Three
"Toby", she strained against the phone. "I can't hear you clearly. No, I haven't met a cute British 'dude', and no, I'm not looking for some summer lovin'. Seriously Tobes, has Karen been watching Grease again? "
"Hello?"
"Toby?"
She removed the black receiver from her ear and glared at it. "Seriously that kid", her eyebrows twitched. Suddenly her eyes narrowed. She brought the phone up to her nose level. Frost covered the surface in crystalline patterns. 'What on earth...How is that possible?' She peered out the window. 'It's thirty degrees in the shade out there'. She ran a finger through the pattern, it melted to her touch. 'Cold'
"Okay, that's it, time for some fresh air."
Not bothering to change out of her pyjamas, she made her way to the balcony and down the stairs into the garden. Aunt Elisa's garden was the quintessential English cottage garden. There were roses everywhere white, pink and yellow. Flower pots hung on the fencing the beautiful blooms spreading out beneath. The twitching of birds amalgamated into a little woodland orchestra. Sarah was reminded of a book she read as a child 'The Secret Garden'. She closed her eyes to breathe in the scented air when she heard it.
A tinkling.
She opened her eyes and looked around. There wasn't anything in the vicinity that could have made the sound.
There again, slightly louder, like the ringing of little bells. It can't be Aunt Elisa since she has gone out to town to run a few errands.
The ringing continued in a steady pattern. It seemed to come from the back of the garden. Curiosity mounting Sarah followed the sound to its source.
She reached the back border of the plot. There was a gap in the fencing wide enough to allow her through. The ringing led her to a little clearing not too far away and then stopped.
The area in front of her was covered in snow. The trees were bare.
She looked around in wonder. 'Impossible.'
She twisted around to observe the path she had come from, still summer, still green and lush. Turning back again she noted the snow remained and to her shock, facing her stood the creature from her dreams. The wolf coated in blue. Sarah stayed rooted to the spot her eyes growing too wide for her face.
'Do not fear, mistress' a voice in her head. 'I mean you no harm.'
"Who are you?" Her hands tugged at her pyjamas, all of a sudden feeling self conscious. 'I should have changed.'
She could have sworn the wolf looked amused which was altogether ridiculous and not likely.
'I am Richter from the mountain tribe, mistress, your personal guard.' He inclined his head.
"Huh...What do you mean personal guard." To say she was confused was an understatement.
"Sarah." Elisa's voice called from far away. "Sarah where are you?"
Sarah turned her head. "I'm over here." She shouted back and then said in a lower tone. "You haven't answered... ". Here she stopped. Wolf and snow were gone. The clearing was green again. 'I am dreaming while awake, or I haven't left the house and am still in bed. Either way it's time to book in a session with a good psychiatrist. '
She was incredibly tempted to call on her friends for aid; they might know what was going on, but she was terrified by the same. What if he was listening in? After going through so much trouble to escape the labyrinth it would be counterproductive to invite him back into her life. Now she was being ludicrous. As if the Goblin King would remember her, one mortal out of millions. Who knows how many had passed through the maze in search of loved ones?
But, she couldn't shake that thought, he had sounded so sincere when he had offered her his world. 'Argh. Stop going round in circles. Just admit it. You are just too much of a coward to explain to your friends, why you had not contacted them all these years. And maybe, just maybe you are a little scared that they won't respond to your call.'
"May I come in, my Lord?" asked the redhead and entered the study anyway. He looked up from his papers to regard her with cool eyes, "Is there anything you need, Milady?" His tone was polite but disinterested. In reply her lips set in a pout and hips swaying magnetically she came closer, "You are always working so hard. I thought you could use a reprieve. Why not join me for a stroll in your gardens?" As innocent the question sounded, the intent was quite clear.
Mauryian was a beautiful woman, no doubt. Large almond shaped eyes, full lips and vivid red hair and an hourglass figure that was the envy of most women in court. Today she was dressed in dark blue, a colour that enhanced her hazel eyes. A rose crystal pendant sat snugly between her full breasts that were displayed to their utmost advantage.
A long time ago he would have indulged in a little tryst. Not anymore. The mere thought of taking her to bed left him cold. Either way Mauryian was more trouble than worth. He had an inkling on what she was concocting in her pretty little head. All aided by her father, Lord Magrean, a spineless weasel himself. He sometimes wondered how Magrean had managed to sire a daughter who was so ruthlessly ambitious.
"Nothing would please me more Milady but this requires my utmost attention, I'm sure you can persuade someone else for a stroll, " he said with a slightly mocking smile, then returned his attention to the tightly scribbled parchment dismissing her completely, not once looking up when she left the room slamming the door behind.
"Ah, thought I'd find you here, your Majesty." Ardem Vandain Chief Advisor of the King sounded amused. "Care to tell me why the Lady Mauryian is stalking the halls of the castle looking like an angry cat. I barely managed to prevent her from shredding into one the servants." He dragged a wooden chair away from the table and sat down heavily. Looking around the crowded tavern he caught the eye of the barkeep and signed for a pint of goblin ale.
The lanky blond man he was addressing lounged comfortably with one arm thrown around his backrest. With the other arm he lifted the tankard to take a mouthful of ale, before setting it down with a dull thud, all the while fixing Ardem with a look that clearly said: how should I know.
"We both... heck, the whole castle knows that Lady Mauryian is after you like a bitch in heat, Jareth", sighed the Advisor. "Otherwise you wouldn't be out here hiding from her next attempt to seduce you, when we have a perfectly well stocked bar up in the castle."
"I am not hiding", was the slightly slurred indignant reply.
Ardem took in the dishevelled appearance of his liege. "I know. The only time when you attempt to drink yourself senseless, is when you come close to thinking of ..."
"I dare you to finish that sentence, my friend, "said the in Goblin King slowly, danger lurking in his eyes, "You are not beyond punishment."
He would not follow the rabbit down that hole, thought Jareth with distaste. Not dredge up memories of the only time he had been bested at his own game.
But his mind would not obey, not intoxicated as he was now. The alcohol doing the opposite of what he intended. Making him remember those eyes, as green as the deepest forest, cruel, unyielding and selfish. Eyes that had glared at him rebelliously, the eyes of a child. Yes a child, for she was not a woman yet, when she brought him to his knees. Made him promise things that he had not intended, made him loose his composure, Him, the Goblin King, Master of dreams and illusions, an ancient being with powers beyond comparison.
He did not think of her often. Her memory haunted him only in his most unguarded of moments. But he would repress those ruthlessly as he was doing now. What was past was past. That child was long gone. He had no power over her.
"Peace, your Majesty. I will not bring it up again", said Ardem as he lifted his hands in a pacifying gesture, shuddering when he thought of how close he'd come to being dumped in the Bog of Eternal Stench. The King was not one to show his true emotions so openly leading Ardem to conclude that the drink was to blame. He decided that it was not suitable to discuss the actual reason he sought out the fae in front of him. Best wait until he sobered up before telling him what the high council's been cooking up.
