Jareth and Ava ran into the dining room right as the catastrophe hit.
"Shit," Jareth swore.
"What is that?!" Karen screeched, pointing at Reiu. "Monster!"
"Monster? Where?!"
Reiu sat up, screaming too. She scrambled up, seeing both Jareth and Sarah. "Kingy! Queenie! There's a monster! That lady says so!"
"That's not a monster, Grammy!" Ben tried to tell her. "That's a goblin!"
Robert held Karen in his arms as she continued to scream. "Sarah! Give me the turkey knife!"
"What? No!" Sarah protested, pushing Ben behind her whilst trying to put herself between the knife and her father.
"Dad-"
"Can you not argue with me for once?!" Robert demanded, lunging for the knife.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
Iliana and Julian each grabbed one of Reiu's arms to move her off the table.
Ruben ran towards Ben, carrying the boy out of the way.
Karen stopped screaming and crumpled to the ground, fainting.
Sarah ran towards her stepmother, tending to her.
Toby grabbed the knife first, only to have it knocked out of his hands by his father.
The knife ricocheted at full speed towards Reiu's direction-
-And freezing in midair.
All eyes turned to Jareth. His blue eyes glowed with magic and his arm stretched out with an aura of power surrounding it.
Flicking his wrist up, Jareth sent the knife back onto the table as far away from Robert's direction as possible.
No one moved, save Sarah and Toby, who were trying to revive Karen.
Jareth waved again, forming a crystal that he threw towards their direction, sending it high into the air to surround everyone but himself.
The Goblin King spoke to everyone except Robert and Karen.
"I know that I closed the portals after you arrived. I don't know how someone was able to open it somehow without my knowledge to let goblins through. I need to call reinforcements and investigate to make sure that we aren't in danger. It shouldn't take but a moment. Make sure everyone stays unharmed."
"Jareth!" Sarah ran towards him, slapping against the barrier that he created. "No!"
He disappeared into the hallway, leaving her sliding down with tears of panic.
Memories of the previous year rushed back where he had almost died, where his body had been limp, and her heart might as well have been torn from her chest.
She couldn't bear it if she lost him now.
Ava held her back.
"He'll be fine, Sarah. He's calling reinforcements. Shh."
Jareth's mind whirled as he cast a portal.
He should have anticipated Robert's keen insight. He and Sarah severely underestimated her father, despite the telltale signs of his suspicion.
He couldn't blame the man for acting the way he did. All he wanted to do was take care of his family that he so fiercely loved.
As a man of his generation, Robert would have believed that the men of the family were paramount in protecting their kin from harm.
That was something he understood deeply. Now their hands were forced to reveal the truth of the Underground to her parents much sooner than they would have liked.
That could also affect the announcement of their engagement.
He knew that Sarah loved him and would still be happy to marry him, but he could not bear it if she felt clouded by rejection, especially from her father.
He blocked out Sarah's screams. No doubt she was furious and heartbroken that he didn't involve her in investigating the portal issue. Her past trauma was likely exploding from beneath the sound of her crying.
All those thoughts were pushed aside. He had an emergency to deal with.
The portal opened to reveal a woman in the middle of teaching. She wore all-black, save for a sapphire necklace. Her eyes, lips, and nails were decorated with black makeup and her high black boots made up for her small stature.
She gasped when she saw him.
"Your Majesty!"
Her students gasped at seeing their king. It took a second for them to realize who he was as he was wearing a human disguise and not his usual royal regalia.
Jareth held up a hand to stop them from bowing or curtsying. This was no time to display court etiquette.
He turned to the woman with an outstretched hand.
"Sorceress Mara, I need your help. Urgently."
The sorceress did not hesitate for a second. She took Jareth's hand and went through the portal.
"I closed every portal before I came Above," Jareth started, not wasting any time, "and yet, my goblins were able to appear."
"You fear that someone has breached your barriers and that there's danger to this world," Mara deduced.
They entered Sarah's bedroom first. As the Labyrinth's Champion, her magic had been hijacked before, and it made sense to check it again.
"Hmm." Mara inspected Sarah's mirror, a common object to use for portals. "I see none here. Are you positive that you closed all the portals to the Above?"
"Absolutely. My parents and siblings are here as well. I have made precautions and should have noticed if someone created a portal."
Mara didn't doubt him.
"Let us check every room before we venture outside."
After checking Sarah's room, Toby's was next. When nothing was found there, they went into Ben's.
To their surprise, a large, glowing portal was in the middle of the room. It was not a perfect circle with its jagged edges and inconsistent boundaries, but it was definitely a portal. Whoever made it was an amateur.
Jareth created a crystal to encase remnants of the magic then immediately closed it.
Thoughts swirled around his mind.
Who was the perpetrator?
Did they hurt Ben?
Where were they now?
Were they still Underground?
What if they-
"Sire?" Mara interrupted his thoughts. "Might I examine Ben?"
"I- yes, that would be wise," he agreed.
"Oh!" Karen finally woke up. "Oh, my goodness!"
"Grammy!" Ben ran to her with open arms. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," she hugged Ben.
"No thanks to that thing that you're all in league with!" Robert pointed at Reiu, who was now sleeping away her food coma.
"It is a goblin, not anything dangerous!"
Julian looked offended on behalf of the goblin.
Sick and tired of this whole situation, Toby stomped his foot on the ground and blew a whistle with his fingers.
"Everyone, calm down! Freaking out isn't going to help. Let's focus on one thing at a time!"
Iliana nodded. "I quite agree with him. Let us all settle and focus on making sure everyone is safe."
Sarah tried to wretch herself out of Ava's arms.
"What about Jareth? What if he's hurt?"
Gone were the fears of today being a disaster of a dinner. Now all she cared about was seeing that he was fine and whole again.
He had marched off without looking back, and she couldn't forgive herself if anything happened to the man she so dearly loved.
Iliana motioned for Ava to leave, so she could tend to Sarah. She held the young woman in her arms.
"Dearest girl, he will be fine. I know how horrible last year was for you all. I do not blame you for worrying the way you do. I would react the same if all those things happened to me."
Tears no longer fell from Sarah's eyes, but Iliana didn't stop her soothing motions.
"As a mother myself, I worry for him so much. I have faith that he will be fine. I trust in him. He is a respected king for a reason."
Sarah slowly sat up. "Thank you, Iliana. I'm sorry, that was a lot. I shouldn't have fallen apart like that."
Iliana gave her a warm, motherly smile.
"You have done spectacularly, Sarah. You do well in a crisis."
"Speaking of a crisis, I'll see to Karen," Sarah gently touched Iliana's shoulder. "Thank you."
"You okay, Mom?" Toby asked his mother.
"Umm, light-headed."
Karen indeed looked a bit pale. Possibly green too.
Sarah laid her stepmother back down.
"Dad, can you elevate her feet? Maybe get some pillows?"
She hoped that directing Robert would get him to stop being so… intense.
Robert nodded, grabbing some cushions from the couch.
"Here you are, Dear. Here's a blanket for you."
He lovingly tucked it around her.
"Let me help too," Julian offered, but was quickly stopped by Robert.
"I don't know who you are or if I can trust you. Please step back," Robert implored.
Julian held his hands up in defeat and scooted back as he was asked. At least the man was honest and no longer hurling passive-aggressive insults.
"What is happening?" A low voice asked.
Everyone turned to see Jareth and Mara strolling in, the latter holding a crystal.
Sarah wiped her eyes. Her smile was back in full force, seeing that not only was he fine, he was just as put-together and unharmed as he was before he walked away from her.
"Jareth, you're okay."
Jareth carefully dispelled the barrier and held his arms out for the embrace.
Toby nodded, giving Sarah the permission she needed to approach him. "Go, Dad and I will take care of Mom."
Grateful to her brother, Sarah ran to Jareth and engulfed him in the largest hug she could muster.
"I'm glad you're here. Please, just stay here with me for a moment."
"Love, I will give you all the moments you want."
He rubbed the back of her neck, feeling her quickened heartbeat slow.
A moment with him was all she needed. She grounded herself in his warmth, his comforting arms, his scent, and his love.
"Don't leave me behind like that again, please. Stop putting yourself in danger like that."
Jareth sighed, kissing the top of her head.
"I was not alone. I made sure of it. And I cannot make that promise, Precious. Ever. I love you too much. I cannot apologize for it either."
He pulled apart, holding her by the shoulders.
"But, when your powers get stronger from more consistent practice, I will take you with me to investigate any dangers. You would have been a liability today."
Sarah knew that as a king and a man, who had so much love for her, he couldn't make any promises to not be in danger. It was his duty, and he took few things more seriously than his role as king.
Since she was marrying him, all she could do was learn to deal with it. At least, he tried to make a compromise.
"Then I'll have to train diligently to be as strong as you."
Jareth wholeheartedly agreed. "I have no doubt that you will be as strong as I one day."
"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Robert interrupted everyone as he helped Karen up. "And who is that lady with Jareth?"
As if on cue, everyone looked to Jareth and Sarah for guidance.
In turn, Sarah and Jareth made eye contact with Toby in understanding.
While they couldn't approve of how aggressive Robert was earlier, Sarah completely understood the fear that went through him.
He was in deep distress, and she was just glad he wasn't yelling anymore.
Turning back to her father, she answered him.
"Yes. I think it's finally time we tell you everything you want to know."