AN: A little more information in this chapter. Obviously I own nothing, reviews feed the soul.
CHAPTER 2
The Goblin King was shocked by the tears suddenly streaming down Sarah's enraged face. He had known that avoiding her as he had been would upset her, but he never imagined it would cause her this much distress. He had imagined facing her rage and indignation, but not this desperation, not this fear.
"Precious…" He began, and her eyes snapped to his, burning emerald embers into his vision. "I regret that I cannot do that." He firmed his voice and stiffened his spine against the crying woman in front of him. "If you would like to take a seat, we can discuss the matter" He continued, curling his hand around the crystal that had materialized there and conjuring 3 chairs, one for his sister, and one for Sarah, and one for himself, the chairs were padded and comfortable, conjured from their usual places in the castle library. He eschewed his throne purposefully, not wanting to sit on the raised dais, but rather sat in one of the comfortable library chairs leaning forward with his fingers steepled together pensively.
Ariadne sat in one remaining chair and beckoned Sarah to sit in the other, while swirling her other hand in a fluid gesture that had a small table appearing between them, laden with fruit, various breads and cheeses. Sarah eyed the food suspiciously and with hunger, but did not dare eat any of it. She had so far eaten only what she had watched the goblins bring into the kitchen themselves, she wanted no dreams of ballrooms and puffy dresses this visit. She did however, take a seat next to Ariadne, farthest from the Goblin King.
The Goblin King took a few moments to truly observe her now that she was in front of him, having not taken the time when he whisked her from her bedchamber two weeks previous. Her dark chestnut hair was still long, but not the untamed tresses of her youth. It fell to just past her shoulders and hung loosely, disheveled by her days of stalking his throne room, but not uncared for. Her eyes were tired, but their emerald luminescence was no less brilliant for the purple circles under them from lack of good sleep. Her garb was simple, a long red skirt and cream tunic with flat sandals from her own wardrobe. He had returned to her apartment the day after retrieving her and brought some of the clothing back to the castle. Her face and body had filled out, and no longer had the gawky awkwardness of her teenage years. At 30 years old Sarah was entering her prime. Confident and self assured, and still completely unaware of her own beauty, she carried it like an accessory that was easily forgotten. Unfortunately, that was part of the problem.
Ariadne saw the way her brother looked at Sarah, and thought to herself that it was not simply concern for the kingdom that made him so hesitant to accept if the girl chose to enter the competition.
Sarah gave an unladylike sniff before wiping her eyes on the handkerchief Ariadne held out to her. She looked from Ariadne to the Goblin King expectantly before looking the King in the eye again and he stared back, his one brown eye and one blue eye met hers and she was startled by the surge of power she felt in his gaze. And shocked at the concern she saw in his eyes. She knew this might be her only chance at an explanation from him, and she knew she needed her voice to be heard.
"Goblin King, you kidnapped me from my home. My family does not know where I am, I have been unable to pay my bills, attend my job, or contact anybody who might be concerned for me. I have been held here against my will for two weeks and you have not deigned to speak to me about the reason why, and I want an explanation for this, and for the conversation I just overheard, after which I want to be sent home." Her voice was unsteady and still choked by tears, but it was also firm and she spoke without flinching.
The Goblin King flinched at the tone of her voice, and realized for the first time the implications of this situation on Sarah's life Aboveground. He had made a grave miscalculation in not speaking to her before now, and he had only his own cowardice to blame for it. He had no idea how to rectify this mistake, though he had more experience than many of his peers in dealing with mortals, he still did not fully understand the implications of their world or culture. Ariadne looked from her brother to his guest, before speaking up.
"I am sorry for my brothers negligent behavior, I do not think he had thought about the other implications his actions may have had, and hard as it may be to believe, I believe he acted in what he believed to be your, and his, best interest." Ariadne spoke in a soft voice and Sarah's eyes moved from her brothers to meet hers.
"Explain to me how any of this could be in my best interest" Sarah snapped back, immediately regretting her tone with Ariadne, who flinched at her harsh tone.
"It is hard to know where to begin Precious" The Goblin King began, leaning forward and plucking an apple and a knife from the table in front of him and cutting a slice from it, popping it into his mouth. He watched Sarah's hungry and suspicious gaze as he did so. He made a great show if chewing and swallowing the bite of apple before placing the knife back on the table and offering the remainder of the apple to Sarah.
"I promise you Sarah, I am no more pleased by this than you are, and I have no ill intentions towards you. I have no intention of enchanting you by magic, you are no longer a runner." He watched the wheels turn in Sarah's head as her hunger battled with her suspicion. She reached out cautiously and took the proffered fruit, not allowing their hands to touch as she did. She bit into the apple and almost groaned in ecstasy at the fruit hit her tongue. She remained suspicious however, of his motives.
"Explain yourself Goblin King" She demanded, the tears gone now, the furrows they left on her cheeks drying into nothingness. Finally, finally some answers. "I haven't heard or seen anything from you in years, since I ran the Labyrinth. I'm a grown woman, my brother is almost grown himself, what could you possibly want with us?"
"Not Toby, only you Sarah" The Goblin King replied softly.
"When you ran the Labyrinth, and beat it, by the laws of my people, you were given power, and a title within the Fae realm. But because you said your right words, I had no power to come to you, no power in your life at all. Which it seemed you preferred." The slight note of bitterness in his voice was missed by Sarah, but not by the silent Ariadne.
"That was years ago, why now? What is going on? And what in the hell does it have to do with...with...bedding me?" Sarah demanded, her voice growing in anger again. The Goblin King flinched and was silent.
Ariadne spoke "It would not have mattered Sarah, you should have been able to continue your mortal life as you had, without interference. Unfortunately, we are entering a period of time which is, for the Fae, very rare. Because of the rarity of this event, and the unfortunate timing, you have been deemed eligible to participate, and eligible is often the same as mandated in case of the Fae high court."
"None of this makes any sense, what are you talking about?" Sarah asked, her anger subsiding now that she was at least being spoken to as an equal and given some semblance of answers to her many questions.
"Time moves differently here than Aboveground, and not only when my brother meddles with it" Ariadne said, glancing disapprovingly at her brother, who only shrugged.
"Here, a season may last decades of your mortal time, sometimes centuries. This matters little to us, as we do not age as mortals do. But when Spring comes to the Underground, to the realms, the Fae gather and eligible individuals are...spoken for. If an individual is spoken for by more than one person, a competition takes place to determine the victor.
Now, mostly, who is spoken for by whom is decided beforehand, either by virtue of a love match, or a political alliance. In cases like yours however, there are likely to be multiple individuals attempting to make a claim."
"I am not a piece of meat at a damn deli counter, and I refuse to participate in such an antiquated, humiliating, and sexist event!" Sarah cried in indignation.
"Eligible participants who refuse are often forced to participate." The Goblin King stated softly, his eyes regretful.
"Sarah, our people are not monsters. This competition was put into place to keep the Fae from dying out. We saw the need for all those able to conceive to try to do so, in order for the species to continue." The Goblin King looked into Sarah's eyes and willed her to understand.
"I'm not Fae, why does this concern me?" She glared reproachfully at him "It isn't fair"
"When was it ever?" He muttered.
"When you beat the Labyrinth and were granted power here, and a title, it also created a connection to the Underground, and to our realms. Given enough time here, you would become one of us. It is another way we have sought to preserve our magic and our line. Mingling our blood with that of mortals who earned the right to be called our equals." Ariadne stated, her voice not unkind.
"What makes me eligible? Is it because I'm an unmarried woman?" Sarah asked, looking at Ariadne and pointedly refusing to meet the Goblin Kings eyes.
"Yes and No. Eligible means you are of fertile age, healthy, mentally competent...and virginal." Ariadne avoided her gaze at the last word.
"How do you know that!? Thats none of ANYONE's business!" Sarah screeched in embarrassment.
"We would not have known precious, but the eligible are revealed through a ritual when the time of the competition comes close. That was the source of the...less savory part of conversation that you overheard." The Goblin King did not meet Sarah's eyes.
"So, if I weren't...you know… wouldn't be eligible?" Sarah asked, her voice pinched.
"Yes" Ariadne stated matter of factly. "You can at any time chose to end your dealings with this matter if you are willing to be bedded by any man...or woman, should your inclination be in that direction."
"I...I can't do that" Sarah stammered. "There must be another way, I need to go home, my brother needs me, my work needs me, my cat.." Sara clung to straws, not wanting to see the pity in the Goblin Kings eyes.
The Kings heart broke for Sarah, and he vowed to do all he could to right his mistake of not speaking to her sooner.
"Why did you bring me here? Why not just come to me and explain what was going on before now?" Sarah asked accusingly, swinging her gaze around to land on the Goblin King.
"I could not risk you being left in the mortal realm to be...claimed by another with ill intentions on my kingdom. Either by speaking for you in the competition, or by...compromising your eligibility against your will. My kingdom is not vast, but it is powerful within our realms and there are many who would seek to either hold that power for themselves, or usurp it." The Goblin King said.
"I do however, regret that I did not speak to you. I simply...I did not know how to approach you, and I allowed my cowardice to stop me from coming to you. Time moves so much differently for us, the span of two mortal weeks is a blink to me, and I did not think that so much of your life in the mortal realm might be effected. I apologize for my misjudgment."
"I don't know that I can forgive you for this Goblin King. But, I understand...sort of." Sarah said.
"Sarah, what can my brother do to mitigate the damage he has caused you?" Ariadne asked, glancing at her brother, whose expression had turned glacial, hiding his pain.
"I need to speak with my family, and my job, assuming I haven't lost it yet. I need to go home Goblin King." Sarah spoke with tired conviction. "I understand the position you are in, but I can't just cut and run from my entire life to sort this mess out."
The Goblin King nodded his head slowly, thinking for a moment before speaking carefully. "Would it be acceptable then, for me to accompany you back to the Aboveground for a day, so that you might settle your accounts for the time being, and notify those who would be concerned for your well being?"
"How would I do that? I can tell my parents and Toby I'm being called away for work, but I can't very well make accommodations for my entire life for an indefinite period of time financially Goblin King. I work as a publishing agent, I'm not exactly flush with cash."
"That can be arranged for fairly easily. I have enough dealings with mortals that I have access to funds I believe would be acceptable for that purpose until such time as you either return to your mortal life, or remain here permanently." The Goblin King replied.
"I want one more thing" Sarah demanded.
"Yes?" The Goblin King asked, raising one eyebrow.
"My cat. I want my cat here with me." Sarah replied, daring him with her eyes to say no to her request.
"Fine, but I'd keep the thing well away from the goblins were I you. They get far too interested in new creatures." He replied.
Ariadne stood up from her chair and stretched her arms above her head. "I'm glad so much of this has been sorted out. We will receive a date for the competition 3 days hence brother. I will deliver the message in person if I can." Ariadne took her brothers hand and drew him into a brief hug.
"Sarah, I will escort you to your rooms if you like." Ariadne drew the girl to her feet.
"I will meet you here in the morning, and we will go set your affairs in order." The Goblin King looked as though he wished to say more, but swept from the room, black cloak billowing out behind him as he did.
"Come Sarah" Ariadne led Sarah down the now familiar hallways towards where she knew her bed chamber to be.
"What are your thoughts on my brother?" She asked innocently, shifting her eyes towards Sarah to look at her more fully.
"I don't know. I hadn't thought of him in years until he kidnapped me from my bed. I'm certainly glad he is willing to help me get my life sorted out while we figure out this mess. Otherwise I'll have nothing to go back to when this is all over." Sarah replied, missing the small frown from the other woman. 'liar' her inner voice chorused back at her as she avoided Ariadne's gaze.
The two women arrived at the plain oak door that marked her bed chamber and Ariadne turned to Sarah.
"I will take my leave. But think on this Sarah. There may be no going back to the Aboveground. My bother is a bachelor, and the High King and Queen have long hoped he would marry. You carry much power here, though it has not yet manifested itself. You could do worse than him if you find yourself in a position where the competition cannot be avoided."
"I'm mortal, he wouldn't have me as his queen, even if I were willing to stay. Besides, I heard you trying to convince him to 'bed' me, and he refused rather vehemently" Sarah replied, somewhat taken aback by Ariadne's frankness.
"Being born mortal means little to him. He spends more time with mortals than most of us... And I would not take his reluctance as a rejection. Perhaps even quite the opposite." She said simply.
"Goodnight Sarah. With any luck I will see you 3 days hence." Ariadne gave Sarah a kind smile and turned to walk back down the hallway.
"Goodnight Ariadne" Sarah said before slipping into her bedchamber and closing the door.