Chapter 26
-
A Proposal
-
Sarah awoke feeling toasty warm with a smile on her face. Opening her eyes she saw the Duke sitting in the chair next to her bedside, there was a moment of fuzziness before Sarah remembered the nights events. She shuddered at the memory of the cold jealous woman but her smile returned when her thoughts drifted back to the Duke, how he had rescued her and then comforted her and still sat asleep by her bedside. Laying on her side, Sarah proped her head on her hand as she studied the sleeping Duke.
He had the same sharp features as the Goblin King, the same nose and alert eyes but aside from that you'd never know they were related at all. His hair was the deepest of blacks, it fell long and wispy with long bangs that framed his face. His skin was slightly olive and his eyes always seemed to be smudged with eyeliner like a rock star. Sarah had noticed that almost all fae noblemen wore some amount of makeup, she had decided that most wore it exceptional well and found it pleasing to her eyes. She'd also decided that the fae were decidedly vain creatures and knew she'd never be able to put an ounce of the effort they went to, to look their best every day. The Duke wore clothing similar in fashion to the Goblin King, he was mostly attired all in black but that day he had worn a deep crimson shirt made of fine silk. Sarah sighed, "He's so handsome. I can't believe that he would have feelings for me. I may have bested Jareth but im still a mortal." she thought to herself.
The Duke made a noise and his leg shifted. Sarah dropped back down on her pillow and pretended to be asleep seeing that the Duke was awaking and not wanting him to see her staring at him. The Duke's eyes fluttered open, his brilliant amber color eyes seemed to dance with amusement as he yawned looking down upon Sarah.
Sarah did not flinch when she felt the Duke move some of her hair from her face. She could feel the intensity of his eyes on her and tried to keep her breathing steady. She felt the Duke lean in closer and then felt his lips brush softly against her temple, she could feel her cheeks reddening and hoped the Duke did not notice as she remained 'asleep.' The Duke pulled back, full knowing that Sarah had already been awake. A smile played on his lips as he left her room.
-
Midge's Cottage
-
"It is not in our Lady's good nature to leave her friends to worry so." Sir Didymus exclaimed with worry. It had been a month since the Ball and Sarah had not returned any of their letters.
"You're right, and you know Sarah's temper...she'd be up in arms immediately." Midge sighed. The woman who was usually full of vigor and orneriness, was subdued and exhausted. She was terrified for her sons and new husband but there was little to nothing she could do for them, there was no one to call on for help. Sarah was really there only hope, but Midge also did not want Sarah to confront the Goblin King for fear of what might happen to the beloved girl. Life pressed on despite the circumstances, Midge still had a farm to raise and a daughter to feed, it had been hard running the farm before the Williams showed up and now with out Gavin it was extremly toilsome.
Hoggle stomped his foot. "I know that Dukes got something to do with this, bunch of rats them family is."
"We shall sally forth and warn our beloved Lady!" Didymus said with much vigor.
"It takes a full week to arrive in the land of the Nymshir by the fae's fastest horses." Midge shook her head. "It will take you forever on foot."
"Well, looks as if we've got no other options." Hoggle grunted.
"It's late in the day now, I shall make you food for the road. You can leave in the morning." Midge said sounding a bit like her former self. Ambrosias who had been hiding under the table the entire time poked his head out and barked at the mention of food.
"Quiet down Ambroasias! You've already had your food!" Didymus scolded. Ambroasias wimpered and pulled his head back under the table.
-
The Next Day
-
"Has she grown so spoiled that she's lost all her dying devotion to her family!" Jareth slammed his fist down angry and impatient. He had waited a month for Sarah to arrive and demand the release of her family and he had not recieved so much as a threatening letter from the girl.
"Maybe she doesn't know." Priya snapped, still angry with Jareth.
"Well make yourself useful and find out!" Jareth yelled tossing her a transportation crystal. "I will be keeping an eye on you. So don't even think about trying to get out of your duties." he said more calmly.
"Fine!" Priya shouted before vanishing. The elf grated her teeth, she was furious with Jareth but happy to finally be getting away from the castle. He had forbidden her to leave since he had imprisoned Sarah's family. Priya smoothed her hair and dress and worked on calming herself down before entering the Chamberlain's office.
"Lady Priya. What do we owe the surprise?" Chamberlain greeted her warmly.
Priya smiled sweetly, betraying her true emotions. "I wish to visit the Lady Christine. Is she here?"
"Oh." the Chamberlain's face went sour. "You mean Sarah Williams?" he said the name with disdain.
"Yes, the same." Priya said losing a bit of her sweetness.
"I'm afraid her services have been replaced by Lady Angelina." Chamberlain said Angelina's name with no more respect.
Priya made a face at the mention of Lady Angelina. "That's ridiculous."
"hmph." was all she got from the Chamberlain. "It there anything else you needed Lady Priya?" he asked, getting back to his paperwork.
"Do you know where she is now?" Priya felt she was soon to lose her patience with the Chamberlain.
"Something about Duke Lasair." the Chamberlain waved his hand, clearly not wanting to speak of the matter further.
"Thank you." Priya said sarcastically before vanishing once more.
Midge was just coming out from the barn when she saw an elf woman appear infront of her home. "Who are you! What do you want?" Midge called to the elf suspiciously.
Priya ignored Midge's questions and walked over to her. "I heard that a little dwarf and fox may be here?"
"And you are?" Midge questioned again, irritated.
"A friend." Priya smiled. "I needed to ask a favor of Hoggle."
"He's already gone." Midge said moving past the elf towards the gardens.
"Well where did he go?" Priya said becoming impatient once more.
"The Land of the Nymshir, to deliver a message to one of my daughters. Is there anything else you need to know?" Midge asked angry turning around to face the elf she was surprised to see that no one was there. Midge looked around suspiciously for awhile before setting back to work.
With her suspisions confirmed Priya had gone back to the Castle. "He's really not going to like this." she grumbled as she made her way to the throne room.
-
The Duke's
-
"Sarah." the Duke's warm husky voice broke the thick silence of the Libary. Sarah turned and smiled, setting the book she had in her hand on the table next to the chair she had been sitting in. Rising she curtseyed, "My Lord."
The Duke caught Sarah's hand as she rose from her curtsey and kissed the top of it. "Please Sarah, call me Lasair." he smiled. Something about the way his husky voice said her name sent butterflies about her stomach. "I have something to show you, something I promised you before. Come with me." Sarah smiled, having a small idea as to what he would show her. She took his offered arm and let him lead her in silence down to the stables. They walked through the stables and out into a corral. One of the horse keepers walked towards them, leading a magnificent white mare. "This shall be your horse, Sarah." the Duke looked pleased as the horse was walked up to them.
"She's beautiful!" Sarah said in awe.
"I'm glad you think so." The Duke said into her ear, standing slightly behind her he wraped his arm around her shoulders, making Sarah's heart race. "She's the finest mare I own, a gift from the merfolk. Her name is seafoam, she was part of a wild herd that lives along the coast." Lasair explained to her.
Sarah didn't know what to say, she couldn't fathom why the Duke would bestow such a gift to her. As the horse stopped infront of them, Sarah was shocked to see that the horses eyes were a soft color of blue and green, much like "Seafoam." Sarah thought with a smirk.
"I've never seen a horse with eyes like that!" Sarah said excitedly. The horse whinnied and shook her mane in response to Sarah's statement.
The Duke laughed. "Aboveground horses do not compare to the enchanted horses of our realm."
Seafoam snorted and stomped her front leg as if in agreement with the Duke. "Go ahead, she won't bite." The Duke nudged Sarah towards the horse.
Sarah reached her hand out towards Seafoams muzzle. Seafoam whinnied and nudged Sarah's hand. Sarah laughed as she scratched the horses chin. "She seems to like you." Lasiar smiled.
"Well I like her too." Sarah moved closer to the horse petting her neck as she admired the horses beauty.
"Good, let's go for a ride them." The Duke ordered some stable hands to saddle up the horses.
-
At the Goblin Castle
-
"Damn them both!" Jareth smashed a crystal against the wall when Priya informed him of Sarah's whereabouts. Jareth was seething, more than anything he hated not being in control.
"Oh and your dwarf has gone missing." Priya added dryly.
"Hedgwart?" Jareth raised a brow.
"Hoggle." Priya rolled her eyes. "Is currently on his way with that ridiculous little fox, to the Dukes to inform Sarah of your terrible judgement." she said with much sarcasm.
Jareth glared at Priya but decided to forgive her insult. "I knew there was a reason I didn't kill the lot of them after their treachery." he smirked, his mood lightening a bit. "Still it's going to take them bloody forever to reach her." he sighed mentally. "How is my boy?" Jareth smiled, changing the mood.
Priya laughed. "Your 'boy' despises you my King." she mocked. Jareth only laughed and stalked down the hall towards Toby's room to seek amusement.
-
In a quiet meadow...
-
The Duke had taken Sarah on a simple trail ride through a small section of his property. He watched Sarah curiously as she bonded quickly with Seafoam, wondering how it was that such a simple girl could make the most noble of fae simple love her or loathe her. He found her intelligent for a mortal and enjoyed speaking with her, he adored her pride and found her to be very opinionated.
"Your land is quite beautiful." Sarah said admiringly as they stoped by a small creek in a quiet little meadow.
"My mother has a talent for making things green." The Duke chuckled. "Long ago she made our land lush and beautiful."
"You've not spoken of your parents before?" Sarah questioned, the muscle she had gained while working for Midge paid off as she was easily able to unsaddle Seafoam herself and let the horse graze and drink from the stream.
"My father passed away long ago. My mother lives near the sea now. I don't see her often." his eyes darkened for a moment.
"I'm sorry." Sarah said sympathetically. The topic reminded her of her own family and how she had not heard from them in a long while.
"Speaking of family..."Sarah hesitated, she did not want to interogate the Duke after all his kindness. "Do you know if there's been any new mail? I'm beginning to worry, its not like them to not write." she wrung her hands.
The Duke placed his hands gently on Sarah's shoulders. "I'm sorry my dear, there's been no word from them." he lied. He frowned as Sarah's face fell. "Tomorrow," he said reassuringly. "We shall do something about that. Let's not spoil this nice day with worry." he smiled.
"You're right." Sarah smiled. "I'm sure they've just been busy, or perhaps the mail was lost on the way." she tried to reassure herself but something in the back of her mind told her that things we not okay.
"Perhaps. Soon we shall arrange for you to visit I've kept you away too long." he faked being apologetic. Suddenly there was a burst of flame in the grassy meadow that caused Sarah to gasp in alarm. The fire subsided as quickly as it appeared, the grass was not burnt or singed and a blanket laid with trays of food lay in wait for them.
"You fae and your flamboyant tricks!" Sarah teased. The Duke chuckled and led Sarah to the picnic. They ate in silence, just enjoying eachothers company. Once they had finished, the Duke made the trays vanish and Sarah laid back on the blanket with a yawn. With her stomach full and the warm sunlight on them, Sarah felt at ease with Lasair and felt she could take a nap.
"Sarah." the Duke laid on his side facing her. "I assume you know of my feelings for you by now." he said bluntly.
His words caught Sarah by surprise and she turned to stare at him. "I..." Sarah started to say but the Duke placed a finger on her lips to silence her.
"I'm fairly confident that you return at least some of those feelings which I have for you." he continued softly, looking into Sarah's wide doe like eyes.
"This is just so...sudden." Sarah said finally sitting up. The Duke sat up too, still watching her. "Is it true that you knew who I was before the Ball?" Sarah questioned him.
Lasair looked away from Sarah, his eyes darkening. "What did that damn woman say to her..." he thought angrily. Looking back to her with a softer expression. "I was visiting the Goblin King while you were running the Labyrinth." he admitted. "I admit I was enchanted by you then, even though you were merely a young girl."
"For being so enchanted, I never saw you offering me any help to win back my brother." Sarah accused foolishly.
The Duke chuckled. "You know that's not how its played out. Besides," he stroked a piece of her hair. "you didn't need my help." he smiled.
Sarah blushed, feeling foolish. "Do you only want me because you dislike your cousin so much and I bested him?" She felt terrible as soon as she had said it, but she had to know the truth before she acted on her feelings.
The Duke scowled now. "Is that what Illiana told you?" he snapped. Sarah jumped, the Duke had never spoke harshly to her before. "Forgive me." The Duke forced his voice to be calm and took her hand in his own. He smiled sheepishly "As I said Sarah, I was enchanted by you. The fact that my cousin and I don't get along very well has nothing to do with that. But, " his grinned widdened. "I have to say I was very impressed when you actually defeated him, oh you should have seen his face." he chuckled. Sarah didn't laugh, she had caught a glimpse of his face after she uttered 'the words' and she remembered acutely that she felt a wave of guilty and pity for him. Why? She did not know and she had quickly pushed it aside as she celebrated.
"I recognized you immediately at the Ball, your voice was so equisite and I was enchanted all over again. You've grown into a very beautiful woman Sarah." he had moved closer to her and was now whispering in her ear. Sarah forgot her early thoughts and the butterflies started up again. "I knew then that I must get to know you, and in the short while you've been here you've captured my heart and soul." he confessed all to her.
Sarah was touched, no one had every said such things to her or treated her with the adoring affection that the Duke had bestowed upon her. She had been staring down at her own hands as the Duke spoke and now she lifted her face to look into his amber eyes. She felt overwhelmingly shy and fought for the right words. "Do I love him? Do I know what it is to love a man?" Sarah thoughts buzzed. "These feelings are new to me." she finally confessed. "But you make me feel wonderful." she smiled.
The Duke was satisfied with her answer and leaned in and kissed her softly. Feeling Lasair's lips against hers filled her body with a warmth she couldn't describe. Hesistant at first she finally gave into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. The Duke was the one to break their embrace and Sarah let out a small wimper of protest as he pulled away.
"I have something else for you my darling." he grinned. Rolling one of Sarah's hands into a fist he cupped his hands around her closed fist. Sarah gasped and tried to jerk her hand away when their hands were engulfed in a red flame. The Duke held her hand tightly and Sarah relaxed when she realized that her hand was not burning, the flame flickered orange and then blue and died away.
Opening her fist Sarah found a beautiful silver ring, a gem was mounted elegantly atop the ring. At first Sarah thought it to be a diamond but when the sun hit it, it flashed a briliant array of reds. "Marry me Sarah." The Duke asked. "I shall cherish you always." he said kissing her neck.
Sarah pulled away from the Duke and stood. "Lasair...I...It's just so much, so sudden." she shook her head trying to clear her thoughts.
The Duke went to her and pulled her into an embrace. "I shall give you all the time you need to think this over." he pressed a firm kiss atop her head. Pulling away he took the ring from Sarah, in another burst of flame the ring was set on a silver cord which the duke placed around Sarah's neck. Sarah smiled and fingered the ring that lay between her breasts. "Thank you." she smiled.
"We should head back." he announced and they saddled their horses and made their way home in comfortable silence.
-
-
-
-
Author's note: Here's a nice long chapter for everyone! I love romantic fluff but I'm not great at writting about it, so if my fluff seems awkward, thats why! ha. Next chapter I swear that Sarah will find out about her family. You should see that chapter before Monday. Please Review!
-
I'd also like to thank my most recent reviewers (in no particular order): WannaBArtist, Rebeckah, AvitarGirl, Avispa, TriGemini, FireShifter, Dragoon-Yue, Mint Tea Rose, Uru, yodeladyhoo, and C.E.Hobbit
If I missed your name sorry! Just means I accidentally missed your or you haven't left a review in a long while.
-
Last note - If you were reading my first fic 'Let it be for naught' and were one of those who wanted a sequel, I decided I will write one. I will probably start it sometime in the next few weeks. This fic will take priority though. Just a warning.