As promised a chapter ASAP. Hope you are all enjoying the story so far. Please review.
Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon.
Chapter 12
"Toby don't be rude." His mother chided. "Say hello to your sisters friend."
The ten year old chose at that moment to go shy and hide behind his sister, before running back out of the room. Titania was looking down at the boy with an odd gleam in her eye.
"Sorry about that," Karen apologised, "I don't know what comes over him sometimes."
"It is perfectly alright." The High Queen responded graciously. "Why don't Sarah and I take the tea things through to the lounge?" she suggested taking the tray and gesturing for Sarah to follow her out of the kitchen.
"About Toby, I'm sorry." Sarah also apologised, "I didn't warn him not to act weird around you in front of Karen."
"Why would he act oddly around me?" Titania asked placing the tea tray down on the lounge table, disguising the true level of her curiosity.
Sarah gestured to one of the sofas and sat on the chair opposite. "Because he can probably see that your not human, Glamours don't affect him." Sarah answered as if it was nothing unusual.
"How on earth would you know that? Do you meet many glamoured fae?"
"No but since I won him back, maybe before, we seem to have attracted a Goblin guard of honour. Unless they reveal themselves I can't see them, Toby can."
"Karen, I take it, does not know."
"No I made him swear that it would be our secret. In return he wanted to hear the story of how I won him back."
"You and your brother have a very strong bond."
Toby had rushed away from the Kitchen and up the stairs to Sarah's room. He touched the surface of the mirror and quietly called out to Hoggle and Sir Didymus.
The two friends appeared quickly, "Is Sarah there?" Hoggle asked before Sir Didymus could start with the long greetings.
"Yes, she's downstairs with a fairy woman."
"A fae gentlewoman?" The fox asked.
"Titania was in the city at the same time as Sarah according to some of the Goblins." the dwarf replied.
"Be very careful young master, the woman you speak of is High Queen Titania of the Seelie Court."
"She did look very important."
"I suppose we do." Sarah lost the happy look her face had taken on since seeing Toby. She rocked Jay in her arms absent mindedly.
"Why are you so sad about that?"
"Because that's Jareth's fault for making me fight to get him back. My life still revolves around the Goblin King. I can't escape him, even though I banned him from ever being in my life again."
"Toby, she is King Jareth's step-mother." Hoggle told the boy.
"Then if Jareth hurt Sarah she is here to make her better?" Toby asked.
On the other side of the mirror the two friends didn't know how to answer. "We can but hope." Sir Didymus tried to reassure the boy.
"Despite what he did, Sarah," the High Queen tried for the first time to defend her step-son, "he does care for you."
"It's too late for him to care about me. He obviously didn't care enough to just talk to me but he was jealous enough to assault me." Sarah just looked into her sons face.
Titania had nothing to say in response to that and Karen's entrance made further talk on the subject impossible. They drank the tea in relative silence, Sarah was too preoccupied thinking about the Goblin King, Titania not sure what was left to say to Sarah or Karen and Karen herself was too worried about Sarah's fluctuating mood.
When they had finished their drinks Karen started to clear the tea things away. She was glad when the phone rang she rushed out into the hall to pick it up. Sarah didn't really want to talk any more so she asked Titania to hold jay while she finished clearing up after the tea and carried the tray back to the kitchen.
Titania sat in the empty room taking in the d cor, that must have been Karen's choice, and wondering about the Williams family, for mortals they seemed extraordinary. Sarah's belief, Toby's sight, Jay's parentage, traits that were not usually contained in only one close family.
"Your Majesty?" A small voice from behind the Sofa opposite the High Queen roused her out of the reverie.
"Yes Toby?" she replied to the sandy haired boy looking at his features properly for the first time.
"Is Sarah gonna be OK?" His eyes were wide.
"I think so." She rocked Jay in her arms as she said it.
"She went back to the Labyrinth and the King hurt her?" Toby wanted confirmation of what Hoggle and Sir Didymus told him.
"How did you know that?
"Hoggle told me." The boy replied as if that would be understood by the queen.
"Your sister just needs a little bit of time. I need you and your mum to look after her."
"And Jay." the little boy added stoutly looking at baby in Titania's arms.
"Yes the babe too." Titania agreed
Toby accepted with an "OK."
"Toby, you see me for what I am don't you?"
"Yes ma'am."
"How long have you been able to see like that?"
The boy cocked his head to one side in thought, "Don't know. I remember the Goblin King holding me in his arms, playing with me I think. He was shiny too."
"And you've been able to see like this ever since?"
"Yes."
"I'm very glad to have met you Toby." She said suddenly
"I like you. You're all sparkly." Was the boys happy reply.
The High Queen had to laugh slightly at that comment.
Sarah loaded the dirty crockery into the dishwasher, trying to avoid thinking too much. The thoughts going around in her head were too confusing and frustrating. Hate for Jareth, love for her son and Toby, regret for what happened, love for Jareth. Too many conflicting emotions.
Karen was talking to her father on the telephone, Sarah couldn't hear the conversation but she recognised the tone of voice that her step-mother used. It had taken a long time for her to realize that her father loved Karen, it wasn't the passion of youth or the volatile relationship that had existed between him and her mother Linda. Sarah felt slightly envious of the loving relationship, something that she had never had, might never have.
She finished procrastinating in the kitchen and went to rejoin Titania in the sitting room.
"Lady still sad." A small voice whispered from the cupboard under the sink.
"Kingy silly for letting Lady leave." Another whispered back.
"Maybe Lady wants to go back." A deeper voice entered the conversation.
"We'll watch until she wishes." The first voice ended the debate.
Titania was still sitting on the Sofa, somehow she had coaxed Toby to talk to her. Karen was still on the phone. He was sitting next to the High Queen his voice going at over a hundred miles an hour as he explained something or other. Sarah cleared her throat loudly making Toby turn around to face his sister. Titania looked grateful to be saved from the young boy.
"Toby do you have any homework that you have to do?" Sarah asked taking Jay back from Titania.
Her little brother avoided looking Sarah in the eye.
"I'll take that as a yes. Say goodbye to Tania and go start your homework, I promise to come help you in a little while."
"OK." Toby pretended to be glum. "Bye Titania." He said as he passed the High Queen.
"Goodbye Toby." She responded. "He reminds me of my son Eric at that age."
Sarah hadn't asked about the other members of the fae royal family. "How big is your family?"
"Small. Fertility is an issue for all fae, it is why we need the Goblin Kingdom. I have two children, Eric and Diana, both are Oberon's."
"I gather that he hasn't been so monogamous."
"Jareth is not his only other child, but the only one that was raised with my children. His mother died and Oberon insisted."
"Fae men can be very persuasive." Sarah knew from personal experience.
"I must take my leave now, Sarah, I can not stay in the mortal realm much longer." She rose from the sofa.
"Thank you for taking care of me, Jareth owes you a big favour."
"You knew he was the one that sent me?"
Sarah didn't answer.
"Be well, Sarah Williams." And with that the High Queen was gone.