The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Timing, Liadain imparted to Sarah, Samael, and Addanc, would be imperative and, in order for her plan to work, impeccable. Sarah drolly commented that Liadain better not be counting on Goblins.

As it was, Sarah, Slidge, Rience, and a passel of other Goblins wandered the aisles at Kroger's, attempting to purchase foodstuffs for the party. Well, Sarah attempted while the Goblins impeded. She constantly took out brightly-packaged and useless foods, like ramen, low-end caviar, and crunchy peanut butter (which Slidge ended up stealing anyway). She didn't bother buying eggs, since the chicken pens had long since reached full capacity. She did pick up applesauce, pudding, confectioner's sugar, chocolate chips, measuring spoons, blueberries, and reached out to grab a cake mix when the Goblins interfered.

"You can't get that one!" Slidge loudly protested as Sarah reached for a box of angel food cake mix.

"Why not?"

"King can't have angel food," one of the others explained, rolling his eyes. His sister smacked him before turning to Sarah.

"If the King likes angel food, he can have it," the she-Goblin whispered, "but you can't let this lot know; they'll be offended."

Sarah hummed her agreement and pulled several boxes of devil's food off the shelf to the delight of her Goblin escort and tucked the angel food cake under the chocolate chips before wheeling towards the check-out counter.

Now timing really got tricky: Sarah and the Goblins carried the bags of food back to the dorm, and as Sarah propped her bag on her hip to unlock the door, Addanc tripped the alarm-wards Jareth set up earlier in his stay at the dorm. As Sarah opened the door, Jareth and Faolan raced over in time to see Addanc grin wickedly, grab Sarah's wrist, and disappear.

Jareth, naturally, raced after them with Faolan close on his heels, following the long, twisting trail of Addanc's magic; Addanc did everything in his power to reach the checkpoint where he would continue to the Castle with Sarah as his father lead Jareth on a wild goose chase.

Sarah and Addanc stepped out of Aboveground with mere seconds to spare (seventeen seconds, to be precise) before Jareth passed by, tearing after Samael and the Sarah-shaped Construct. Whistling merrily as she strolled through the Goblin City, Sarah glanced up at Samael and considered the similarities between the Fae man and his son.

Both were tall, about Jareth's height, and more heavily muscled than most Fae men; the father and son shared sharp, foxy facial features and curly, gold-streaked mahogany hair. The two could be carbon copies of each other, Sarah mused, were it not for their eyes: Samael's left eye was rich brown while his right was emerald green; Addanc's right eye was a darker shade of green and his left eye was misty grey. It was the only way Sarah knew of to tell the two apart, and since Jareth should only see Samael's back until the party was ready for him.

Since time moved differently in each of the dimensions, Sarah wasn't overly worried about Jareth overtaking Samael before everything was set up; nonetheless, she started baking as soon as she reached the kitchen. Kicking out all the Goblins, Sarah set about making the two cakes: a huge, Death by Chocolate cake for the guests and a smaller angel food cake just for Jareth.

Faolan's breath rasped on the way in and burned on the way out; his movements, though efficient, were more strenuous than he'd experienced before in his puppy-hood romps with Jareth. His wings beat to propel himself through space at even greater speeds while his legs stretched and retracted in a steady, exhilarating rhythm. Barely ahead of him, Jareth raced after a Jareth-shaped being Faolan had never seen before. His friend and father-figure looked enraged and indefatigable as he pursued the stranger who'd stolen Sarah.

Deep in his Faeran-wolf heart, Faolan could almost find pity for the person who'd troubled his pack. Almost.

With the cakes cooling, Sarah pulled Jareth's gifts out of a dimensional hole she'd created earlier that morning. There were only three, but she thought he'd like them and she'd considered very carefully before selecting them. Sarah wrapped the gifts in the soft deer hide she'd purchased from the Goblin tanner, tying the parcel shut with black-dyed and braided hemp; at the end of the cords, she slipped two owl feathers, each a scant two inches long but beautifully patterned, into the braids. He'd know who the presents were from, she thought wryly, as he'd recognize the flammulated design.

Oro: Evil, aren't I? No worries, mates, the last chapter will be up tomorrow. I have it started (have had it started for the past eleven months, actually, but didn't want to admit the story's at its end) and, since I'm on Spring Break, I'll be able to type it in the morning. I would have included it here, but I thought the transition would have been awkward.

Quill: Plus, she's neurotic and OCD and wants to end at twenty chapters even.

Oro: Technically, I have CDO. It's a librarian thing... similar to OCD, but alphabetized!

Jareth: Till tomorrow, then...

Sarah: Oro doesn't own this stuff (gestures vaguely) but she does have a death-by-chocolate cake recipe.

Oro: It's a marvelous recipe, so PM me if you want it. G'night, and see you (and the end) tomorrow!