Chapter 6.

Cairbre sat with the quill in his hand. "Solea, you're an elemental…you tell me what causes a storm of that magnitude."

The Water Sprite gazed at her husband. "Anger." She said as if she could not believe he'd not thought of it first.

"Whose?" The Bard pondered. "Who could be so angry and why at Sarah?"

"Good questions, husband. Perhaps we shall learn the answers." She pointed to the pool of water that was getting active again. Images formed and swirled to the top.

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Giles looked up when the King joined him again in the war room where the new building plans spread out on the heavy wooden table. "Is everything alright?" Giles asked distractedly.

The Fae nodded. "Sarah and the children are resting. The storm was…."

"Disturbing?" Giles offered.

"To say the least." The Fae agreed. "For now, I think it best to keep Sarah and the children in seclusion."

Giles thought about it, "That seems reasonable, what with the climate she's living in."

The Fae startled looked at the Archer and master builder. "What do you mean, Giles?"

Giles looked up from the blue print, "I mean her father's attitude toward her and her freedoms as of the graduation, Sire. I understand her father has been protective of her even before…however since we greeted him, he seems hell bent on keeping her under his thumb."

'What did you do?' Quinn accused the other who had retreated deep within. "I had not considered that." The Fae could not get a reaction from the other half, and now he was pondering the words from the building master. "Thank you Giles."

The Archer looked at his King, "For what, Sire?"

"Food for thought, my good man. Food for thought." Quinn sighed. "Now show me the new mill you've designed."

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Oberon cleared his throat before entering the glade occupied by the Bard and his bride. "For give the intrusion." The High King said softly. The stately figure in royal robes approached.

Solea stood up, and drooped to a courtesy. "Sire."

Cairbre stood up and looked at the High King with serious eyes. "I want to know how long this has been going on." He pointed toward the image of the Fae walking, displayed in the waters. Completely forgetting station and protocol, the Bard went on the attack.

Oberon was amused. "Your status as Bard gives you…certain considerations, Cairbre…It does not give you total access." He reminded the Bard.

Solea stayed low, and looked up.

The High King noted the glance and without looking at her said. "Rise." He kept his gaze on the Bard. "You have questions, as do we. Ask what you will and I'll tell you what I can."

The Bard tilted his head; "You've kept the two made one under observation?"

"Indeed." Oberon stated. "Almost immediately I was altered by healers that there were…. Problems with the merge." The High King took a seat and motioned the Bard and his wife to join him. "A merge of this magnitude has never been achieved. That Quinn was able to save Jareth was miraculous in and of itself."

Cairbre leaned toward the master of the Fae Realms. "Sire, why was it never attempted when they were adolescent? Would not that have been a better time to rejoin that which was shattered? Why allow it to go on as long as you did?"

"Which of the two would you have sacrificed?" The Elder sighed. "Which mother would you have had grieve for a child that was never meant to be? Which one deserved life more than the other?"

Solea shook her head, "An impossible decision."

"One I'd hoped I'd never have to make." Oberon confessed. He looked his age in the dim lights of the night, here in the forest. "I've many children, it is true…some I hardly even know…but those two…they were…and are…close to my heart."

Solea reached over and placed a hand on that of the High King. "Yet, still you have them."

"Do I?" The man asked. "Do I?"

Cairbre looked at the Scrying pool. "What went wrong?"

"We don't know." Oberon said softly. "Bard, you've watched my son Jareth for a long time…I know that you've followed his…adventurous life…perhaps somewhere in your notes you can help us find a clue as to why they have not…completed the merge."

The Bard looked from the Scrying to the King. "I will do what I can, Sire." Cairbre was thinking the problems over. "There are some old scrolls, written long before they came into being…perhaps I can find something to give us answers there."

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Quinn tapped and quietly entered the rose suite; he smiled when he saw the little ones were asleep. "The storm has passed Sarah." He said quietly. Like his other half he adored the sight of a sleeping child.

"You don't have to whisper, a bomb would not wake them." Sarah said looking at down. "So you want to give me a hand moving them back?"

Quinn nodded. "Sarah, you take the girl…"

"Her name is Claire Kerry…I call her Kerry…" She interjected. "He's…"

"Toby." Quinn finished. "Yes, I've been though Jareth's memories about the lad. Jareth has a great fondness for your little brother you know."

"That's rather intrusive," the girl admonished.

"It would be if we were still in two separate corporal states, as it is we share the one corporal…body." Quinn shrugged. He reached down, and lifted the sleeping boy, "So little a thing…" he said just as his other half had just a few years past. "I understand why you let nothing stand in your path to rescue him." He cleared his throat. "What we do for our brothers…. No sacrifice would be too great…not even one's own life." He looked over at Sarah. "Ready?"

Sarah had Kerry in her arms. "Yes."

"Meep get the door, remember not a word to anyone!" The Fae instructed. When Meep opened the door, the Fae led the way back to the portal and waited until Sarah and Meep went though to carry the boy. No one watching them thought anything of it.

Instead of the portal opening in the basement where Sarah had left, it opened upstairs in the hall outside the nursery. "I thought it best to have them wake in their own beds." Quinn said quietly. He walked into the nursery and placed the boy on the bed. He watched as Sarah deposited the little girl in the crib. "Meep, watch them for now." Taking hold of Sarah's elbow, he moved her toward the hall. "A word, please."

Meep frowned. "No further than the hall, you!" he warned.

"Bully." Quinn teased as he pulled the nursery door shut. He looked at Sarah. "I'm going to have someone look into the storm issue. If you need anything, I want you to call. Use that mirror on your vanity, Hoggle will be at your disposal, Sir Didymus is busy with new troops."

The dark haired girl nodded, then reached out a hand. "Quinn…I never got a chance to…"

"Don't." He snapped. "Don't thank me." His eyes were again feral.

"But you saved Jareth…" She protested.

Quinn pulled her into the arms of the body. "At a price, Sarah…At a price…"

Feeling her heart pound, she snapped. "Then why not just collect?"

Quinn was tempted, but resisted. "No, not on this side of the portal! Our bargain was made in the Underground and only there will I…collect." He smiled down into suddenly frightened eyes. "Don't be in such a rush to clear your debt!" He released her and took a step back. "When your father and stepmother return, we shall contact them. We will make it possible for you to have freedom of movement. The Kingdom needs its Mystic, as does the throne."

"And what do you need Quinn?" Sarah asked without thinking.

He snorted. "That, Sarah, is a very good question." He bowed and vanished.

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Quinn went to the tower, and took a seat on the rafter. He pondered the question. What did he need? Why was the merge not completed? Why did Jareth muck things up with Sarah's father? And where the hell did that storm come from?