A/N: Long time no see! Hope you enjoyed the festive period and valentine's day (if you celebrate either) :3
The radio sounded too loud and out of place as they sat facing each other in the lounge, neither willing to break the heavy silence that had fallen like an ill fitting blanket. A glass of water clinked against teeth, then was returned to the table untouched. The other stirred, blinking for the first time in minutes, but refused to lift their gaze. The atmosphere was tense enough to smother but eventually Sarah coughed into her hand and set her green eyes on Toby with a frown.
"The weatherman didn't even imply that there was going to be a storm tonight, let alone that there would be that last one from when I got here. This is the second storm in two weeks! How did he not see this coming?"
Toby shrugged, staring at the candles laid out on the coffee table between them. The flames were unnaturally steady contrasted against the sound of the wind howling outside and the rain battering off the windows and cars yet his eyes... wouldn't move. Couldn't move. Gooseflesh had erupted on both of his arms and the back of his neck yet he couldn't bring himself to tell his sister that he was scared of the dark.
Or rather, the gloom. Which was darker than the dark because there was light to cast yet more shadow. He could almost believe there was someone or something watching them. Which obviously wasn't real. Sarah would have noticed too. His mum did insist he was usually oblivious to his surroundings. His hand moved to pick up his gameboy but he stopped himself and scowled. He couldn't see the screen in the dark. Albion would have to wait.
Across from him, Sarah sat curled up on the armchair with a cushion clutched to her chest and tucked just under her chin. In the orange light she looked eerily different than usual. Paler. Sleeker. Her eyes looking even larger as they stared imploringly at the top of his skull. A sigh left her and the glass was lifted again, resting against her top lip a moment before she finally took a sip.
"I'm sure Dad and Karen would have been back by now if things weren't bad. But he did say when he called that the roads were being closed and they'd probably have to stay at a hotel for the night. I can't be that bad to hang out with alone, can I? Just for one night?"
The blonde head finally lifted and he shook his head, trying to smile. Sometimes it really struck him how different they looked to each other. They had the same nose and chin... but his eyes were blue where Sarah's were green. Her hair almost black where his was blonde. It didn't bother him, really. But it was a bit weird to see it so starkly in the dim light.
"No... I'm sorry."
"What for? Sitting in the lounge in the near-dark because I couldn't find more candles is hardly the most exciting thing in the world. I thought Karen had more of these..."
Her fingers reached out and played with the naked flames a little but stopped after seeing her brother wince.
"I'll go see if there are more in the kitchen, okay? Otherwise I'm going to have to use her special guest candles that no one is allowed to touch and tomorrow we'll have to dash out to find more to replace them before she finds out."
That at last brought a true smile to his features and Toby nodded enthusiastically, leaping up to head for the china cabinet in the corner. They were easy to find even without the little light given from behind him. Pure white pillar candles with silver filigree and royal blue ribbons tied to their bases stood proud in their designated spot, framed by crystal dancer figurines, but the boy didn't even glance at the latter as he yanked them out and returned to the couch. He listened to the sounds of the cupboards opening and shutting through the house and a few metallic clanks for a while then finally his sister reappeared holding a couple tealights which she set on the table. They both looked at the box, then at each other.
The living room became a haze of welcoming warmth and light with the tall candles placed strategically in the corners and around the room, the smell of toasting marshmallows filling the air. Under the couch, hidden from view, four miniature piles of rags finally moved. They were clever, waiting for the rustle of the packets overhead or the wind to reach a screeching pitch to talk to each other so their whispers couldn't be discerned.
"It flared again last night."
"Surprised? She returned."
"But she hides from it!"
"She hides from herself, too."
"But she can't! She's-"
"Shhh!"
Toby burped noisily, covering up the trailing sound of the goblins concealed beneath him and looked over at the red leather book that sat on the corner of the coffee table. Following his gaze, Sarah rolled her eyes shot him him a look.
"Did you take that with you to the park? I told you to leave it alone, Tobes."
"I did leave it alone! I thought you brought it in here!"
They stared at each other then looked away, Sarah pulling her newly darkened mallow from her fork to peer at it for a moment. Merlin lifted his head from the other end of the couch to look at her but his lip-smacking went ignored and he slowly lowered it again back to his paws.
"Besides, you never told me all that much about it anyway. You were too busy playing with Merlin." He finally added, stuffing his own sweet into his mouth.
"There's not much to tell. It's just another mythical-"
Four pairs of eyes rose steadily.
"- childish-"
They looked at each other.
"-far fetched-"
The leader made to get up, a look of abject offense and hurt on his face but the purple goblin beside him rested a hand on his back and he lowered again.
"-Fairytale, about a spoiled girl, a self-entitled and overrated faery King, a maze and a horde of the ugliest creatures imagineable. And a misjudged toddler who didn't do anything wrong."
A collective, horrified gasp left the small group at her words but they froze as she paused and seemed to listen out for them. Then when she returned to rooting for another sweet one of them burst into tears and vanished, leaving the other three to settle down again. The leader's eyes filled with suspicion but he stayed quiet. He looked down at the tiny square of parchment he'd stolen from their leige in case the need of silent orders arose and shook his head. He knew he'd forgotten something. Only Jug knew how to write, but none of them knew how to read.
"I had a dream about it; there was some angry blonde dude who threatened to kill me for trespassing or something."
Sarah's head shot up and she dropped her fork, swearing loudly as she burnt her hand on the candle's flame and snatched it back to nurse it.
"Ha... you're funny. Damn that hurt." She peered at it, but couldn't see anything definitive in the weird light so she dropped it into her lap to ignore the pain.
"I'm serious! He was really scary to start with and there was this really weird wall behind him and behind that there was this huge cast-"
"I'm sure it was all really very cool, Tobes. But it was a dream. And dreams aren't real. And blonde men trying to kill you for trespassing do not exist."
"I think it was Jareth," he shrugged, looking back at the book musingly, "In the book it said about a sharp pendant and this guy was wearing a sharp pendant. And trousers that didn't fit him. I keep forgetting bits that happened."
"It wasn't Him, I can assure you. And the trousers are meant to be like that, Toby, they're jodhpurs- or at least, the Fae equivalent," Sarah insisted with a frown, "...Or something like that. I don't know."
"...It also said he had a riding crop. Does he have horses?"
"No."
"Then why would he have a riding crop and jodhpurs?"
"I don't know, okay? It's just a book. It's not like I've m-met him..."
Toby puffed out his chest slightly. "I'm going to ask him if I have a dream like that again. Because it's weird to have a whip and too-tight trousers if you don't have a horse."
"You do that."
They returned to their snacks, thinking of hot chocolate and how long the storm was going to last outside. It wasn't long before the silence was broken again.
"So how does he get to places if he doesn't have a horse? Does he have a car?"
Sarah looked skyward, "He can turn into an owl. Plus, he's magic. Apparently. Or so the book says."
"That's awesome! Man, he sounds so cool. I wonder why they haven't made this into a movie yet."
"I hope they never do. My imagination was bad enough... can you imagine the amount of people who would try to wish each other away? The amount of people dressing up as the girl, as the King, on Halloween? Besides, they'd get the casting wrong."
"You could play the girl! You've read that book like a zillion times-"
"I have my hands full with Uni, and I have no interest in it anymore. Maybe fourteen year old me would have dived at the chance but I've grown up a lot since then."
She glanced at her watch and yawned, her eyes widening.
"I can't believe it's one o'clock-"
Footsteps sounded on path outside and they both froze, Sarah's voice dying in her throat as her head slowly turned to look at the front door. The steps were heavy and deliberate, a confident stride that made their father sound like he tiptoed when he came home. For a moment neither of them moved, almost to scared to breathe lest the newcomer hear them. Then she moved, grabbing her brother and shoving him towards the kitchen with frantic speed as the steps came to a halt finally and a tense quiet permeated through the house. Toby's feet tangled up in themselves and he barely caught himself before he fell, his socks sliding on the polished wood of the floor. The clock hadn't chimed its hour. Yanking open the door to the pantry, she shoved him in and stopped, noticing that both of them wouldn't fit. Karen had moved the washer in there since the last time she had visited. There was only room for one.
"Toby I need you to stay here, okay? Be quiet, really quiet. I'm going to go see who it is. If you hear anything, lock the door and hide in the washing basket. Don't come near the door."
He shook his head, trying to duck under her arm, but she stepped in his way and pushed him back.
"But what if you-"
"Don't worry about me! Just... just stay here! Look, take Merlin as well before he decides to remember he's a dog and finds his bark."
Toby sat and pulled him mostly onto his lap, looking up glumly at her. Sarah shut the door.
When the knock came, she was already halfway up the hallway towards it, creeping next to the wall in case it suddenly opened and the visitor made a quick entrance. Of all the nights for this to happen, it was when her Dad and Karen were out. It was almost ironic. No lights, alone with Toby...
The knock came again.
Peering through the peephole, she saw a burly, broad-shouldered man with barely blonde hair on the other side looking a little uncomfortable. His hair was tied back off his surly face and coveredthe tops of his ears, and he wore multiple jumpers and coats and strange trousers that tucked into knee high boots. As if sensing her, he turned from surveying the street to look right at the spyglass and took a half step closer.
"...Hello. I am sorry to have to turn up at your home at such a late hour and in inclemmant weather. I need medical assistance."
Sarah backed up slightly, biting her lip. His voice matched his expression which she realised did seem a little pained. "Why don't you go to the hospital then?"
There was a pause. "...There is no power and the phone lines are down, and as you might see, there are no drivers out. It is for my hand."
'If you believe that you'll believe anything. Do not look. Step away from the door."
Her feet moved towards the door even as she turned to leave, stretching onto the balls so she could see out again. Her gaze settled on his hand- or at least, the blood that covered it and obscured where it stemmed from- and she automatically unlocked stepped back and unlocked the door. As she swung it open however she nearly panicked, bracing for the worst... only for the man to carefully step over the threshold and gently close it behind him.
Then he turned to face her again, holding his wrist to his chest to stop anything dripping onto the carpet as he waited for further instruction. Steely eyes flicked to the lounge as she started backing up towards the kitchen and frowned as he took in the magnitude of candle light filtering out into the hall.
"It looks like a shrine in your... front room."
"We don't have any emergency lighting or torches."
"Having them so close to your seating area and curtains is a fire hazard, Miss Williams."
She halted, whirling round to look at him, "How the hell do you know my name?!"
"The surname is on the door, on a small plaque."
She nodded, then sped up her steps until she reached the kitchen where the last of Karen's candles were burning merrily. She barely glanced at the pantry door as she moved past the table towards the connecting bathroom. Behind her the man paused, but she didn't as she barrelled throughto find some bandages and cleaning alcohol. She heard a chair scraping against the floor after a moment and the sound of someone heavy settling into it, then a murmur in a language she wasn't familiar with. That at least explained a lot; if he wasn't from America then he wasn't necessarily going to know how close he has just come to being shot. Assuming her Dad still owned a gun.
When she returned it was to find him staring down at his hand broodingly.
"Your brother can come out of the larder with his dog; I wish neither of you harm."
Yet again a cold feeling ran through her, but as she openwd her mouth he held up his free hand and shook his head.
"I'm a... bodyguard. I am trained in deduction. It smells like dog, there is a boy's jacket in your front room and the best place to hide is that cupboard. But I assure you, you are all quite safe. Once my hand has been seen to I will take my leave, you have my word."
The door opened with a faint click and Merlin came bounding out, straight for the strange man sitting at their table. Sniffing around his knees, he then sat and rested his head on the man's knee looking up at him, his tail thumping the ground. Toby stepped out a second later, looking at his sister, but his attention soon turned back to the imposing figure.
"Wh-who are you?"
The man grunted slightly. "It's long and difficult to say. You can call me Lachlan."
"Lachlan? How is that long and difficult?" Toby asked childishly, slipping into a chair across from him.
Sarah dumped the bandages and alcohol in front of 'Lachlan' and grabbed a towel from under the sink and a basin to fill with hot water.
"The longer version is Choilleach. My parents were traditionalists."
He looked around him, his gaze sliding back towards the door and towards the living room. He knew there were a few of Jareth's subjects in there yet apparently neither of the Williams' kids had noticed. Yet he knew Jareth hadn't authorised any goblin to come into the human world- excluding for runners- for ten years. In fact... he had banned them from doing so. Why would they be so willing to evoke the younger Fae's wrath? If there was anything he knew about Jareth... it was that he was far from forgiving.
He was also one of the most devious Fae he had ever encountered and was an exceptionally good ruler. There had been a reason he had chosen to serve his Father instead of him. It had been proven long in the past that those too close to the youngling either wound up dead or exiled.
Eventually the raven haired girl sat beside him and motioned for him to roll up his sleeves so she could assess the damage. He cursed himself for his improvidence, his carelessness with the weather and the situation he now found himself in. His orders were to observe and report. This was a zero contact mission. Jaque had already screwed his end up and now... now so had Choilleach. It was only a matter of time until Sarah realised who- or what- she had invited into her home.
He peered at his hand as she peeled away the layers from the wound, the boy leering at him from across the table as he tried to get a better look. He would have used magic if it hadn't been for the sentinels he had clocked around the back of the house who would have sensed his signature a hundred miles off. He knew not who they were, only that they weren't on Eanraig's entrusted payroll and that he had never trained with their kind. Likely from the Wastelands to the West of Terauramulis but that really was just assumption at this point. Yet... yet making contact might actually turn out to put more of them in danger depending on who it was watching the house. So long as neither of the trio made any sudden movements or noise there should be no problems.
He nearly broke that self appointed rule the minute the wet cloth touched the raw wound of his wrist and hand. Hissing through clenched teeth, he kept his lips curled over to hide his pointed incisors and shut his eyes. He'd ruined a wing trying to grip onto that branch of the Williams' tree at their front porch and finally it had snapped inwards and ripped into him. There was still wood embedded within the flesh and he pulled a candle closer to him from the center of the table to help Jareth's girl see what she was doing with more clarity.
Or rather... not Jareth's girl. He had forsaken her just like she had tried to forget about him. If his Mother's words were to be heeded, the boy was betrothed once more to a Princess from the Isles. His skin prickled at the thought yet he could say nothing. Do nothing.
"Can I ask how this happened, Lachlan?" She looked up at him quickly then back down at the tasl before her, holding his overlarge hand in both of hers and tipping it towards the light, "Tobes, get me the tweezers from the cabinet in the bathroom, please?"
He waited until the boy had left and frowned, trying to come up with something feasible. Fae couldn't lie... but they could bend the truth almost in half. "I had an unfortunate accident with a branch of a neighbours tree; I got caught on it as I tried to walk around it and the branch broke as I was... moving it."
"Bit dangerous to be out right now, isn't it?" She pushed.
"My business is my own, Miss Williams. I will say simply that I had little choice."
The tweezers arrived, and they spent the next half an hour in silence as she finished removing the last of the wood, cleaned out the wound and dressed it. But they didn't ask him to leave once they had finished. Toby found him fascinating and continued to badger him with questions while Sarah did her best to make up some sandwiches in the darkness; nearly setting fire to the kitchen a few times when she knocked the candle she was using to see by.
Eventually she procured a plate filled with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a jar of pickles which Choilleach managed to open with little to no effort, and the three of them tucked in. Marshmallows weren't as filling as Toby had once thought.
Soon talk turned to Choilleach's line of work and Sarah's courses at University while the storm continued to rage outside. It picked up a little to bring in lightning and rumbling thunder that rivalled the depth of their guest's laugh, making him less scary than he had originally seemed. Toby was still sure he could murder either one of them in under a second and neither one would see it coming. He couldn't wait to tell his friends when he went back to school.
"So who would you say was one of your hardest charges?"
Choillech swallowed the last of his glass of water and frowned, his heavy brow making his face all that more serious yet again. "A youth name Ja-... Jake. Dark haired, mischievous... can't follow a simple set of instructions even if his life depends on it."
Sarah nodded, subtly motioning at Toby and rolling her eyes. "I can only imagine."
"My old charge was almost a guardian of him- very important man, married to one of the most beautiful women most have clapped eyes on- and his son, Jare-...d," catching himself yet again he tried not to smile at how either Fae would react to their new nicknames, "Sorry- Jared is almost worst. He's not childish persay and he doesn't go out of his way to put himself in danger... but he's so headstrong that he could ram heads with a bull and likely win. He does what he wants, goes where he wants... but he is a borne leader. Could become the.. mayor... of our... town... if he really wanted it. His father would have been proud of him."
"Just like Toby has the brains to ace all of his classes when he goes off to high school but he barely has the drive to change his socks every morning."
"Like that, I suppose... yes."
Toby stuck his tongue out and got up, heading back through the house towards his gameboy and the couch. Sarah watched him leave with a melancholy smile then sighed, checking her watch again. Four o'clock in the morning.
"From the way you talk it sounds like Jared's father isn't around anymore."
"He isn't," his voice sounded quieter than before, but Sarah merely leaned forward.
"Divorce?"
"Death. There was a... work related accident. Happened when Jared was a teenager- not much older than Toby. Give four years or so."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It was a long time ago."
The words hung for a moment but Sarah decided to change the subjecy instead of letting it stew.
"Jared and Jake sound like a handful at any rate. I can only imagine what it must be like to know them. Never a boring day, I would guess?"
Choilleach watched her for a long moment and nodded, rubbing at his bare chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps you do know them, but by a different name. There are young men like them all over this planet. The trick is not letting them go when you do find them as they are the fiercest and most loyal of friends. Making an enemy of them is to sign a warrant of death. To love them... well, I suspect that would pertain to the individual and to you, should you ever find yourself with such a person."
Sarah shrugged, clearly not reading into his words as he'd have hoped. "I haven't had much luck with men. I always seem to ruin things before they even start going anywhere so even if I have met a Jared or a Jake I doubt I'll ever know..." her voice trailed of a little, sounding quiet and empty even to her own ears, "I did meet a Jaque at Uni the other week. Maybe he'll be my fierce and loyal friend, hm?"
"I'd count on it; trust your gut. It never steers you wrong."
"I thought the expression was trust your heart, Choil- Lachlan."
A faint grin rose to his eyes and he tapped the table top before standing up. "Matters of the heart are for your heart. All else is for your gut for instinct and your mind for the rest. When the time comes to listen to your heart then you will know."
"That's very philosophical of you."
"Apparently blood loss and all-nighter's make me poetic."
"Well, it's made our night all that much easier. Is there anything else I can get you before you go?"
He shook his head, leading the way back up the hallway towards the front door. A quick glance into the front room showed Toby reading a small red book with fervent attention so he left him to it instead of calling a greeting. Sarah didn't look, her expression already smoothing into polite interest. Whatever walls the human girl carried with her, they were steadily building themselves once more.
"Here I take my leave. I thank you yet again for helping me, Miss Williams."
"Sarah; Call me Sarah. You gave us your real name, after all."
Something flashed in his eyes but before she could look closer it was gone and the door was open. Stetching her hand out at the last minute, she made for a polite goodbye and waited for him to notice it as he surveyed the carnage outside the house. When he finally did turn around she finally noticed he had been wearing gloves the entire time- or at least, his not mangled hand had been- but as she watched on he plucked it off in order to meet it.
Doubt flashed through her as he hesitated. She hadn't touched his actual skin yet even when helping him... she'd used a towel and leaned on his clothes. Why it suddenly bothered her she couldn't rightly say. Then his hand met her's and he shook it, once, smartly and shortly before unclasping where his fingers had reached up her wrist and he turned to walk down the path again as dawn started to approach. A faint tingling started in her fingers but she put it down to the rain now hitting off her skin. Her fingers reached up slowly to trace her neck, her thoughts sliding away from the rain to fixate on the dream that had brought her here. Brought her home. Yet hadn't she just told Toby earlier that evening that a dream was just a dream?
Once he had disappeared from view she shut the door and walked back into the living room in time to see Toby sound asleep, the red book now gone from its place on the coffee table.
Further down the street Choilleach paused and stepped beneath a shop's overhang to peer at his healthy hand; his glove hanging momentarily ignored from where it dangled from his fingers. Leaning it into the light, his eyes widened... then he shifted into a hawk and swooped up and into the sky. It was time for a shift change anyway... and it was time he had a long overdue chat with Eanraig. Why had no one picked up on it before now?
Sarah retook her seat in her Dad's armchair after blowing out the last of the candles and curled with the cushion again, her gaze lingering on the peaceful expression on her brother's face as the slight smoke from the extinguished wicks spiralled and hung in a low cloud around the room. In some respects nothing had changed when he fell asleep in the last ten years. He looked angelic. Innocent. Which he was. He really was. Turning onto her side, she closed her eyes and tried to focus on sleep, hoping it wouldn't elude her now as it always did at college. It was her job to protect him from the horrors out there. Even if she could have potentially subjected him to one tonight before Lachlan had turned out so harmless; she wasn't going to forget the mess of his hand and arm in a hurry.
This business with bringing up the stress of her teenage years, stress with college, lack of sleep and sudden strangers entering her life... it always seemed to be that no sooner did her life even out and calm down that yet another calamity came along to... well... fuck it up.
She'd find a way to deal... she always did.
Once she fell asleep, the last of the visitors extracted themselves from beneath Toby, giggling and hissing as they wriggled free of the sofa's supports and came to stand by the doorway. The smoke from the candles descended to mask them and they turned to go jumping and swinging up the stairs gleefully, yet nothing else in the house stirred. They bypassed Toby's room, the bathroom... and slid through into Sarah's. The mirror glowed again as one held the cloth up so they could get under, then they jumped through.
For a moment the glass stayed shining, then it dimmed to show an ugly dwarf's face looking hopefully at it from a little distance away. By the time he ran up to, it the doorway has closed, and was once more reflecting Sarah's room and the dust sheet.