Chapter 40.

Neither said a word until they reached the chambers that Jett now used alone. Once inside the grand rooms Sarah turned to Quinn. "He pissed on that statue."

Quinn looked around the sitting room. "I've a feeling it was not the first time."

Sarah made a face. "Gross."

"I agree." The Goblin King sighed. "Sarah, Elise was not a nice person. You have no idea of what she put that poor man though. Don't waste sympathy on her."

"But pissing on her?" Sarah shook her head. "I'm sorry…I just don't think it's right." She followed Quinn toward one of the bedchambers. "How do you know which one was hers?"

"Scent." Quinn said opening the door. "Elise had…has…a very distinctive scent."

He looked around the room. "This is most presumably her room." Pointing to a large bed and a wall of mirrors, he said disgusted with the woman who was his sister.

Sarah nodded, "Yep, that's got to be her vanity there. Unless Jett swings both ways."

It was Quinn's turn to shudder. "I highly doubt it." He muttered. "Sarah, you're a woman, where would you hide something important."

"Me, I'd put it in plain view. If I were Karen it would be behind a picture of Kerry or Toby… do you see a single item in this room that says it's occupant was a loving mother?" Sarah glanced around the room, no where was there anything thing that belonged to Robin. "Quinn, I don't see anything in here to even say she has a child. If this were Karen's room, it would be covered with items from the children. Pictures they draw, hand casts… baby books…Do you see anything like that?"

"No." Quinn tapped his chin. "Now that you mention it, I don't remember her ever even showing a locket portrait of the…boy. I remember her shoving him off on Jareth and I…as often as she could. She always claimed to be busy with court business."

Crossing her arms, Sarah said. "What was it Jett said…she liked having something to lord over others? That being a factor I'd say she put it in a place of honor…somewhere others could see it if she wanted it seen."

The Goblin King looked at her with agreement. "She'd want people coming into her chamber to admire it and praise her." He looked about, "What would she place it in."

Sarah walked over to the bed and took a seat. Quinn frowned, "What are you doing?"

"Thinking like Elise…" she muttered and settled into the center of the bed. "Eye line." She muttered and turned her face scanning the room slowly while Quinn stood by watching. "Somewhere she could look at it, or show it off from her favorite place in the room."

"How do you know the bed is her favorite place?" He asked with admiration.

Sarah snorted, "Just look at it…it's a monster of a bed. Covered in silks and satins…and all that gauzy drapes…It's not just a bed. This is Elise's stage!" She pointed down to the bed.

"Her stage?" The Fae King asked intrigued with the description.

"Yep." She continued to scan the room slowly. "I went to a fancy party with my mother when I visited her in England… she was on a movie shoot and the entire cast was invited to a party at a country home… Our hostess took us on a tour of the house. Mother called her a trophy wife; she was much younger than her husband was. She was his second or third wife, I do not really remember. She was impressed by the body of work my mother had behind her, and wanted to impress Linda Williams. She took us up to this fancy smancy bedroom. It looked a lot like this one. As we left the estate that evening, mother was telling her partner Jeremy about the room. Mother called the bed the woman's stage."

"That's rather a cold statement, don't you think?" Quinn looked troubled.

Sarah stopped scanning; "I've had few illusions about men and women for a long time Quinn. I may be an innocent but I know what is what. Lady Balton was a toy, a plaything for her husband. His first wife gave him his heir…and when she passed away, he looked for women to distract him." She returned to scanning the room. "Lady Bolton played the part she was given. I am sure she was not the most faithful of wives either. Lord Bolton was a bit of a rake as well. Mother said they were part of the swingers set and that I should have little or nothing to do with them."

"Sarah." Quinn sat down on the bed beside her. "We've no intentions of treating you like a toy. Though some Fae will say you are a …trophy."

Sarah looked at him. "Both sides of the Shattered Soul have made clear they don't think of me as merely a toy. I never thought of myself that way. I am the Mystic for the Goblin Kingdom. That duty will not end when I become it's Queen. If other Fae want to call me your trophy, let them. It does not change the fact that I am the girl who beat the Labyrinth."

A gloved had patted hers. "Go back to what you were doing." He sat quietly watching her.

She stopped. "It should be right here." She fell back and exhaled her exasperation. Something in the fancy canopy caught her eye. "Oh for the love of…She stuck it in the canopy…wanting to look at it when she…There." She pointed up. "That's the hiding place."

Quinn turned and looked up as well. In the intricate framework of the canopy was a starburst knot. "That looks like a decoration."

"It's not. It's the cover of a coffer." Sarah looked pleased with herself. "Pry it off and the contents come spilling out."

"You can't tell me your mother told you about such things." Quinn stood up on the bed to examine the item.

"No, Robin wrote about it in Meander's Queen." Sarah said with a deep sigh. "He described this bedroom in one chapter. I should have remembered. At one time I was very much obsessed with his books."

"He wrote about this bedroom?" He reached for the knot and paused. "Did he say how to open the hidden coffer?"

"Yes, turn that top disc to the left."

Following the directions, the Fae turned the disc slowly and heard it snap. He pulled it down off the frame. A parchment packet fell to the bed. "Good thinking, Sarah." He replaced the disc and stepped off the bed.

Sarah held the packet in her hands, gingerly. "Ever feel as if the weight of the world were upon you?"

"Every time we answer a summons." He said quietly.

Sarah looked up at him. "A heavy burden indeed."

"One that must be shouldered, Sarah. It's not a nice or a pretty job, but it is an important one." Quinn sat down beside her. "One we take very seriously." He looked at the packet. "Want to open that?"

Sarah shook her head. "I think the bard and Anne should."

Quinn cocked his head; "Need something Jett?"

"I was wondering if you found anything." The Fae man entered his wife's chamber reluctantly. From his movements, one could see he was not often invited into the extravagant and fanciful room. Even now, with it's occupant imprisoned in Crystal, Jett moved into the room with great care, and trepidation.

Quinn rose from his sister's bed and held a hand out to Sarah. "We did, and I thank you for allowing us to disturb your chambers."

Jett looked at the contents of the room. "I'm glad if you found what you were looking for." He sounded sad.

Sarah looked at him. "Why did you marry her? Surely you knew the kind of person she was…she didn't seem the kind to hide her nature…"

The candid, straightforward question caught or seemed to catch Jett off guard. He looked totally defeated. "I loved her." He said in a dragged out breath.

Quinn knew Sarah was about to offer sympathy. He put his arm around her. When she looked up, he shook his head in the negative, warning her to go no further. "Jett, we thank you again."

Jett quickly pulled himself together, his face once more a mask of indifference. "If you need anything else…it's yours." Turning he walked away quickly.

Sarah looked up at Quinn. "Will he be alight?"

"No." Quinn sighed. "He won't."

"Poor man." Sarah felt miserable for the man. "I feel sorry for him."

"Yes, dear. I could see that you do. However offering sympathy to him would be unwise. He lived with my sister a long time, and learned to use things to his advantage. I do not want him thinking you feeling sorry for him is an invitation to try and woo you." Quinn held Sarah's shoulders, "Let's go home."

She nodded and took one last look at Elise's room. "Yes, please. I've had enough of the trappings of your sister's room." She turned her face up to the Goblin King, the shattered soul…the two-made-one. "Let's go home."

Sparkling Fae dust was the only thing left a moment later.