Thanks for your patience and lovely reviews, my lovely readers! Why am I repeating the word "lovely"? Eh, you'll see…
"The key to victory is to find your enemy's weakness and make him suffer for it."—Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu, Kung Fu Panda
Chapter 5: Lovely
"On your knees, girl," the guard ordered, "to the king of the gargoyles!"
"I most certainly will not!" the girl protested, "I bow only to kings who are men of honor!" A stone-like hand struck her in the face, knocking her to the ground.
"Ah!" she cried indignantly, "You dare to strike a unicorn? I'll have my horn to you for such disrespect!"
"And I'll have my whip to you if you don't pipe down in His Majesty's presence!" he stormed, "Your Highness…"
With careless and arrogant swagger, the king descended the stone steps into the cell, shuffling a deck of cards, and knelt to the humanoid. He took her chin, but she swatted it with her horn.
"Don't you dare touch me!" she hissed, "You foul, evil, miserable little cockroach!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk," he shook his head, "Such coarse language from such a magnificent creature. I thought unicorns were supposed to be gentle."
"Only to those with gentle intentions," the girl spat, "Now tell me: What do you want with me?"
"Oh, nothing from you personally, I assure you." He stood. "I'm merely putting an old adage to practice."
"What adage?" she asked incredulously. An evil smile crossed his lips.
"You catch more bees with honey," he said, "And you, my dear, are the honey." She gasped in shock.
"What?" she uttered, "Not only do you capture a unicorn, but you add insult to injury by using me as a pawn in your sick, twisted game?"
"By George, I think she's got it," the king replied as he turned to leave.
"You fiend!" she screamed, "You vile, treacherous devil! Release me from these chains and face me like a man, you heartless snake!"
"Don't hurt her too much," he murmured to the guard, "Just enough to shut her up." He exited the cell to the echoing cry of pain as the delicate maiden took a kick to the stomach. She lay on her side in a fetal curl, choking to regain her breath.
"Save me…" she gasped, "…my queen."
Sarah woke to the inviting sounds of birdsong and dewdrops dripping from the ceiling (outside) as the morning rays slid through her window and shone gloriously on Merlin's fur. Toby was still out cold, his face beautifully peaceful. She smiled at him and slipped out of bed to start her morning routine. Hoggle and the others were gone, as they always were in the morning. They stayed up all night watching her and deserved their rest.
She changed clothes and pushed open the curtains to see the gorgeous barn owl perched on the stone balcony railing, looking around alertly with quick turns of the head. The dawnlight washed his white feathers in gold and his brown ones in copper.
'He's still standing guard for me,' she thought emotionally before unlocking the door to walk out to him. He looked at her and blinked. She giggled a bit.
"Good morning," she said as she stroked his head. The owl closed his eyes and hooted happily, which made her giggle again.
"Do you want to come in?" she invited, "It's kinda chilly out here." The owl cocked his head to the side as if to say, "Chilly? What do you think I have feathers for?"
"You see," she said, "I feel kinda bad that you stood guard all night and put yourself at risk just for me and Toby. Didn't you sleep at all?"
He fluffed out his chest and ruffled his wings in a show of bravado. He seemed to be saying "I can handle it. It's a piece of cake." Sarah seemed to understand him and frowned with her arms folded.
"Do you want me to feel guilty?" she said, "I'm trying to thank you for helping me last night. And…I had fun dancing with you. It made me feel…safe…like nothing could hurt me. I just wanted to thank you for that." The owl blinked slowly at her, then perched on her shoulder and hooted again.
"That's what I thought," smiled Sarah as she walked back inside, "Just make sure to keep quiet so my parents don't wake up." She held her fingers to his beak and he softly nipped it like any other owl. He was such a pretty bird that she rubbed the side of her head against his soft plumage, almost forgetting he wasn't just an owl. She closed her eyes for a second and murmured, "I would not for the world they saw thee here." She then blushed when she realized she'd just quoted Romeo and Juliet!
"Um…" she stuttered, "…th-that is, uh…" The owl pressed his head against hers and hooted softly and Jareth's voice sounded clearly in her mind.
"I have night's cloak to hide me from their sight." Now Sarah was embarrassed: That line was Romeo's reply to Juliet!
"Okay, okay," she said as she took him off her shoulder and set him on the kitchen table, "Stay there; I'll find us something to eat."
The truth was she was in a bit of an emotional sweat; had she been any other girl, she would have called ridiculous the idea of being sweet-talked by a bird that could talk to your brain and then blushing about it like a schoolgirl. She could just imagine Jareth right now; he was laughing at her, she just knew it.
'That' man's going to send me to the Funny Farm!' she thought with her head in the fridge. Her thoughts stopped when she heard the sound of someone eating behind her to the left. She slowly started to turn around.
"Simply delicious," said a woman's British-accented voice, half-full of food, "Amazing what you mortals can put into such a small package, isn't it?"
As if of its own will, Sarah's back magnetized itself to the fridge when she saw a woman sitting Indian style on their bar countertop with a bowl and chopsticks in her hands. She looked just a couple of years younger than Jareth; she had black hair that was short but shaggy and curved down her head to barely touch the top of her neck. Her eyes were both deep, dark, and glittering—one blue, one green, the blue one on the right like Jareth's. Her lips were smooth and pink, her skin an attractive pallor. She was wearing an outfit very similar to Jareth's: A puffy white shirt (but with a higher chest so nothing showed), tight black cotton pants, ladies' riding boots, no gloves, a black traveling cape that reached her bottom, and a medallion exactly like the one Jareth wore, only with a dark emerald in the top. She also wore dark emerald pendulums on her ears, supported by tiny gold hoops. Her voice was hard-sounding and flinty, like a British woman in her mid-40's, but with a golden bell quality that suggested a careless, happy-go-lucky nature (I'm thinking Emma Thompson from Stranger Than Fiction).
"Who the heck are you?" Sarah asked with as much volume as she dared in a house of sleeping people. The woman looked to the doorway (which was to her right) with a smile and her eyes lit up.
"Why, Jarry!" she piped and swung her legs off the counter, "How wonderful to see you again! Lovely morning, isn't it?"
Sarah looked and saw Jareth leaning his forearm on the doorway, wearing his leather jacket outfit and smiling pleasantly enough.
"You're looking very well, Jem," he said with a surprisingly affectionate tone that made Sarah curious.
"You know her?" she asked presumably.
"I should think so," Jareth answered as he walked to her and pointed his hand toward the woman with his hand across Sarah's shoulders, "Allow me to introduce you to Jemna, Queen of the Elf Kingdom of Amarantha, first-born of King Edworth of the Dragon City, in which she is still known as a princess…and…my sister."
Sarah did a double take at him.
"You have a sister?" she gawked. Jemna laughed.
"Well don't you see the family resemblance?" she asked.
"Only in your choice of clothes, I'm afraid," Sarah said truthfully, which made Jemna laugh again and hop off the counter to lean back on it. She got out a lighter and what looked like a purple cigarette.
"Do you mind terribly if I smoke?" she asked.
"I don't know if you want to do that in here," Sarah answered nervously, "My parents…"
"Oh, don't worry, love," said the queen, "These aren't cigarettes, not like those nasty things you mortals make. This is a flowerette; it's made out of flowers! No less habit-forming, but not harmful to your health, either. I don't recommend it, though; they're not very ladylike."
She took a drag and released a cloud of purple smoke that smelled like violets to prove her point; she then sauntered over to Sarah and Jareth. She bent over to look at her.
"And you must be Sarah," she smiled as she held the girl's chin to her annoyance, "My, my! What a lovely lady you have here, Jarry! Young, strong, innocent—oh, she is lovely!"
"Do you mind?" Sarah said rudely and shook her head from Jemna's hand, "I'm not a two-year-old!" Jemna looked surprised for a second.
"And feisty, too!" she laughed and straightened back up, "Ha, ha, ha! She's adorable, Jareth! Wherever did you pick up this lovely creature?"
Sarah sensed Jareth was trying not to show his embarrassment.
"Jemna," he rolled his eyes, "what are you doing here?"
"Now is that any way to speak to your own dear sister?" she responded, "They've taught you no manners in the Goblin City, have they, Jarry? Oh, and speaking of goblins, how is that dear old dwarf of yours, Hedgeway?"
"Haggard," Jareth mis-corrected.
"Hoggle!" Sarah corrected.
"Whatever." Jemna waved her flowerette hand dismissively and hopped back on the counter with her bowl. "These pre-packaged noodles are delectable, Sarah! What do you call these?"
"(…) Ramen," Sarah shrugged.
"Hmm," nodded the queen, "I've had your fancy mortal cuisine before, but sometimes the simplest things are the best. Lovely." She took another puff of her violet.
"Have you come to critique the pantry of the average mortal, or are you here for a reason?" Jareth asked, somewhat annoyed.
"Oh, tut-tut, Jarry," she beamed and petted him on the head condescendingly, "Can't I come and visit my sweet baby brother once in a while?"
"Baby brother?" Sarah piped, "You mean you're older?"
"First-born of King Edworth, remember?" Jemna winked, "I know, I don't look older. Many have mistaken me for younger. But what's this?"
She leaned over to the side with a curiously cocked eyebrow, looking between Jareth and Sarah. Sarah turned around and gasped with horror; red-faced, bags under his hollow eyes, hair in disarray, dripping with sweat, Toby was clinging desperately to the doorway to keep from falling to his knees.
"Sarah…" he croaked, then looked at Jareth. His eyes widened and he reached his little hand out.
"Jareth!" he rasped and staggered forward, "They came back! They were different ones, but they came back! I…can't…" His eyes rolled back and he swooned on the spot. He fell forward, but Jareth swept over and caught him.
"TOBY!" Sarah freaked out as she ran to him, "Toby, wake up! Oh, my gosh, he's burning up! We've got to take him to the hospital! Give him here, I've got to get my parents!"
Jareth reluctantly handed the child to his sister wrapped in the Goblin King's leather jacket. She looked up at him for a moment with half fear and half gratitude, then glanced at Jemna before carrying her precious brother out of the kitchen, making a dash upstairs to her parents' room. Jareth and Jemna stared after her; Jemna could tell her brother was making a monumental effort not to run after them and it made her a little curious, but she decided to save it for later.
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you, Jem?" he asked, his eyes intensely fixed on her. She exhaled a cloud of violet.
"What should I know about a mortal boy with a fever?" she shrugged, "What is he to you, anyway? Or is that the baby you took?"
"The same," he said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to see how he is. I suggest, dear sister, that you accompany me."
"Gladly," she smiled as she took one more drag and snuffed out her flowerette, "I've nothing else to do and I've always wanted to meet your little goblin prince…and your princess." His eyes turned dark and he strode toward the kitchen door.
"She's not my princess," he said shortly as he swept past her, making her cape flap slightly. She knew she'd touched a nerve and she quickly followed him in fast flight to the hospital as Sarah burst into her parents' room with Toby in her arms.
"DAD, IRENE! WAKE UP!" she yelled, "Toby is sick! We need to go to the Emergency Room!"
"Sarah, I've got to talk to Jareth," Toby said later, "Can you find him for me?"
"I think you need to rest now, Toby," she said gently as she stroked his hair, "You're lucky you're not seriously sick." It was true; as inexplicable as the fainting spell was, it was attributed to the high fever of 104 degrees. Toby was now safe in bed at home with Sarah at his bedside and his mother making him soup and compresses and making sure he took his medicine.
"Sarah, it's important," Toby insisted, "I know what happened to me." He glanced to his right. "There you are."
Sarah looked and saw Jareth leaning back against the wall with another smile on his face. He had his jacket back on, too.
"Of course here I am," he said as he walked to the bed across from Sarah, "What is it you wanted to talk about?"
"I fought another couple of gargoyle scouts earlier this morning, probably after Sarah got up," he got to the point, "They were the same as the first couple, but they fought harder. We paused for a second and one of them told me, 'Guide us to her dreams or suffer the wrath of the Gargoyle King.' But I wouldn't, so this human-looking guy with red eyes came up and stared at me. I felt like a hot hand had slapped me in the face, but I didn't give up. I stood my ground and fought back until he and the gargoyles ran away. But I was so weak and tired from the fight and my head felt so hot. That's how I woke up, too. I don't understand, Jareth; what's going on? Why are gargoyles trying to spy on my sister?"
"Precisely what I'd like to know!" Hoggle spoke up, having mysteriously popped up from nowhere next to Sarah. Jareth shot him one of those sideways glances of quiet hostility.
"Er…" Hoggle faltered, "That is, if Your Majesty pleases." Jareth looked up to see his own sister leaning by the window. This little gathering irked him.
"I should prefer not to have a public audience, if you don't mind," he said.
"I'm not leaving Toby," Sarah glared.
"And I ain't leavin' Sarah," Hoggle agreed.
"Ludo stay Sarah," Ludo added.
"Ambrosius and I shall stand guard outside the door," Sir Didymus volunteered.
"Hmph," Jemna sniffed, "If you want me gone, I'm gone. But I'll be waiting for you, Jarry; these two children aren't the only ones who've been hurt by the Gargoyle King, so don't keep me waiting too long."
She seemed cross and distracted as she swooped out of Toby's window as a beautiful gold and white hawk with a green diamond shape on her head.
"What's wrong with her?" Sarah asked curiously.
"She'll get over it," Jareth said dismissively, "Now then, Toby…I believe you asked me a question."
Author's Review:
The truth is Jareth doesn't have a clue why his sister's here…which is why he asked. :S Never mind.
Why does Jemna seem so ticked off? Hmm…Eh, you know you'll find out.
The only references I can come up with this time are the Romeo and Juliet lines, and I should explain Jemna's character model. Imagine Enya, only a bit shorter, with messier hair (like the front of her "A Day Without Rain" album) and with Emma Thompson's voice from "Stranger Than Fiction," complete with attitude and smoking habit (the flowerette is an original idea!).
Oh, and the unicorn/maiden calling the king a "foul, evil, miserable little cockroach" is from Hermione in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the 3rd movie.
Hope you liked it! Leave a review! Love y'all!