CHAPTER 17

Galron went back to Emiline and said, "He won't let me near her. He knows I hold a grudge. I told you this."

Emiline said, "Then we'll wait and see when our opportunity happens. Keep a sharp eye open."

Galron said, "You said when you were done with her I could have her right? You promise me not to kill her. I have very special plans for her tied to a bed."

Emiline said, "Shut up, I told you the plan, so just do as we agreed." He nodded.

Sarah danced with Oberon and Jareth with his mother Tatiana. Oberon said, "You are not a bad dancer Sarah. You led me to believe you were."

Sarah giggled and said, "I have been making Jareth practice every night this week after dinner. I didn't want to make a fool of myself when he takes me around to events and I was nervous about pulling it off tonight because I have no idea about protocol and whatnot."

Oberon chuckled and said, "You'll be alright, my dear girl. I'll always help you ahead of time, if Tatiana or Jareth don't. You just need to ask, that's all." He kissed her cheek.

Sarah says, "I bet you'll love to teach your granddaughter to dance one day too. You and Tatiana are going to be just wonderful grandparents, I just know it." He hugged her as the dance ended and walked her back over to Jareth.

Jareth took Sarah to eat. They sat down at a table with their food. He said, "The food is quite delicious. My father went all out on this party. He and my mother just adore you…" He whispered,"...even before we mentioned the baby."

She smiled, "I love them too.. I'm in love with you though, my handsome sexy king." He chuckled, nudging her.

They went back and Jareth danced with Sarah. After a while, they took a break from being too warm and ventured out onto a terrace to get a breath of fresh air and cool for a moment. He said, "Let me get you a cool drink. I'll be back in just a second." He left her to gaze at the clear, pretty night sky with glittering stars.

Galron and Emiline snuck up behind her and Emiline cast a binding spell on her and Galron put his arms around her and vanished. Emiline followed.

Jareth came back and she was gone. He looked down at the tracks in the light snow and it showed she was standing there and other than his footsteps, he saw another male's tracks were visible. There was a female off to the side. He dropped the beverages and ran through the crowd to the High King and Queen. He shouted, "They took her! Call the guards!" His father called the guards. He took them to the balcony and showed them the tracks.

Jareth said with hate and venom, "I will kill Galron and Emiline for this! They have breathed their last! They must have arranged this and set up a remote location to put her. I hope she kills them both! If not I will."

The High King said, "Let me try to do a location spell." His father formed a crystal and the place was black. He could not locate her if he could not see her. It wasn't blocking his view, it was black where she was. "Is black as the night, wherever this is."

Jareth said, "A cave maybe? A dark room or dungeon?"

Oberon said, "I don't know son, it could be any of them. Do you feel her, son?"

Jareth searched his heart and felt her in a sacred state of mind. He said, "She's frightened."

Oberon said, "Understandable."

Tatiana said, "Oh, my poor child. Danu, please watch over her until we can save her."

Jareth cast his armor on and sent word for his goblin army to prepare for war. He also told them to dispatch thirty of his best warriors to the High Palace because their future queen has been kidnapped.

--

Sarah was laying down on the ground bound by a binding spell. It was really dark, cold and dank. She was scared because she couldn't see anything. They laid her down on the ground and locked an iron jailer's door. Then the lights went out. All she could hear was the dripping of water and the scurrying of possibly rodent types.

If she could move she could try to do something or at the least sit up. As long as she was stiff and frozen, she was stuck. There was a pungent tangy smell almost like rotten eggs permeating the air. She closed her eyes and just listened. She prayed Jareth would find where they're keeping her. She will kill them both if she can without regrets. Patience, she told herself. Keeping calm in a dire situation is key in survival. She learned that in her survivalist class. Wait for the right moment to strike. They don't know anything about her hunting knife on her thigh or her iron bullets in her little gun in the hidden pocket of her dress. She thought how glad she was that she took all those classes and she kept wearing and bringing them both with her for this reason alone.

Minutes stretched to hours, maybe. She couldn't be sure. In her mind she was woken up by a whisper in her mind. She concentrated on the whisper. It was Gaia. She answered by saying in her head, 'Gaia can you hear me?'

Gaia whispered, 'Yes, my child. Are you well?'

Sarah answered, 'Yes, but they have me in a binding spell in theYes pitch dark. It is Emiline and Galron. This place smells pungent and there is a tangy taste in the air. It's almost like rotten eggs.'

Gaia whispered, 'Focus your mind and magic on your bonds like making pin holes through fabric until it is weak and breaks.'

Sarah answered, 'I'll try.'

Gaia whispered, 'It is hard to keep a connection, it takes too much magic to get through. I believe you are surrounded by salt and it blocks magic from working there.'

Sarah answered, 'Tell Jareth, he'll know where the salt mines are.'

Gaia whispered, 'Be strong child, you will need to protect yourself if you can.'

Sarah answered, 'I have my gun, an iron shooting projectile weapon and my iron steel knife. That is if I can get loose.'

Gaia whispered, 'Keep trying. Salt blocks magic. You can do this. You're stronger than they think you are. Do what you must to them with no guilt. They want to murder you or worse. You must save yourself and your son the….' The connection was gone.

She focused on punching holes in the binding with her mind and magic. The spell must be weakening because she could shift a little more each time she punched at it. It gave her hope. After a while, she finally got a full release.

She sat up and stretched her arms and legs and stood up holding onto the jagged wall behind her. She found a chair by feeling around in the dark. She sat on it and started cutting the fabric across her knees until she reached the side seam, then cut down. She was cutting it short enough in the front not to trip her and let her legs move freely in case she had to kick.

She took the fabric and cut it into strips which was very hard to do by feeling it. She took the piece of the underskirt and evenly tightly rolled it into a tube of fabric. That piece had the lightest weave to cut across the hemline at the end. It gave her a rope of sorts. She untied her knife sheath and tied the rope around her waist and the lacings to the rope to put it on her left hip sideways to grab the hilt easily with her right hand. She cut more of another part across the roll a little wider like a ribbon to tie her hair back into a ponytail after she removed the pins and tossed them to the ground. She had to be careful with all this cutting not to cut herself in the dark.

She pulled out her gun and tied it with a piece of the ribbon around the trigger guard, the round piece around the trigger. She tied the other long two and a half foot piece around her right wrist so as not to lose it in a struggle, then to drop it. It was too valuable to her safety to have that happen.

She got up and felt around for a door but found a cell door and bars. She went back to where she was sitting and felt around for her pins on the floor. She found them and straightened them. She took two and twisted them tightly around each other to make them thicker and stronger with her fingers. It was tough to do and hurt your fingers, but needs must be done. She started trying to pick the lock with her pins after she bent them. It took a while but eventually she heard a click.

The door opened and she ran into a table. She felt around on a table and found a lantern but no matches. She felt her way around looking for an exit door. When she found it she opened it quietly into a corridor. She felt along the wall and turned a corner. She saw a dim flicker of light through the shadows way down the corridor. She stealthily crept along the wall and listened. She heard voices.

Voice one, a male said, "The human has been in there for a full day now."

Voice two, a male said nastily, "So, it'll take the fight out of her. She's a strong and quick little human bitch." It was Galron.

Voice three, a female said, "Oh shut up, both of you. I don't care how long she stays in there. The human animal can rot for all I care. She can't do a thing about it either. After you two rape her and do whatever. I will kill the bitch." It was Emiline.

Galron said, "Wait, that's not what we agreed to. You said I get to keep her. You didn't say you would kill her."

Emiline said, "The plan changed. Get over it. Go fuck her now then and I'll get my ending of her. You think I'll let her just let her live to pop up and ruin everything. She got the stupid High King and Queen along with Jareth eating out of her hand. No, she needs to be eliminated."

Galron said, "You lied the whole time to get me to help you. Forget it I'm not being a party to murdering her, Emiline. I wanted her to repeatedly fuck her. It wasn't what I was doing this for, to get a one off."

She snorted and said, "You were doing it to get your dick wet. So? Go get it wet. Then it's over for her after."

Galron sputtered, "You heartless bitch! You'll never get help from me again! Come on Wellesley, let's get our dicks wet." He said that snidely.

Sarah pulled her knife and put it in her left hand and had her gun in her right hand. She came around the corner into the entry of the room.

Sarah said, "Look what we have here three little magic users with no magic in a salt cavern. Damn shame that. You're no better than humans here, now are you? Let's get this over with now shall we? I'm sure, I've been missed by many terribly."

Nobody knew that Jareth, the Goblin King, had just entered the corridor and quietly stood outside of the room out of sight listening to how Sarah was handling this.

Emiline said, "How did you get out?!" You fools did not lock the cell door! I never should have trusted you!"

Sarah said, "Oh, contraire. See this stupid Aboveground woman knows how to pick locks and many other skills you fools have no idea about."

Emiline said in a vicious voice, "I'm going to kill you for trying to steal my life you human filthy animal."

Sarah said, "The only dying tonight… or is it today?... is going to be you three. I'm done with you plotting my demise one way or the other. Your asses were through, the second you murdering raping bastards took me by interfering with Jareth and I. See, I dearly adore my Goblin King, but he has no idea what I'm trained to do with my skills. Killing will be my most fulfilling performance today. The Underground will be better off without your kind swimming around in its gene pool."

Wellesley tried to move around her side of her. She aimed and shot him between the eyes and he dropped dead. The other two were not familiar with guns and had their mouths hanging open. Emiline charged and Sarah spun and kicked out, kicking her in the head knocking her out in a pile on the floor.

Sarah cracked her neck and said, "Your next Galron. Will it be dying by iron poisoning or having your wrists broken and your dick cut off and stuffed down your throat to stifle your screams of horror? Your choice?." His eyes bulged out at her graphic descriptions of violence to his person.

She said, "You think I'm going to let you continue to rape human women until you die of natural causes? I'm not that stupid." He was afraid to move. He didn't want either outcome.

Emiline groaned and started to come to Sarah, shot her in the shoulder and then the other shoulder. Emiline screamed both times. Sarah shot her in both knees next. She screamed and screamed until she lost consciousness.

Galron was frightened of this creature. Sarah looked at him and said, "Each projectile that just entered her body is 100% iron. She probably won't live long but she will suffer long in the hours she has left and in complete misery."

Galron shakingly said, "Y… you're evil."

Sarah smiled at him and said, "Not really. I would have left you all alone if you had done the same. It's you two who set this party up. It's you all who will pay for your evil intent."

Galron said, "What makes you any better? You just murdered my friend and put a death sentence on Emiline."

Sarah said, "Your friend just died because of you and trying to poorly sneak around me. You tempted him to rape me with you, like that's ok to you or something? I wonder how many times you two have done such heinous things together on human women, huh? Answer me!" He jumped. She shot him in the dick. He screamed and screamed high pitched like a woman falling to the ground. When he finally quietened and just cried sniffling, groaning and holding his genitals in both hands. Emiline was coming back to consciousness. She groaned in pain.

Emiline whined, "My father will have your head for this."

Sarah said emotionlessly, "Emiline, you stupid little pea brained foolish cow, let's lay bets. You have been infused with four projectiles of iron slugs. You'll be lucky to see tomorrow now that it has entered your bloodstream. You kidnapped me just because you wanted to murder me. You thought I was some simpering useless human or court lady, like yourself. You'll die painfully because you wanted the Goblin throne and the High throne." Emiline's eyes widened. "Yes, see, you think I'm stupid. That was your fatal mistake. I wondered, why with all the kingdoms here in the Underground, you wouldn't let this one go? It dawned on me that you didn't give a shit about my sweet loving Jareth at all. You covet his future occupation of High King one day. Knowing your murderous ass, you probably thought you'd kill him or poison him one day so you would rule it all. Now, Emiline, didn't you? Come on, you can tell me. You'll die by tomorrow or the next day anyway now."

Emiline groaned and screamed,"You ruined everything for me! I could have ruled the whole Underground, you human animal."