felt, safer somehow, when Robert was around. She supposed her new feelings of vulnerability was another trait of her rapidly oncoming humanity. She could feel it in her bones, her aging was speeding up, and her magic had become weaker, even her simple household spells were becoming difficult. She sighed, depressed at the thought. She didn't regret anything, would have given up her immortality all over again, but she couldn't help but feel a small sense of loss.
A soft rapping at the kitchen window interrupted her depressing thoughts. She looked out the wide window to see the pure white owl that had been perched on the roof earlier that day, fluttering outside, knocking on the glass of the window with her beak. She gave it an exasperated smile, and opened the window. The owl flew in, and transformed into the petite, slender form of her mother, clad in a simple, white linen gown.
"Mother, what in the name of all that is magical are you doing here?" she hissed, shutting the window again. Nuala gave her daughter a look of extreme annoyance.
"Karei, I am your mother. I do not need a reason to visit you."
"Why are you doing it now? Is something wrong?" Karen asked, gesturing for her mother to sit. "Is Jareth up to something again?"
Nuala sat across from her daughter, and took a deep breath. "Darling, I'm still concerned for young Sarah. Jareth visited your home yesterday afternoon, and left a crystal here for her to find."
"He did WHAT?" she hissed, her eyes narrowing, "I'll kill him!"
"And then, after your daughter went to bed, he appeared to her, and tried to tempt her away again."
"I knew something was wrong with that girl this morning." Karen sank down, placing her finger tips on her temples. "Why is he doing this? What on earth does he want with her? He claims to want to marry her, but I don't believe that for a moment. Jareth despises humans!"
"If I had to wager a guess, I'd say that he probably wants revenge," Nuala said, conjuring up two steaming cups of tea.
"Revenge? What could Sarah have possibly done to anger him?"
"Oh, you know Jareth, he doesn't like to lose."
"Lose what? What are you going on about?"
Nuala stared at her daughter, obviously surprised. Then a look of comprehension dawned on her lovely face. "You don't know, do you?"
"Know what?"
"Sarah defeated the Labyrinth."
Karen's jaw dropped. She remembered only too well the terrifying labyrinth that surrounded her brother's kingdom. How anyone could have solved it with out magic was beyond her. "When was this?"
"A few months ago. She nearly destryed the kingdom when she got Tobias back."
"Wait a minute! She wished away Toby? I'm going to strangle her in her sleep!"
"Calm down! She didn't know what she was doing! Mortals don't believe in magic, remember?"
"I just can't believe that she'd wish away Toby! I guess that explains her sudden change in attitude towards him."
"You never know how much you love something until it's gone," Nuala said, nodding wisely, "And besides, it's no use getting mad about it. She got him back, didn't she?"
Karen shook her head. "But mother, that still doesn't make any sense. Jareth was after her two years ago. He came to me and practically tried to blackmail me into giving her to him."
Nuala looked astounded. "Really? You didn't tell me that! That means that he couldn't possibly want to take her innocence out of revenge."
"It's possible, mother, that Jareth simply wants her. She's a very pretty girl, even Jareth admits it. And again, he thinks very little of humans."
"You know, I find it a bit ironic that we in the Underground resent humans so much, considering that we once were human ourselves."
"Really? I didn't know that. "
"It's true. I was just a child back then, but I remember when the first council created the Underground. A lot of the original denizens try to forget it, and the young ones just see themselves as more superior beings, but in all respects, we're just humans that can do magic, and who live a long time."
"Don't ever tell Jareth that," Karen said with an wistful smirk.
"Jareth is the worst for seeing humans as inferior, but I tell you, and I'm not afraid to tell him, that he's human through and through. No other creature could be that selfish."
"So what do we do about Jareth? Sarah can't keep living in fear, and I don't know what else to do."
"I'm not sure, Karei, but do something we must. I'll try confronting him again, maybe I can make him see reason. Otherwise, I can go over his head to the council. If they won't grant her immortality, he might just give up."
"But the council isn't the only way to make a human immortal, what if he drafts up an immortality brew?"
"Sweetheart, we both know that isn't going to happen anytime soon. Your brother may have mastered other forms of magic, but he is terrible with potions. Surely you remember that?"
"What's to stop him from buying it off someone?"
Nuala looked as though she were about to say something encouraging, but she stopped for a moment, and a look of understanding crossed her face. She looked out the window, thinking of something that had happend a few days prior.
"Mother?"
"I get it now... the lying little bastard..."
"What?"
"Karei, you know my cousin, right? Safine?"
"Yes, so?"
"She came to me years ago, and told me that Jareth had tried to hire her as a governess for a human child he planned on taking. The same day, Jareth asked me to brew him up a batch. I think that child might have been Sarah. I didn't give him any, it's a pain in the rear to make, and he got angry and stormed off. And a few days ago, I went to the castle, and I smelled Nevine's scent all over him. He must have bought some off him."
"Oh, my lord. What will we do?"
"I'm going to him right now. Keep a careful watch on Sarah and Toby, don't let them go anywhere alone." She rose from the chair, and transformed. Karen quickly flung the door open, and away the white owl flew, over the trees, and into the moonlight.
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Things are starting to come together, pieces are starting to fall into place. I think I can finish this by the end of the summer! Please excuse these dull chapters, but they are nessasary to the plot. The real excitement begins in a few chapters. So keep reading!
Please review! I appreciate feedback, be it good of bad.