Sarah Williams jumped from her bed with a grin on her face and a song in her heart. Today she was twenty one, and having gotten all of her affairs in order, had decided that today was the day. She would find the man she loved, whether he wanted to see her or not.
Granted, it had been five very long years since the last time they had seen each other, but she was sure he would come. She hoped. She shook her head, not wanting to think of alternatives, she danced around her room, singing to herself and getting ready.
Ever since that night she had wished her brother away, all she had been able to think about was the labyrinth, and it's King. In her dreams she heard his voice, when she sat alone in her apartment she swore that she saw a goblin darting through the shadows, every twig that cracked in the night was Jareth's owl form alighting on a branch near her home until she thought she would go mad. She knew what the problem was of course. She was fairy struck. She had read somewhere that long exposure to magic or close contact to the Fae was apt to do that to a mortal. And between the enchanted peach and her dance with him, she knew that was all that was needed. She had to find him, speak to him again, and if he would not have her, then hope that a clear cut dismissal would be sufficient to put him, and her adventures, from her mind forever.
A few hours later she was ready. She stepped into the middle of her living room, took a deep breath, and spoke, pouring all her love and hope into her words, "I wish the goblins would come and take me away right now!"
Somewhere overhead, thunder clapped, the windows of her tiny apartment shook, and the lights went out. The windows opened and in flew a snowy white owl just as Sarah had expected. She smiled and took a seat, blinking so she wouldn't have to see the owl transform. She'd done that once a few years ago, and didn't really want to have the added stress of having her brain scream that seeing an owl turn into a man wasn't possible. But when she opened her eyes, instead of the Goblin King there was a woman in her living room.
The woman was smiling, Sarah could see the longish canines she had seen in Jareth, - she supposed it was a Fae thing. Her long blond almost white hair was up in a messy sort of bun. Her eyes were of the same shade of green as one of Jareth's eyes, and Sarah could almost swear the woman was glowing.
"Hello Sarah. I am Astrith. I… well I suppose you might call me the Goblin Queen." Sarah groaned and sank further into her chair, just as her heart sank. "You're… Jareth's wife?"
"Oh my goodness no," The woman replied with a smile. "May I take a seat? Wonderful. I'm his sister. I've heard all about you, you know. You're famous, oh not from him of course, but the goblins and the moss are quite chatty about the only one to defeat the Labyrinth in a thousand years."
Sarah looked at the woman, wondering if she had heard her correctly. She arched one eyebrow, famous huh? Something didn't quite sound right to her.
"Ok, great, so why are you here? I mean, I thought it was the Goblin King's job to take children away and so on and so forth."
"Oh it is dear. It's just you see, my brother seems to have left. I was on my way to the Labyrinth to invite him to Tithe-nae and it seems he got the message before I got there because he's gone. So, when I felt the tug of an adult wishing themselves away, I knew it had to be you, so I decided to come and take you to Court and meet up with him there. Besides I think it's high time Jareth took a bride, and who better than the person who bested him?"
"Alright… um, Court?" Sarah asked, as she frowned a little. Astrith laughed in response, the sound something like a water in a brook, and was slightly disconcerting to Sarah. "Yes, the Seelie Court in Tithe-nae. We are Aes Sidhe, I believe the more modern is Aos Si."
Sarah nodded, "So.. That would make you… a Leanan Sidhe?" Astrith laughed again, and shook her head. "No… a Leanan Sidhe is a woman who has taken a mortal as a lover. I'm a Bean Sidhe - a woman of the Sidhe."
Sarah paused for a moment, thinking, and then remembering her Irish mythology said, "Bean Sidhe.. A.. Banshee? A messenger of death?" Astrith looked up startled, "Is that what they say now? Oh dear. No, as I said, Bean Sidhe means 'Woman of the Sidhe'." Astrith made a face, and shook her head. "Now come on, it's time to go. We've chatted for too long, and I'm afraid I havn't my brother's knack for rearranging time to suite my fancy." She said, and taking Sarah's hand, they vanished.