7
There was silence in the room. All the Fae men looked at each other wonderingly, as if they had known something like this was going to happen, they were just surprised now that it had happened. Trinity and Evelyn both had very confused looks on their faces, although the smaller woman's confusion was mixed with fear and near-hysteria. Evelyn was trying to best to comfort her friend. Vorian observed, nervously, how everyone had taken the message.
Finally, he cleared his throat. "Well, then. I guess we need to plan a trip to Point de Rouck."
"I'm going," Trinity said immediately.
"Me too," Evelyn said, right behind her friend.
"I will, as well," Vorian said quickly.
The Fae physician sniffed. "Now see here–" he began.
"We need to take a regiment of soldiers," the man Trinity recognized as the captain of the guard spoke up, "There's no telling what these pirates will do. They may not have Jareth even waiting on us!"
"If we take a regiment of soldiers then they definitely won't give him back!" Trinity snapped. Everyone turned to look at her. "Think about it. We need a show of good faith; that we trust in this Leont's word. Just a few of us should go, and not like the 'king's finest soldiers' or whatever." She said this looking pointedly at the captain. "That will have the same effect. We need a show of good faith."
The Fae (except for Vorian) looked at the black-haired woman in wonder. They were trying to figure out where she had learned this sort of strategy. Evelyn and Vorian knew that it came mostly from watching a lot of action-adventure type movies at home.
"Why should you three be the ones to go?" the physician asked.
"Why not?" Evelyn said quietly, interrupting her friend (who'd been about to make a smart retort). "Trinity is linked closest to Jareth out of everyone in the kingdom. She can tell us whether or not he gets into trouble. Vorian is Jareth's best friend. What better duty to his friend than protecting his best friend's fiancé while he's gone? And that is my duty to Trinity; helping my friend rescue her fiancé."
"Very well," the captain finally sighed. "I will prepare a ship for you. If all goes well, you should be ready to leave in two days."
"Thank you," Trinity said earnestly. She did like and trust the captain, if she thought he was a little priggish sometimes. When she rose to leave the table, the men all rose from their seats as well, as if that was their cue to be dismissed. Evelyn followed Trinity out.
"What now?" she asked her younger friend.
"We wait," Trinity sighed. "And get some sleep. It's about midnight here, and we were up at two in our world."
"Good idea. Don't you have a room around here somewhere?"
"Yep," the smaller girl sighed again. "Jareth had it made up for me. Of course, you know how much gossip that started, so he gave me a room that's not anywhere near his quarters, and all the doors have locks that won't open without the conscious approval of the occupant. I've never stayed overnight here, mainly I just use the closet."
Evelyn nodded. "Because you need to wear Underground clothing here."
"Yep. I mean, you saw the looks people gave us earlier."
"You didn't seem to care."
"I don't. But Jareth does. His people have a lot different ideas about what's decent and indecent than we do."
By that, they had reached an elaborately carved door that Trinity opened by pushing on a carved swirl in the wood. Evelyn's mouth fell open when she saw the apartment, but she soon closed it.
The apartment was large and very grand. The walls were pale blue, and matched the spreads on the bed. The curtains on the four-poster were a darker blue that matched the rug on the hardwood floor. There were two doors leading out of the room. A large tapestry dominated one wall, featuring a graceful unicorn. The fireplace opposite the bed was large enough to stand in.
When Evelyn turned to Trinity, the black-haired girl grimaced.
"It's awful, I know," she said, leading the way inside. "But I didn't want them to go to the trouble of refurnishing the thing just for me to use the closet. I think it used to belong to one of Jareth's sisters or something."
Evelyn walked inside slowly, noting that there was wood in the fireplace, but no fire. It was summer in the Underground, so there was no need. Trinity walked over to the enormous bed and starting pulling all the purely decorative covers and pillows off, leaving it with a sheet, four pillows, and a slightly heavier blanket on top.
"I don't know why they go to all this trouble," she muttered, "I never use it." When she was done, she turned to Evelyn. "Well, this is it. The smaller door is the closet, and the larger one is the bathroom. I did have that one refurnished. Do you want to change into pajamas?"
The older woman was studying her younger friend as she fussed. There was something under all the bustle of being comfortable that the younger woman was trying to hide.
"Sure," Evelyn said.
So Trinity led the way into the walk-in closet. She didn't stay long, just enough to grab a shift and hand it to Evelyn. "Here you go. There's a spell on it that makes it fit whoever wears it," she said, "I'll change in here."
When both of them were ready for bed, they both climbed into the immense four-poster. The room, which was magically lit, dimmed slowly into absolute darkness. Moonlight streamed in through a window above them. The bed was comfortable and both girls were tired, so it was easy for Evelyn to start to fall straight to sleep.
Right before she drifted into unconsciousness, however, a noise woke her. The lump under the covers that was Trinity was shaking with muffled sobs. Silently, Evelyn reached over and put her hand on Trinity's shoulder, causing the younger woman to stiffen, and turn over.
"Sorry to wake you," she whispered, sniffing.
"No, it's fine," Evelyn said. "Are you alright?"
Trinity snorted. "Never been better," she said harshly. Then she laughed nervously, her voice cracking on the sound. "Everything just hit me at once, I guess. I'll be fine…"
"We'll get him back," the green-eyed woman said softly, "Don't you worry."
"Yeah…" Trinity took a deep breath, "I hope so."
"We will," Evelyn said firmly, squeezing her friend's shoulder encouragingly.
They both fell silent then, but Evelyn wouldn't allow herself to sleep until she heard Trinity taking the slow, deep breaths of a peaceful sleep.
XxXxX
They awoke the next morning to sunlight coming in the window above the bed, and a knock at the door. Evelyn sat up, slightly alarmed.
"Come in…" Trinity called drowsily, without even sitting up in the bed.
A young Fae woman entered. "Miss Trinity, the Lady Cristain is asking that you see her soon. Also, the man named Vorian wishes that you and Miss Evelyn meet him this afternoon in the great hall to take you to the docks. Breakfast is served in the great hall. Is there anything you need from me this morning?"
"Nope," Trinity sighed, still face-first in a pillow, "That's fine, thank you."
"When should I tell Lady Cristain you will meet her? And Lord Vorian that you will meet him?"
"What time is it now?"
"Eight o'clock, ma'am."
"Then eleven o'clock for Cristain, and two o'clock for Vorian."
The Fae woman bowed and left the room. Trinity rolled over to face Evelyn.
"This is their version of email," the smaller woman said, "Except this version not only says 'You've got mail', this version reads it to you first thing in the morning whether you'd like it to or not. This version is also very repetitive. Jareth always makes sure breakfast is served in the great hall. I was going to make plans to see Cristain anyway. I never need a walking, talking headache to do anything for me."
Evelyn rolled her eyes, but chuckled. "She's just trying to be helpful."
The younger woman sighed. "Yeah, I know. No one in this place realizes that I have low blood sugar issues, and so I'm a real bear until I get food." Finally, she pushed herself up on her elbows and swung her feet out of the bed.
"I guess I'd better get some clothes for us," she sighed. "Goodbye, comfortable pants."
The green-eyed woman raised an eyebrow, and followed Trinity into the walk-in closet.
"Alright," Trinity said, "While we're here we can't wear pants unless we are to ride. So, we wear a short-sleeve shirt – unless you want to wear a long-sleeve poet shirt, which I don't recommend in summer – under a sleeveless dress, with a belt. If the dress is knee-length, one wears long pants under it. For an ankle-length dress you're not required to, and most women don't cuz it gets hot in summer. Or, we can wear said short-sleeve shirt with a knee-length skirt and pants, or an ankle-length skirt. Without the jumper, though, we are required to wear a leather corset thingy on top of the short-sleeve shirt."
"Why?"
"Dunno. Some kind of decency something." Trinity began browsing her shelves, pulling out her outfit.
Evelyn noticed something. "Trin…aren't these peasant clothes?"
The smaller girl snorted. "Of course. You do not even want to know what the noble ladies have to wear."
Her friend laughed, and even Trinity grinned.
Evelyn chose a dress-and-pants outfit (which were also made so that they fit whoever wore them), while Trinity when with the knee-length skirt, pants, and shirt-with-corset. Both shirts were off-white, while the rest of the outfits were nondescript blues and greens. The smaller woman produced two pairs of black, leather boots from the nether reaches of the closet, and they were ready for breakfast.
The great hall now had two long tables set up so that one could get a meal buffet-style. Trinity grabbed a roll and kept going, headed out the palace door. Evelyn wrapped a roll and two apples in a napkin, knowing her friend would want the fruit later.
As the sugar from her roll hit her bloodstream, Trinity's mood visibly lifted. She walked briskly around the outside of the palace, Evelyn following.
"I want to show you the barns," Trinity told her friend excitedly, "They are amazing."
"I'll bet," Evelyn said, smiling. "You ride when you're here, right?"
"All the time," the black-haired woman said, and laughed. "Not just horses though. There are unicorns here sometimes, can you believe it? And the occasional winged horse drops in, of course, sometimes with bat wings and sometimes with feathers."
"Different breeds?"
"I guess so."
Trinity shrugged. "Haven't seen any of those aquatic horses you told me you and Vorian rode to meet me and Jareth, though. I guess they only come to the water-folk."
Evelyn cocked her head, a little confused. "They would come to you?"
Trinity blinked. "Of course. They don't keep the unicorns and winged horses and gryphons and hippogriffs. Those wander in and out as they please. Only non-magical horses are actually kept in the stall."
Evelyn stared straight ahead. Gryphons? Hippogriffs? This place was even more magical than she'd thought. "Can you ride the…others?"
"Only if they let you. You have to be very polite to the magical ones, because their intelligence is way beyond a normal creature's. They're sentient!"
"Wow."
"I know, for real."
The girls reached the barns and Trinity gave a quick tour to Evelyn. There were no magical beings in the stable at this moment, so the women asked a groom where they were.
"Haven't seen any since the king disappeared," he said sadly.
Trinity's face fell.
"Hobgoblin is still here, ma'am," the groom said encouragingly. "He perked up yesterday, when you arrived, I assume."
A smile crossed the black-haired girl's face, and she thanked the groom and led Evelyn down the stable aisle. In the stall she headed towards was a scruffy-looking dappled gray horse with a black mane and tail. His head popped up immediately when he heard Trinity approach, and his ears flicked forward.
"Hey, Bob," the small girl said when she reached him. "Who have you been terrorizing lately?"
The horse lifted his lip up, as if to laugh.
Evelyn laughed as well. "I thought Trigger was your one and only true horsy love."
"Yeah, well…" Trinity trailed off, absently stroking the horse's face. "They let me bottle-feed him when he was a baby, and as he grew up, he developed this complex that I am the only one who's allowed to ride him or do any training with him. Ever. That's why they call him Hobgoblin. I mainly call him Bob, because it's not such a mouthful."
Her friend raised an eyebrow. "You ride him already? He's pretty young, isn't he?"
"Well…" Trinity sighed. "Not really. Here, he's about…hold on. Foltus?" she addressed the groom they'd spoken to earlier. "How old is Hobgoblin?"
"Thirteen or so…" they heard the voice from the other end of the barn.
Evelyn's eyes went wide.
Trinity just shrugged. "Time runs different here."
XxXxX
After the tour of the barns, the girls returned to the palace to see Jareth's sister. Trinity led them directly to the throne room, and walked right up to the stand-in queen, who was sitting to one side of the throne.
"Cristain," she said, with a curtsy.
"Trinity," the Fae woman (who looked very much like a female and very beautiful version of Jareth) addressed the girl, nodding.
Evelyn swore later that the two grinned at the exact same time, and then Cristain got down and gave Trinity an affectionate hug.
"I am so very sorry I wasn't there last night," the Fae woman said in a light, musical voice. "Didymus told me that the letter was from Leont, but nothing else. What did you all decide to do?"
"Evelyn, Vorian, and I are gonna go get him tomorrow," Trinity answered, closing her eyes.
Cristain smiled at Evelyn, but then turned back to Trinity, putting a hand on the smaller woman's head. "I'm sorry. I'm very worried as well. But I have faith that Leont will keep his word and give Jareth back to us."
They spoke until it was time for lunch, when Trinity and Evelyn had to leave the stand-in queen to her duties.
"Poor girl," Trinity said as they walked towards the dining hall, "She has a lot on her mind."
"Is she older or younger than Jareth?" Evelyn wanted to know.
"Younger. She married a lord from somewhere way before Jareth met Sarah, though. She only came to be on the throne because she was the closest. I feel sorry for her, because the stand-ins are always busier than the regular monarchs. She hasn't gotten a break."
XxXxX
When they reached the dining hall, Trinity spotted Vorian and went to sit with him, Evelyn following. For this meal, food was spread out on the tables so you could just reach out and take it. The three of them sat at the end of one of the long tables, slightly separate from others who were drifting in. Trinity surreptitiously positioned herself so that Vorian was across from Evelyn, and she sat next to her friend.
"So," she said as they sat down, "What did you want to see us about this afternoon?"
Vorian smiled wryly. "I want to show you the vessel we are to sail on to Point de Rouck. She's being prepared for such a trip right now. I thought you two would want a look at her before we left tomorrow."
"Sweet."
The ship, they found out later, was a merchant vessel called the Morning Star. Since the soil was still so damaged from years of rains and a few weeks of earthquakes and erratic weather, the only crop the Underground could export was peaches. The Morning Star carried peaches everywhere in the world. Her captain was named Tesla, and he'd sailed this particular ship for years. As the trio walked up the gangplank, he gave them a cool welcome.
"I hope the ship is to your liking," he said simply, "I volunteered only the best to assist in retrieving out king."
Trinity decided not to mention that the heavy smell of peaches would probably give her seasickness. "It's lovely."
Evelyn nodded agreement. She was still looking at Tesla. He was tall, and had blonde hair. He was dressed well, but there was something about him that she was uncomfortable with. She couldn't place it until she met his eyes.
They were red. He had dark red, almost brown, eyes. She'd never seen any eye color like it.
"We sail at dawn," he said, still looking into Evelyn's eyes.
"Why?" she wondered out loud.
Tesla opened his mouth to answer, but Trinity beat him to it.
"So we can go out with the tide," the girl sighed.
The captain broke Evelyn's gaze, and turned to give Trinity a dignified scowl.
Vorian, who'd noticed everything, narrowed his eyes, and smoothly suggested that the girls return to the palace.
a/n: yes i understand that David Bowie played a character with the name of Tesla in the movie The Prestige (which is awesome by the way). our Tesla and that Tesla are in no way related. just to clarify things