Bringing together what should have always been
AN: Please note I do not have a Labyrinth Beta. All mistakes are mine. This is for my friend Jessa Lynn, since like me, she like fics on the Labyrinth XD, and thanks to everyone who loves this story too. To everyone who had given me the support to keep this fic going, thank you!
Rated M for later chapters
Chapter 18
It took a bit, but Lance was not disappointed when 100 goblins magically appeared ahead on the road him and the Fae soldiers were riding. Lance quickly halted his troops to greet the goblins ahead.
"Greetings, are you the goblins my brother sent me?"
"Yes sir, we have the individual servings of the soup for each Fae here"
With that, the goblins quickly served the soup to each solider than quickly disappeared. After all of the soldiers had drunk the soup that was given, Lance gave the order to use their magic to transport to the area needed. Lance had to transport himself back to where they were before to make sure they had gotten everything, and then transported himself back to the soldiers. After taking a head count, he quickly separated the troops into two group and gave out the orders.
"Ok men listen up. Half of you will be fighting with the elves; the other side will be fighting with the goblins. Understand that Lady Sarah and Queen Christina have both been taken, so if they happen to escape on their own, if you come across them, you are to send up a Blue Flare. This is so the others know that they have been found and we can concentrate on defeating the Troll Kingdom. Does anyone have any questions?"
"Who is Lady Sarah Sir?"
"Lady Sarah is the Labyrinth's Champion. She is also engaged to be married to my eldest brother, the Goblin King, King Jareth. She has long black hair, green eyes and has a temper to scare even Jareth himself"
A lot of the Fae men laughed at the last part, but many also looked scared. They had good reason to thought Lance, considering his brother could be known for his cruelness. Not to mention that he got it from their father, King Arthur. He sometimes swore himself that Jareth wasn't born from their mother; he was cloned from his father. It was scary at times.
When no one else spoke up, Lance sent the troops to their side of the bordering Kingdoms, where the elves and goblins were waiting for them. The Faes were surprised that after transporting, they still had full Magic. It was then they realized the soup the goblins had provided them had given them the extra boost they needed. From there all the squads were made up and moved out to their predestined positions. It was time to invade.
After much deliberation, Jareth and Jessica agreed on the places the different groups would attack. Jareth already had several Goblin squads inside of the troll tunnels, and they had found the openings that had lead to the Troll kingdom. As feared, they were only about 100 feet from the boarders, which meant Sarah and Christina were not close to the openings. The only hope they had was the evidence of the soup bowls that had been used by the two women.
"Uncle Jareth"
Jareth looked up into the crystal mirror that showed his young niece sitting in her mother's chair. He could see the fear in the young girl's eyes, but also her mother's determination.
"Yes Jessie"
"Do you think we will find Mom and Aunt Sarah before anything bad happens to them? I'm worried."
Jareth had to stop the sigh that wanted to escape from his lips. He had to remember Jessica was only a child being put into an adult's position. She might be acting queen at the moment, but she was also only 13 years old, and she still depended on her mother. She was a scared child that was keeping things strong at home. It was a massive responsibility. She might be able to care for her siblings, but the actual position or Queen was frightening to her, and he didn't blame her one bit.
"I don't know Jessie, but I do know this. Your mom and Aunt Sarah are two of the strongest women I have ever known, and that says a lot my dear. If I know your mom and Aunt Sarah at all, they have either already escaped, or they are giving the troll king all sorts of Hell. They are not two women to trifle with carelessly"
Jareth smiled as he heard his niece giggle and knew he had brightened her spirits. But he needed to get ready. He needed to be out on the battlefield with his goblins. It was his place.
Jessica watched as her uncle changed into his battle armor and knew it was time. She already had a crystal ready to communicate with her grandparents, but seeing her oldest uncle change was a reminder just what was at stake. Her home, her people, her family. It was not something she would give up lying down.
"Good Luck Uncle Jareth, may the Gods be with you"
Jareth looked up at the mirror and saw new determination in his niece's eyes. Seeing him change must have brought something out in the girl that had been lying dormant. It was a good sign that she was taking her new position seriously. She was truly her mother's child.
"I will my dear, and don't worry. It takes a lot to bring your Uncle Jareth to his knees"
With that the connection was broken and Jareth changed into his owl form to fly to the battlefield. It was time to fight. Soon the Troll Kingdom would fall, and he would enjoy every moment of it for what they had done to Sarah and Christina. No one messed with the ones he loved. No One!
Sarah and Christina rushed through the forest as fast as their horses could go. Christina and Sarah had looked upon the maps of the Troll Kingdom before being captured and were pretty sure where they were heading towards the border. They stop by a grove of peach trees and ate two fruits each before continuing on their way. Soon it was night fall and the two had to slow down. They couldn't see well and they didn't need to get separated or injured.
"How far do you think we have gone Christina?"
"We have gone far, but we need to keep going. By now they know we are missing and the last thing we need is for them to find us. Herald can use crystals like us and the last thing we need is for them to transport us back to the dungeons, or worse, his bed chamber"
Sarah agreed and they picked up their pace. They need to get far away from the castle before they even attempted to use their magic to transport themselves back home. They needed to keep moving. Then Sarah heard something and stopped her horse abruptly.
"What is it Sarah"
"Listen"
Off in the distance, they could hear several trolls. They were complaining about being on firewood duty and were very close. Christina and Sarah quickly dismounted and ran to an old tree that had a large hole inside of it. They did it just in time.
"When can we eat the elves? I want to invade already"
"You know we can't. King Herald took the Elfin and Goblin Queens and he plans to impregnate them, or at least try, before we attack"
"But I thought Faes don't get knocked up easily?"
"They don't, but the Goblin Queen is Mortal, and they get knocked up at the drop of a hat. Take her and hurt the Goblin King Jareth. The Elfin Queen will pay for turning down our Kings proposal with her body. That will hurt the Fae high King considering she is his only daughter. Not to mention that for a Fae, she also gets pregnant easier than the normal Fae"
"Sounds like there was a mortal in the woodshed to me?"
"I think so too; either the High Kings mother or the High Queens mother must have been for their daughter to get knocked up easily"
"No matter, as soon as we get the signal, we will invade. The tunnels will help us get to the other side while we distract the actual border. They will get hit from the inside and out. They don't have a chance"
"Yeah, and since we are the second wave, we have a better chance of survival. Hey look, there be two horses"
The women watched as the trolls approached the horses. The horses kept calm as they were approached, used to the trolls by now in their lives. They didn't like however like the next comment the trolls made.
"Their backs are warm, yet no one is about"
"Not just that, but these horses belong to the Royal Stables. See the markings on their hides? They must have escaped from the castle"
"Some of the female stable hands probably tried to ride them and got thrown off. We need to contact the castle and let them know we have found two o of their horses, they are probably looking for them"
The trolls took the horses and started walking away with them. Sarah and Christina stayed hidden in their hiding spot intil they could no longer hear the trolls or the horse's hoofs. Looking to her sister in law, Sarah whispered.
"If we are going to use our magic, we need to do it now."
"I can turn into an eagle and fly, but we don't know what your animal is yet. If we transport not knowing exactly where we are, we can end up in the wrong place. That would not be favorable"
"True, but we don't have much of a choice. What is Herald's animal?"
"Cheetah"
"And you're an eagle"
"Yes"
Sarah thought for a bit and then asked.
"How do we find out what my animal is?"
"We cant, it comes with time. And the first time is not pleasant. You have no control over what you are and you can end up attacking someone you care for if you're not very careful"
Sarah didn't like that response. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but she trusted Christina. If she said it was unpleasant, then it was unpleasant. One thing she had learned about Christina was she spoke the truth when she talked to you. She had no doubt in her mind she was being truthful again.
"We need to see where we are so we can transport. It is our only choice at the moment now that those trolls have taken our horses"
Christina crawled out of the tree first, and then Sarah. They walked quietly through the forest intil they found the Troll camp. After finding it, they used their magic to transport to the other side of the camp, a few yards away and started running. It wasn't long before they came to another hollow tree with a hiding area. They hide inside for a bit and listened to the sounds around them. It was a good choice because several Troll guards came running up on there position. They both readied a crystal ball to use for an attack when they heard the one troll speak.
"I know I felt Fae magic! Search the area, find out where they are! They can't find the attack tunnels."
Sarah and Christina hid in the large tree, dirty and exhausted, and waited for the trolls to pass. It was then Sarah noticed the area around them. Tapping Christina on the shoulder to get the other woman's attention, she showed her the scene behind her.
"I think we have found the tunnels Christina"
Christopher awoke in tremendous pain. He tried to sit up, but was stopped by two Elf males beside him.
"Rest Sir Christopher, you have been mortally injured"
"What Happened?"
"A troll stabbed you in the stomach with his sword as you were trying to save Queen Christina. Princess Jessica is in charge and we were told to watch you intil you awoke. We have to notify Princess Jessica that you're awake so stay there, and we will send in the healer"
Christopher lay back as he was requested to do and started thinking. He couldn't save Christina. She was gone. He had to fight to keep the tears back. He couldn't save the woman he loved. The guilt started to build inside his chest. What good was he to her and their child if he couldn't protect them when they were in danger?
"Stop blaming yourself right now young man"
Christopher looked over at an older Fae man walking slowly into the room. He hadn't seen the man before, but that didn't mean anything. Christina had a large kingdom after all. It didn't escape his attention though that this man was a Fae and not an Elf.
"Who are you, and stop what"
The man just chuckled as he started to check Christopher's wound. Christopher just laid there as the man removed his sheet, then started cutting threw the bloodied bandages that were wrapped around his stomach.
"One, I'm the Queen's personal healer, and two, you know what your doing. You're blaming yourself for not being able to save the Queen. Stop it; the Queen is fully capable of causing hell for the bastard that took her"
"Do you know that she is carrying my child?"
The older man stopped for a moment before responding. He had guessed the man was the father before, but hadn't been sure. Now he was.
"Yes I do. I'm the one who told her she was with child. I figured you were the father, but I didn't know for sure. Now I do though"
Christopher thought over the man's words for a moment before asking.
"By your response, I'm guessing she was keeping the pregnancy secret"
The healer looked at Christopher for a moment. The man was thinking over how to respond to the man lying on the bed in front of him. He knew Christopher hadn't been in the Underground for long and had to try and figure out how to say what he wanted to say without sounding cruel.
"You have to understand Fae politics my boy. The Queen is a widow, and has been since soon after the twin princes were born. She has had many suitors since that time, but she never accepted any of them. The Troll King was one of them. Without the High King approving of your relationship with our Queen publicly, it would have been disastrous for her throne"
"Why would her being pregnant with my child matter? Who Christina chooses to fall in love with should be our business and ours alone"
"It's not that simple I'm afraid" the old man said as he started cleaning the area around the wound carefully to reduce Christopher's pain."There are many who don't like Christina being Queen. The last king had been of Elfin Blood. Christina is the daughter of Fae High King and High Queen. Their marriage was controversial to begin with"
Christopher thought about this for a moment. He didn't think that being Queen would have been that difficult. Jareth was Fae, and he ruled the Goblin Kingdom. What was so wrong about Christina ruling the Elves?
"Your wondering what the problem is, are you not?"
"Yes" replied Christopher.
"The King was married before he was married to Queen Christina. She died in childbirth. The child did not survive. Christina had been friends with the Queen at the time and took it upon herself to help the Elfin King. She was only 410 years old then. The Elfin community saw it as the Fae was interfering. That wasn't the case. Isabelle had made Christina promise that if anything ever happened to her, that Christina would help make sure the king did not kill himself in his depression"
Christopher was shocked. Christina had been friends with the queen before her. She had come into the kingdom to help the King. Did that mean she had manipulated the king into a marriage? That didn't sound like his Christina.
"So how did they become married then?"
"Christina stayed here for a year. She helped plan the funeral of her best friend, she helped King Aaron get his kingdom back together after the terrible loss of our first queen. Afterwards, Christina returned to Avalon, her job done and her promise fulfilled. She didn't expect Aaron to see in her what he saw in Isabelle. He purposely started to chase her. At first, Christina refused. He was the widow of her best friend. She had been in their wedding as the Maid of Honor. It was weird to her that Aaron was so openly chasing her. It of course caused a scandal. Aaron's parents, who were still alive at the time, demanded to know if a Fae spell had been cast on their son"
The man could see the anger showing on Christopher's face. He was outraged that someone could accuse Christina of such trickery. Any one who knew her knew she would never do such a thing. He could not blame the man honestly. He had watched Christina grow up in the High Royal Fae Palace. He had been her personal healer from the time she was born.
"That is absurd! Christina would never do something as despicable as that!"
"I know, but it was still accused. Christina had to face her parents, with Aaron and his parents present in court to answer to the charges. It was not a pleasant affair. When Aaron asked Christina to marry her in front of the Fae court, she answered no. She tried to explain to him that he was just grief stricken at losing Isabelle, just as his kingdom was and he needed to wait to find another Queen. She told him that she missed her too, as she was her best friend, but he needed time for his heart to heal before he went looking for another Queen to stand by his side."
"Now that sounds a lot like my Christina"
"Indeed it does, but that didn't finish the fight unfortunately. King Aaron's parents were still not convinced"
"What do you mean?"
The healer started pushing healing magic into Christopher's wound to heal it more as he continued with his story.
"Aaron's father casted a truth spell on Christina right there in court, much to the Fae High King and Queen's anger, and started questioning her. It was soon revealed that Christina had done nothing wrong. The moment the spell was broken though, Christina got angry and punched King Aaron's father in the face, knocking the man clean out"
Christopher started laughing at that. He could just see Christina knocking the arrogant man for a loop. He laughed so hard, his wound started bleeding again and the healer had to make Christopher stop laughing so he could re-heal the damage that was redone.
"It was funny to the Fae High King, King Arthur, as well. Aaron's mother was not so pleased. She forbid Aaron to go after Christina anymore, saying she was a violent wench. Christina didn't take the comment kindly and went off on the woman saying she should have been asked before having a spell cast on her, and pointing out that in doing so her husband was breaking the treaty between the two kingdoms at doing so, stating it was a form of attack"
"Nice one Christina" spoke up Christopher and the healer agreed.
"King Aaron, seeing that his parents had thoroughly angered the Fae courts, asked the High King and Queen and Christina's forgiveness. It was soon accepted as Christina didn't want a war to break out and our king started trying to court Christina once more. It took him 50 years just to convince Christina to go on a date with him, another year to gain a kiss. Christina didn't want to step on any toes within the Elfin Kingdom, and with good reason. She didn't want to start a war. Within another 50 years though, King Aaron and King Arthur had to resign the treaty. King Aaron only made one request"
"Christina's hand in marriage"
"Correct Sir Christopher"
As Christopher digested the information he was just given, the Fae Healer continued to push healing magic into the wound. Christina's first marriage had been a political one at first that had turned loving afterwards. It must have been hard on her for a while.
"Christina loved Aaron though, so what changed?"
The old healer stopped what he was doing to look at the young man in front of him. He couldn't blame him for wanting to know. He was to be Queen Christina's husband. He was only trying to become a better husband for her by knowing more about her. He had to admit, he was impressed.
"The first 10 years were hard, but soon enough Christina started falling for Aaron. When they finally decided to try for children, King Aaron became a nervous wreak. Understandable I would say considering how his first wife died. It took them three years, and Christina moving into his bedroom, but finally Christina conceived. But it was not meant to be. A member of the elfin guard attacked Christina and she lost the child. It took awhile before they were ready to try again; both were to hurt by the events. Soon they were head over heals in love with each other and 6 months later, they discovered she was pregnant again"
"Princess Jessica"
"You are correct"
"Everyone in the kingdom must have been ecstatic"
"There were a lot of people yes, but not everyone. They would say Jessica was not Aaron's child because she resembled Christina so much. That was intil Daphna was born. Daphna is a female version of her father, with her mother's hair. It goes without saying as well there are a lot of traits that both Jessica and Daphna carry of their father, but it at least stopped the accusations. Then the twin princes came. Everything was fine, and then King Aaron was involved in a dispute between the Vampire Kingdom and our Kingdom. King Aaron was killed. The boys were still babies."
Christopher closed his eyes against the pain. To fight against a marriage, then marry the person due to a treaty, and fall in love later, just to lose them must have devastated Christina. He wished he could hold her in his arms and take all the pain she had ever endured away. That was when it hit him.
"Christina said yes the first time I asked her to marry me. This is the first marriage she will enter that is completely of her own choice"
"Yes it is"
Christopher knew that was significant. He went to sit up and the old Fae healer had to stop him.
"Whoa there, lay back down this instant. Where do you think your going?"
Christopher's face was filled with determination as he answered the healer.
"I'm going to find a way to save Christina, that's what. There is no way I'm going to lay here and do nothing when the woman I love and our child are in danger. I'm going to get out of this bed and help my oldest step daughter to do just that. Christina and her children need me. So you better speed up healing this wound so I can do just that I have a lot of work to do"
The healer just looked at him astonished, and then started healing the wound again. Christina had truly picked well in choosing her next king and husband. The man healed the wound the best he could before trying to stand Christopher up, then continued to heal him as he was standing. If Christopher was anything like Queen Christina, then the Troll Kingdom was in a lot of trouble.