Wow 3 chapters in 3 days, arn't you all happy! Sorry for the lack of Jarethness in the first two chapters, but a lot had to build up for the next few chapters.
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Chapter 3
Sarah had eaten with Lydia, very timidly, by the way. Not one of the foods brought out looked like anything she had ever seen, she just hoped they agreed with her stomach. Lydia said she had something she needed to do, and asked Sarah if she would be ok in her room for a while. Sarah said it was fine, she would find something to do.
As they were walking down the hall, towards her room, Sarah asked,
"So what is this place exactly?"
"This is the family castle of Faden. It overlooks the Labyrinth, and most 'o the rest of the realm. It suits as the main home 'or all the members of the family. It's also where all the big events n' such take place. Each 'o the children has their own wing in the castle, most havin' a least a dozen or more rooms for 'em. Also," But she was cut short as a little girl bounced around the corner.
"Lydia! There you are! I heard we have a guest!" The little girl beamed with excitement, much like Terra. She ran towards them and stopped with a graceful stop. Even so young, she was the most beautiful child Sarah had ever seen.
"Ah there ye are missy, I was wonderin' when you'd show up. With all hub bub goin' 'round, I knew you wouldn' be far behind," Lydia smiled putting her hands on her hips.
The little girl seemed to run her eyes over Sarah.
"Hi, I'm Lynnett, I'm Terra younger sister," She curtsied quickly. "So what's your name?" Lynnett asked before Sarah could answer. Yes she was much like her older sister.
"I'm Sarah," Sarah said. The little girl smiled up at her. She must have been only 8 or 9. She had on an adorable scarlet shin length dress, embroidered with swirls and lace and beads. She wore black kid boots and had Blond hair that swirled around her shoulders. She also had the Fae features, making her the perfect looking child.
"Well then Miss Lynnett, I need to take Sarah back to 'er room. I have some things needin' to be done," Lydia gently pulled Sarah along.
"Hey, wait! I just met her!" Lynnett ran up and grabbed a hold of Sarah's hand. "Can I take Sarah to see the Gardens Lydia? Please? It's much better than being locked up in a stuffy room with nothing to do! Please? Please?!"
Lydia sighed and her eyes darted back and forth between Lynnett and Sarah. She technically couldn't say no. Even though Lynnett was so young, she was still a princess and, giving the case, Lydia would have to obey her, not the other way around. But Lynnett already knew this.
"Well, If, and I mean if, Sarah would like to go, then I don' see a problem with it." Lydia shot a glance at Sarah.
"Sarah?" Lynnett looked up at her still holding her hand.
"Um, I guess that'd be alright," Sarah replied looking between the two.
"Goodie!" Lynnett cried.
"Miss Lynnett," Lydia called as she was dragging Sarah down the hall, "Not everyone has had the chance to meet Sarah yet, so make sure to keep it just the two o' you, alright?"
"Sure," She called back. "No one is ever down there aside from me!"
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Lynnett led Sarah through the most beautiful gardens she had ever seen. There were flowers and strange plants she had never seen before everywhere. Sarah acted as if she knew what she was talking about when Lynnett went on about how this flower smelled like this or this kind is almost ready to bloom. Sarah didn't want to let up on her act at all.
Lynnett also gave Sarah a quick view of the stables, game yard, and the hot springs. It really was a beautiful place. Not at all like when she visited the Labyrinth before. Not even close. Lynnett went on and on telling Sarah stories and games that she liked to play. And got a good idea of what the little girl liked to do in her spare time. Before too long Sarah found herself at the door to 'her room'.
"Well I guess I'll let you rest, you look tired," Lynnett said with a shy smile.
"Lynnie! What are you doing?" Terra's voice rang out softly as she came down the hallway.
"I just took Sarah for a look around, we had fun, right Sarah?" She looked up at Sarah for confirmation.
"Yeah, she was just showing me around. Lydia had some things to do, so I went with Lynnett," Sarah answering Terra's unspoken question. Lynnett didn't know.
"Well then Lynnie, why don't you run along and play for a while? Sarah has had a long day and I'm sure she would like to go and relax," Terra walked into the room and bid Sarah to follow.
"Alright, bye Sarah, I'll see you later!" And she bounced off.
Once inside the room, Sarah sat on the edge of the bed, and Terra next to her.
"Sarah, we kinda have a problem…" Terra winced at the words as she said them, waiting for Sarah's reaction.
"...What would that be?" Sarah let her shoulders slump forward.
"You see, my brother came home today, and he heard there was a guest here. Tomorrow night is our Seasonal Ball. Everyone gets all dressed up and all the Royal families get together, with some friends as well. I was going to try to skip out, but my brother insisted you come. He said it was rude to keep a guest hidden. But the more I think about it, it might be better to bring you, if we keep you in your room all day, people might get suspicious."
Sarah just looked at her like she grew a second head.
"You know, everyone wears fancy cloths and masks' and so on, so maybe we can just make you blend in and he might forget," she said trying to raise Sarah's hopes a bit.
"There are a few things wrong with that," Sarah started. "First, I can't dance. At all. I mean I am really bad. And second, I don't have anything to wear."
Princess Terra pondered this for a moment.
"Oh you can't be that bad. And I'm sure I could find something for you to wear..."
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The next evening Sarah found herself in a long scarlet dress, the flares out, like most popular ballroom dresses. It was embroidered in charcoal colored lace, all along the trim of the dress, and throughout the layers of skirts. The sleeves hung off Sarah's shoulders while the neck line came into a 'V' line, showing a bit too much cleavage for Sarah's liking. Her hair was wound up in an elegant fashion, with a few ringlets falling onto her shoulders. This by far was one of the most beautiful dresses Sarah had ever seen. She felt unworthy wearing it.
They went over the whole story that Sarah would claim to be Lydia's cousin, who had just lost her family and was offered to live here by Princess Terra until she got back on her feet. She made sure to put on the 'lotion' Terra had given her.
"Terra, what would happen if someone found out I was human?" Sarah asked timidly, not wanting to look into Terra's eyes.
"Well, there was a human that fell into my hands a few years ago..." She seemed to stop to gather her thoughts. "But he wasn't brought here like you were, he found the goblins while they were up there," She pointed up. "He just happened to make it back with them. There was an old Wise Man that used to live in the castle. He said he would send the boy back home, if he said nothing to anyone about this place. He agreed and the Wise Man sent him back Aboveground. Apparently the boy didn't keep his word, and convinced some other humans this place was real. He almost led them here, knowing where my goblins had been last time."
Sarah listened intently, not letting her face show any emotion.
"When someone told the High King, my father, that the portals were being tampered with by humans, he sent his personal guards Aboveground to bring the boy back. They succeeded, and he was brought before my father. He was enraged. The boy..."She stopped, not wanting to say it out loud. She decided to change her wording. "...he never made it back home again. And the old Wise Man was locked away for life for sending him back without speaking to my father about it first. He died shortly after his imprisonment."
Sarah's heart skipped a beat. So the last human who came here was killed, along with the person that helped him, who happened to be the only one Sarah knew of that could have gotten her home.
"Humans were banned from this realm after that. If anyone was to ever find a human, they were to be brought straight to the High King," Terra added quietly.
"What will happen to you if they find out?" Hundreds of thoughts raced though Sarah's head.
"I'm not sure..." Before Terra could finish, the clock on the wall chimed. "Hey! We are going to be late!"
The girls made their way towards the door, picking up their masks on the way out.
Lydia and Lynnett were waiting shortly down the hall.
"And see! I told you I would find something, it looks wonderful on you!" Terra chanted as she looked Sarah over.
"Yeah, it so pretty on you!" Lynnett rang in.
"Now remember, if someone asks you to dance, just tell them no, if you don't want to. Most of the dances are choreographed, so I didn't really have time to teach you any. There are a few free style one they play though," Princess Terra mumbled to Sarah.
"Now Sarah, me and Lynnett have to sit at the head table with my brother. But Lydia will be with you the whole time till I get there," Terra told her as she and her sister made their way through a different door.
"Come on now, best be findin' out seats, tis 'bout to start soon," Lydia said leading her into the grand ballroom.
They found their seats, there were so many people! At least 300 or so. The room was lit by dozens of candle lit chandlers, allowing the corners of the room to darken, thankfully, where she was sitting. Sarah tried to spot out Terra and Lynnett, but there table was too far away. The music stared up as she watched the glamorous couples take the dance floor.
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Jareth leaned back in his chair, eyeing the couples on the dance floor. He had wished to remain 'in the shadows' so to speak tonight. He knew Colleen was here, the youngest daughter of the Rozengem family. Colleen was one he really tried to avoid. Her family had pushed Jareth into trying to commit to her profusely. Jareth simply had no interest in her. Her looks were only skin deep, her selfish, vain personality ruined it for her. He thumbed at his wine glass tiredly. His eyes hot up as his sister approached.
"Enjoying yourself?" She asked cheerfully.
"Immensely..."Jareth rolled his eyes."So how is our guest enjoying herself?"
"Just fine, I believe Lynnett is dragging her and Lydia around at the moment," She added lightly.
"Ah I see, before I forget, you have seemed to fail to mention the name of our guest," Jareth said, raising his eye brows.
"Did I? Forgive me, her name is-" But she was cut off as a fiery red head strolled over to Jareth.
"Jareth! There you are! What are you doing hiding over here? The ball has been going on for over an hour and you have yet to ask me to dance," Colleen hinted. Jareth quickly glanced her over. She wore a very form fitting golden dress with a slit on the side clear up to her hip. She batted her eyelashes at Jareth. He shot a glance at his sister. Terra shrugged sympathetically, and backed off.
"Hello Colleen," He replied flatly. "I find I am a bit too tired for dancing tonight."
He hoped she would take the hint.
"Aw, come on, you can't be too tired for one tiny little dance can you?" She pouted.
Nope. She didn't take the hint.
"Maybe later tonight Colleen," He had no desire to spend any more time with her then needed.
"I'll hold you to it," Colleen said, strutting away. Jareth sighed. He really disliked that woman. Suddenly something got Jareth's attention.
A young woman in a scarlet dress stood about 20 feet away from his table. She appeared to be declining an offer to dance by a young gentleman. Jareth had never seen her before, she wore a mask, as all the other women were. But he knew he surely hadn't met her before. He could tell she was beautiful without even seeing all her face. Lydia, Terra's lady in waiting, came up behind her and they began talking.
So this must be the guest? He was pretty sure of it. They started to walk away and out of his sight. Before Jareth knew what he was doing, he was up and out of his chair. His eye's scanned the crowed until he saw them again. Something drew him to follow them. Something seemed familiar. He gracefully made his way through the crowd and straight up to them.
"Lydia, good evening," Jareth lightly smiled. The girl in the scarlet dress was looking the other way.
"Good evening Your Highness," Lydia curtsied deeply.
As soon as Sarah heard that voice, she turned.
"This must be the guest that everyone has been talking about," Jareth looked straight into her eyes. "I'm sorry I haven't met you earlier. I'm Jareth, Terra's older brother. Would you mind giving me the honor of this dance?" He asked her politely, holding his hand out.
Sarah just stared dumbstruck for a moment. Jareth, Jareth was standing right in front of her. He looked almost no different than the last time she had seen him. Before she could answer his question, he lightly grabbed her hand and led her out to the dance floor.
This was bold of Jareth, very bold. He never pulled someone into a dance he had never met. He rarely danced at all anymore, unless it was for a formality. But something seemed all too familiar about this girl, far too familiar. Her eyes were shaded by her elaborate mask. He had seen this girl before, he now knew he did. But from where? If he could just take her mask off, he would know.
The music started up, and Jareth pulled her into a comfortable stance, and stepped forward. He saw she struggled with her footwork. She stepped on his foot clumsily.
"I'm sorry," She muttered quickly. "I'm a terrible dancer, it's not fair." Her voice shook.
That voice.
It's not fair.
It's not fair.
It's not fair.
Jareth froze. His eyes widened. It couldn't be. There was no way, there was absolutely no way...
He leaned forward, his face only an inch from hers, and narrowed his eyes.
He asked very, very slowly, "...Sarah?"
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