A/N: Real-life has been a bit of a bitch, and I haven't been able to post, but I promise that I wrote a lot. Thank you for being patient and staying for the story.
Also, A SPECIAL TWIRLING CRYSTAL (that doesn't turn into a snake, I promise) for mayfire21 for the follow of the story! I was absolutely blown away to get that notification in my email!
And a special MAGIC DANCE for babyscardinal for the favorite! I really appreciate it!
And I realized that I had been forgetting to answer the reviews that I had been asking for. I apologize. I will answer them now.
[ In reply about Chapter 8 from Kitkatkate79 on April 13th, 2021: Thank you! This is my first Labyrinth fanfiction and I have my own view on how I see Sarah and Jareth. Especially since Sarah is aged up in this story. Thank you for your compliments, I really appreciate it. ]
[ In reply about Chapter 5 from Margot Grazyna on April 15th, 2021: This is how I want to portray Sarah. I feel like this is about when she would encounter the Goblin King again, if she did. ]
[ And in reply about Chapter 8 from Margot Grazyna on April 15th, 2021: The henchmen aren't very smart to say the least. And you are correct. It was to provoke Jareth. ]
[ In reply about Chapter 16 from Guest 2021 on June 7th, 2021: Hmmm…. I wonder why indeed? We shall see, won't we? Well maybe they have a bond, maybe they don't? Might have to stay tuned to find out. Thank you for the compliments. I appreciate it. This is my first fanfiction that I have ever posted online. I feel extremely nervous about it. ]
Thank you to everyone who takes the time to give my story a read, this is my first Labyrinth fanfiction, and I was nervous as all get out about posting it. There isn't going to a set schedule for me to upload the chapters as I have work and real-life issues to deal with.
Please leave a review if you have time, I would love the feedback. And without further ado…
I do not own anything except any OC characters that I choose to add into the story. Thank you.
JSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJSJS
XVII.
The dining room was bathed in warm light from multiple sconces on the walls that flickered with incandescent orange flames. There were various tapestries covering most of the walls depicting all manner of fairytales, battle scenes and landscapes. In the middle of the room stood a dark-stained, heavy, oaken table that almost stretched the length of the room. It had numerous matching dark-stained, high-backed chairs that were set about a foot and half away from each other along the table. At the head of the table sat a wider, more ornate high-backed chair with the symbol that matched Jareth's curved, sickle-shaped silver pendant that he wore around his neck. Milling about around the middle of the table were 5 people, none of which Sarah recognized, but she was sure that Jareth would introduce her. As Jareth led Sarah over to the group of people, he flashed a smile.
"About time, brother-mine! Mother was just about to send a search party!" Cian said, his voice full of amusement.
When Sarah focused on the man, she noticed that he was about the same height as Jareth, with the same golden blond hair, but the man's was pulled back into a leather band at the base of his neck. She also noticed that the man was wearing full armor and regalia, almost as ornate at Jareth's Goblin King outfit. When Sarah met the man's eyes, which unlike Jareth's that were mismatched and his left eye looked brown, this man's were the same brilliant frosty blue as Jareth's right eye.
"Alas, that is not necessary, we have arrived. And I presume, not a moment too soon." Jareth replied, his smile widening into a grin, "May I introduce, Lady Sarah of the Aboveground, Lady of the Labyrinth, My Champion. And this insufferable fool is my twin brother and heir to the High Throne, High Prince Cian." He finished, gesturing his hand towards the man in front of Sarah.
Cian flashed a smile at Sarah, which mirrored Jareth's. He bowed gracefully with a wave of his hand. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady." He said, his grin wide.
Sarah forced herself to not let her mouth fall open as Cian bowed to her. She curtseyed as best she could in reply before she spoke. "The pleasure is mine, your royal highness." She said, smiling back.
Cian winked at Sarah before turning to reach behind him and pulling a woman to his side, "And this is my lovely wife, High Princess Brei."
Sarah watched as what she could only describe as an exotic beauty of a woman, was Cian's wife as she was pulled to Cian's side. She was a few inches shorter than Cian, with mahogany skin that seemed as though it had a sun-kissed glow and waist-length, black, shiny, skinny braids that were pulled into an intricate design that only accentuated her features. The most notable feature that caught Sarah's attention was the woman's green/blue hazel eyes, which when Sarah met her gaze, she could swear that the colors never mixed, but merely swirled around each other in a never-ending dance. Sarah smiled warmly at Brei, "Pleasure to meet you, your royal highness." She replied, curtseying again.
Brei's hazel eyes glittered with amusement as she curtseyed very gracefully back. She reached out her hands and caressed some of Sarah's tresses that were loose. "Your hair has such a wonderful texture, you must tell me how you get it so soft." She remarked, her gleaming smile peeking through her mauve-colored lips.
Sarah wasn't quite sure how to respond and she wasn't evens sure if Brei was being serious or if the woman was just tolerating her. Sarah swallowed hard as she tried to figure out what to say.
A melodic feminine voice cut through the awkward silence as a pair of soft arms wrapped themselves around Sarah's shoulders. A full head of wild, curly, fiery red hair fell upon Sarah's right shoulder as a petite woman peered around at Sarah and Brei. "Do not patronize my brother's guest, B. We are tasked to make her feel welcome, seeing as we are the only sane ones here." The woman replied. "I am High Princess Avalina." She paused as she made a face and stuck out her tongue. "But you may call me Ava or Lina, whatever tickles your fancy." She finished.
Sarah was taken aback at the sudden physical closeness of Avalina and wondered why she didn't have the same aversion to touch as she remembered reading that fae usually had.
"Ava, please. Give her space. Do not overwhelm her." Jareth replied coolly, stepping up beside Sarah and giving Avalina a stern look.
Avalina grinned back, not bending over Jareth's look. "If I was overwhelming her, I would have joined her in the bath earlier. She seems to favor the Roselia de Cielo just as much as you do. The purple bottle with the star topper, right?" She asked, her blue eyes alight with excitement.
Sarah nodded as she felt the blush creep across her cheeks.
Jareth's head snapped toward Sarah as Avalina mention the bottle. His first thought was that surely Sarah wouldn't have used the same scented soap as he, would she? Jareth's eyes didn't miss the red flush that crossed Sarah's face.
"Now, now, daughter-mine, leave the poor woman alone. She has been through far too much to be judged for her bathing rituals after such an ordeal. Come child, sit and rest." A motherly voice cut through the silence after Avalina's comment.
Sarah looked up to see a woman, who exuded authority, but also comfort, but in a familial sense. She was taller than Avalina, but not taller than Jareth. Her physical characteristics were a blend of both Jareth of Avalina's, except for the woman's eyes, which were a warm shade of brown flecked with green that sparkled slightly. She was on the other side of the table with a chair pulled out on the left next to the head chair, and had her hands outstretched. "Dinner is served, do not dally now, children." She replied, her voice taking on a sterner tone, but yet remained maternal.
Sarah watched in amazement as all the rest of the adults stiffened at the woman's voice, before they all began to take their seats at the table. Jareth sat at the head, with a raven-haired man that had strikingly violet eyes, to his right. Then High Prince Cian and his wife High Princess Brei sat next along the table. On his left was the empty chair the woman had pulled out and was gesturing for Sarah to sit, while she herself sat next to that chair. High Princess Avalina sat next to the woman. Sarah walked cautiously over to the chair and the woman stopped Sarah before she sat down.
"It seems my rude children have yet to introduce myself." She said, in the stern tone, passing a glance across the table, before turning her attention back to Sarah. "I am High Queen Eibhilín (ay-leen), but in this type of informal gatherings, you may call me Eibhilín." She paused for a moment and her face softened into a smile, "Now forgive a mother's instinct, but you seem to need one of these." Eibhilín replied, pulling Sarah into a tight hug.
Sarah was a shocked at how familial the queen was being, but she chose not to comment, as not to offend her. She hugged Eibhilín back and waited until she sat down before Sarah took a seat in the chair next to Jareth's. Sarah met his gaze, he half-smiled and gave her a wink before his face became stoic again.
Jareth looked around at the inhabitants of the table and then snapped his fingers. The door that was closest to the other end of the room opened and some humanish looking servants poured out in pairs, holding numerous trays of different kinds of foods, some that were recognizable and some that weren't.
The first thing that Sarah noticed was that the servants were of all different skin colors, shapes, and sizes. Sarah then noticed that they were all dressed in a similar fashion. The women had plain brownish green dresses with white aprons tied to the front that looked mostly clean. The males had a simple shirt and pants set that looked to be the same material and shade as the women's dresses, but they had half-aprons tied around their waists instead. The strangest thing was that all of the servants had long hair that was braided to the base of the neck and reached down to their mid-backs.
After the trays were placed, the servants bowed low and exited out through the same door they had entered. Sarah watched in anticipation as she watched the rest of the table wait until Jareth took a bite of his food before the rest began eating. She figured it was a sign of respect and followed suit. As she started to sample the different foods on the trays in front of her, she kept her eyes focused on the table and listened for Jareth's voice, still unsure of the atmosphere of the room.