So once again I find myself stuck on chapters but with the Kingdom Hearts story and several others that I'm working on the inspiration will come when I least expect it. Thanks to all my loyal readers who anxiously await new chapters and to anyone who is new to this story or any of my others. You really encourage me to move on and update as often as I can. I also have had to deal with an engagement and a few deaths since my last chapter.
Notwritten: Thanks for the review.
They were once again in Krystal's room. Kenyon was seated on the bed and Krystal was standing by the door. Kenyon was the first to break out of his stupor.
"Wow that was totally awesome. We really need to do that again sometime." Krystal nodded her head at the excited little boy. "Is it like that every time you go?" This time Krystal shook her head.
"A lot of times I end up wandering around the Labyrinth itself. I've never been that close to the castle before…well as far as seeing it anyway. I did help the Fairy Queen as far as the hill that we started on but that was it." It was a sad reminder of how little they actually had seen of their own home.
"Well we definitely need to go see Kai again and you need to go and see that lady you helped. Kai said that she wanted to thank you properly. You didn't go to see her before we left."
"You're right. That means that another trip is definitely in order." The little boy cheered before rushing out of the room. Several minutes later there was a knock on her door and Krystal invited the person in. She was mildly surprised to find that it was her uncle. "What can I do for you Uncle Toby?"
"I was informed by my nameless informants that the orc prince and king are trying to find you and that those of us up here may soon be in danger." Krystal shook her head at her uncle before sitting down at her vanity.
"Your informants are once again a little too late. Kai has already discussed the matter with father and it should be rectified soon. If it isn't then I can very easily take care of myself and you have nothing to fear dear Uncle." Smiling at his niece Toby nodded.
"I have no doubt that if you truly wanted to you could take on the entire Underground and come out of it on top and completely unscathed. I just worry about you as your uncle." Krystal nodded in understanding before their conversation was ended by a yell of dinner that had come from downstairs. The girl smiled at her uncle. "You go on. Kenyon and I already ate. Besides I have some matters that need to be attended to and I need to know that mother is thoroughly distracted." The man nodded before heading out of the room to join his sister for dinner.
*With Jareth*
The Goblin King had been stunned by the show of respect that the girl had shown to him by bowing. Of course the girl had no way of knowing who he really was and it might have just been for fun on her part. He could clearly remember the times that he would be perched in the park watching Sarah. She would act out her lines perfectly. When it came to the final confrontation she would always speak to him. Of course he was an owl and she had no way of knowing who he was, much like the other girl, but it still meant something to him. Sarah, the entire reason that he was here in the Aboveground once again. He entered the shop, now human…well Fae to be more precise, and searched for the woman he sought. He soon located her in the back room gazing into her crystal ball. He was slightly taken aback by what she was gazing at. It seemed that the woman was keeping a close eye on the girl that he had encountered only moments before. Suddenly the crystal went blank and the woman raised her head to turn her attention to her newest visitor. Standing from her seat she curtsied as best she could.
"Your Majesty it has been a while. To what do I owe this visit?"
"I come seeking your advice." Tabitha nodded and took her seat again signaling for the Goblin King to do the same. Piping hot tea appeared at the table. Taking a sip from his own cup Jareth wondered how she did it. Tabitha had no magic of her own to really speak of aside from seeing the future. Yet it seemed as though she was using magic to make the tea. He shoved that thought into the back of his mind. Now was not the time to contemplate such things. He was here on matters of state.
"You are troubled your majesty. I assume that it has something to do with the guests you currently have taking up residence in your kingdom." Tabitha knowing what was going on never came as a shock to him anymore. Aside from being clairvoyant she had a way of seeing into your soul. Jareth had never really believed he had a soul but that wasn't important.
"Those buffoons are hunting something that doesn't exist and will end up hurting Sarah in the process. I need to be rid of them."
"And the thing that doesn't exist, what would it be?"
"My daughter." Tabitha smiled knowingly over her glass. The king was still as oblivious as he had always been. His daughter was in the Underground at that very moment. Had his majesty been there as well he would have sensed her. Krystal knew that he was Above which was why she wasn't. Clever girl was hiding herself from him.
"If I may make a suggestion. Go see your queen and tell her of the danger yourself. Then while you are there you can confirm or deny any suspicions of you having a daughter. Then you will return to me and I will advise you on how to deal with the young king and prince." Jareth snorted rather unmonarchly at the thought of Soubias being young. If he was young then Jareth was gay. (AN: Chuckle) However the old seer had a point. The only problem with the scenario was Sarah herself. She wasn't known for her level headedness. If Jareth went to her she would blow up at him on sight, they'd argue and fight until he completely forgot the reason for the visit. He would then return to the Underground only to remember it later and curse both of them for his loss of memory. No that would not do at the moment. He would send Kai to inform Sarah of his impending visit and then he would address the issue. Finishing his tea he told the old woman of his plans. "It does seem like a smart move Your Majesty."
"Now to the pressing matters of what to do about my unwelcome guests."
"You mean the Orcs that have already over stayed their welcome? There's always the diplomatic solution." Jareth rubbed his temples at his beginning headache. It seemed that the mere thought of the Orcs was enough to make his head hurt. "Just host one of your balls. Then the others will question why the Orcs aren't leaving when it has ended. This will cause them to tell the others of them believing that you have a daughter and with that them realizing how idiotic they have been. After all the other monarchs know that you have no child other then Kai."
"Not that I wouldn't mind." The woman's gaze softened. Jareth recomposed himself quickly. The seer was an old friend, but it would not do to look weak in front of his subjects. "I will do as you advise and hold a royal ball. It was good to see you and I hope that you stay well. I shall call on you again if I require your services."
"Stay well yourself Your Majesty. I look forward to your next visit." With that Jareth exited her little shop via the door. Tabitha could tell just by the way he left that he had a lot on his mind. She smiled knowing that soon he would have even more then he had bargained for. Jareth found himself taking a road that was far too familiar to him. As soon as he began his trip he reached his destination. A well known park greeted him. Sitting on a bench he contemplated his next move. This was where it all began. When he first spied the girl known as Sarah. Even at a young age she lived in a fantasy world. Acting out plays in cute little costumes. He had interacted with her a few times. She had been slightly apprehensive at first but soon grew fond of her new friend. Apparently the kids at school would make fun of the poor girl for liking the fantasy that she so enjoyed. There would have been questioning looks sent their way in her world had he been an adult so he took on the appearance of a 10 year old boy. Sarah enjoyed his company immensely and after a while he began looking forward to their play days. Then as she grew things didn't change much. Sure the plays became more mature and the costumes bigger but the fantasy aspect remained. One day, unexpectedly, Sarah didn't arrive. He waited a few days then, feeling strangely troubled, Jareth sought out his companion. Upon arriving at her home he discovered that Sarah's absence was due to her mother, Linda's, departure. It seemed she wanted to live her dreams and further her career instead of being with her family. This enraged Jareth for reasons he didn't understand. He wrote it off as the frustration of a king that takes children away from undeserving parents like Linda. Sarah's visits started again as she slowly got over the pain of being, for lack of a better word, betrayed. Jareth didn't appear to her again, although he did still watch over her. In the form of a barn owl. Then when she was 15 she came across the Labyrinth book that he had left for her. She had run his labyrinth as expected but she had won which had not, in fact, been originally planned. Thinking himself the better of them he tried to sway Sarah to his side with a promise of her dreams once again. He had never had any interest in Toby nor would he have ever harmed the boy that Sarah had realized meant so much to her. He had been crushed when she rejected him. Then she had returned to her home and her family. Years past without him looking in on her except briefly from a crystal. After all he had his kingdom to rebuild and she was happy with her life. One day she returned to his kingdom when she was needed most. The Labyrinth had summoned back its champion. Needless to say she was none too thrilled. Finding out that Jareth himself had not kidnapped her back had helped put her mind at ease. Shortly after her victory over the enemy they were married. Not too much longer after that Kai was born. He got a wonderful son from her before she left his world again. Knowing that this train of thought was depressing he decided to head home. He would discuss the things that had occurred at Tabitha's extensively with Sarah at a different time. Things were still too confusing for him at the moment and it would be unwise to drop in on her unannounced. She had a bad habit of throwing objects at him when he did that. There was also the little problem of her not agreeing with him on certain things and shouting at him when he did things she perceived as upsetting. This would leave hour long visits. Something that he had no time for. His subjects needed him to keep them safe from the orcs. Knowing that they would bring the trolls to his kingdom as well he needed to get back as quickly as possible. Transporting himself to his throne room he noticed Kai arrive as well.
"Where have you been?"
"Mingling with the subjects. They were talking about your absence." Jareth sighed.
"I went to seek advice from Tabitha. She believes that Sarah needs to be informed of the situation at hand and though I do not disagree I would rather not incur her wrath in or before such an important conversation." Kai smiled and nodded. "You will be going to inform her that I shall discuss matters with her over dinner tomorrow."
"Where would you like to have the meeting father? Here or Above?" Jareth thought on this for a moment. He would be more comfortable talking to Sarah here in his castle. However, seeing as the meeting was to warn her of danger that she was in he'd rather do it in a place where she felt more comfortable.
"We'll ask if we can have dinner at her house. That way she will be more inclined to listen."
*With Sarah*
After setting the table she waited for a bit before starting to worry. No one had come down for dinner and the house was a little too quiet for her liking. As she was about to stand Toby walked into the kitchen.
"Smells great sis but it looks like just you and me for dinner tonight. The twerps aren't hungry."
"They haven't eaten since lunch though. I wonder if they're feeling alright." Toby placed a hand on her arm.
"I'm sure they're just fine. They prolly do what I did when I was their ages." Sarah raised her eyebrow at him. "Hide snacks in their rooms to eat before dinner."
"There is a difference though Toby. Karen's cooking was atrocious. Even dad could hardly stomach it. Wait a minute…are you saying that my cooking is bad?" Holding his hands up in a sign of surrender Toby tried to calm his sister down.
"Now, now I didn't saw that. I'm just saying that maybe your kids don't like what you made tonight." Sarah called when she realized that part of what he said was true. Kenyon didn't like the lasagna and Krystal wasn't really a fan of food in general. She had even gone through a phase where she ate nothing but different types of pasta. She had heard her daughter say on more than one occasion that if she didn't have to eat to survive then she wouldn't eat at all.
"Maybe you're right Toby. I just…I want things to be normal around here."
"Sarah, I think that it's time that you told them." She glared at him from across the table. "At least Krystal she's old enough to make her own decisions now. I mean, come on Sarah you can't leave them in the dark forever. Eventually they WILL find out. Don't you think that it's better if they find out from you? I know that you already suspect that they know something. By doing this, keeping things from them, from Jareth, you may make things worse than you think they will be if you tell them. Something is going on Sarah, something is coming. I can feel it, you can feel it. It may change things."
"It may change them for the better Toby. You know very well that I want normal lives for both of them. I don't want them to have to face the dangers of the Underground unprepared. I don't want them to go through what I went through."
"And that's why you talk to them Sar. You tell them everything that they need to know. How do you think that Jareth will react when he finds out that he has 2 other kids. He never got to be a part of their lives Sarah. He didn't have a choice in it either so who do you think they will hate if they get angry for what has happened? I know that you are trying to protect them but there are other ways." Suddenly the air in the kitchen felt different and Kai appeared.
"I apologize if I am interrupting anything but I felt that this couldn't wait." Sarah dried the tears that had refused to fall from her eyes before smiling at her son.
"It's alright. Nothing that can't be discussed later. It's nice to see you Kai…is something wrong?"
"There's a lot wrong at the moment but I am not here to discuss it. I'm here on official business from my father."For a moment it seemed as if Sarah had forgotten to breathe. Was this what Toby was talking about? Had Jareth finally found out about Krystal and Kenyon? Was he going to take them away from her? She shook her head to clear her thoughts. No, she would fight him if it came to that. "Mother are you alright? You seem…on edge?"
"I'm alright Kai. What is it that his Majesty said?" Kai winced at his mother's formality.
"Father would like to set up a dinner to discuss some matters with you that have recently made themselves known. I promise that it is nothing terrible so please put your mind at ease. He humbly requests that we have the dinner here. I may also be attending if you see it fit to have me here as "moral support"." Sarah and Toby exchanged looks across the table.
"Sar, it would be the perfect opportunity to tell him. You and I knew that something bad was going to happen. Maybe this is something that you need to do now." Sarah shook her head.
"He will not be told about them but I will see what he has to say." She turned to Kai and smiled. "Tell his Majesty that I accept his proposal. We shall have dinner here tomorrow, you shall be in attendance and I will hear what he has to say." Just then the kitchen door swung open.
"Mom there's someone at the door. He says that he's here to check the electricity. I told him there was nothing wrong with it but he insisted that he speak to you."
Yay I'm going to leave you with a cliffhanger and a preview for the next chapter.
The house looked like a tornado had blown through. The front door was off its hinges and had been flung into the kitchen door.
"SISTER!" It was all that she could do to stay quiet. She heard him crying, terrified about the situation that they were now in. Her uncle was unconscious somewhere and she had no idea what had happened to the other 2 that were in the house. She felt she was being a coward but there was no way in her current state that she could take on a full grown troll and 2 underground nobility. "SISTER! Help me!" Tears streamed down her own cheeks as she remained hidden inside their once complete leather couch. She was a failure as a sibling, she couldn't protect her younger brother, couldn't protect herself. Suddenly there was a wait on her back. Knowing what was there she feared to turn. Then a thought hit her as she felt something solid connect with the back of her head. She had a way to call for help.
