The High King's Visitor

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Long, long, long ago the High King sat in his throne. The throne room was completely empty except for the king. He sat thinking about a great many things, but mostly he thought of his youngest son, Jareth. It was his birthday and tonight there would be a grand celebration in his honor. Though the chances of the boy attending were very slim. He was going through a rebellious streak.

At 100 years old the boy was still just a child, really. He'd hoped that when Jareth took on the responsibility of the Goblin King he'd become more sensible, but the boy was still as mischievous as ever. Maybe even more so now. It seemed that his goblins might be rubbing off on him. The king sighed.

Suddenly the High King sat up in his throne, on high alert, looking around the empty throne room suspiciously. A power that was perhaps equal to his own had entered the room.

Using his magic he tried to pinpoint where this power was coming from. It was an unrecognized being, standing just outside the room. On the other side of the door.

"Who's there? Show yourself. As the High King of all the Underground I demand it." The king shouted threateningly.

The door to the room slowly creaked open and a young girl slipped into the room. She had long dark hair, pale skin, a small frame, and magnificent green eyes. She was extremely beautiful but she also looked extremely frightened. But she squared her shoulders and walked towards the king's throne. When she was only a few feet away she curtsied.

"Your majesty." She said trying her best to not sound as terrified as she felt. She looked up with questioning eyes as the king began to laugh.

She stood up completely, unsure of what to do except watch the man before her. If you could call him that. Something about him seemed inhuman. He had an almost unnatural beauty about him. He had long black hair, bright blue eyes, and a muscular build. Though he looked slightly threatening, by his laughter and the light in his eyes the girl hoped he wasn't.

After a moment the king held his hand up as his laughter died off. "Sorry," he chuckled. "I must admit your appearance shocked me quite a bit. By the amount of power I felt I expected more than a young, human girl in her night clothes."

She started to blush, realizing she stood before the High King, (whatever that means, she thought to herself) in nothing but her nightgown.

"If you don't mind, I can get you something a little more suitable." He offered, smiling reassuringly.

Unable to speak out of fear and embarrassment the young girl nodded tentatively. With a wave of his hand her nightgown was replaced with a simple blue gown.

She gasped. And seemed to be inspecting the gown and herself. "How did you…?"

She looked at the king who was watching her with an amused grin.

"With my magic of course." He waved his hand again and suddenly she was sitting in a red velvet chair. "I thought you might be a little more comfortable sitting." He chuckled at her again shocked expression.

"I have a few questions for you, my dear. First, would you like to attend a ball? It starts in about an hour."

Out of all the questions he could ask her, this was not one she expected. She stared at the man(?) before her, wide eyed and full of questions.

"Maybe, that wasn't the best thing to start with." He smiled gently. "I suppose this must be quite a lot for you to take in." He grinned and leaned towards her, "My wife would kill me for my lack of manners. But I won't tell if you won't tell." He winked. "Now, let me introduce myself. I am Oberon. The High King of the Fae and all of the Underground. And you are?"

"Sarah Williams," she breathed.

"Ah, Sarah. What a lovely name. And you are a human correct?" She only nodded in response.

"So you're from the Aboveground then?" At her confused expression, he continued. "The Aboveground is the mortal realm where all humans reside. I'm assuming that's where you're from." Seeing she was about to speak he paused.

"And you're from the Underground?" She pressed, sounding more sure of herself than she earlier had.

"Yes, that's where we are now. It is home to Fae, which is my kind." He said pointing to himself. "And to millions of other magical beings and creatures."

"But how did I get here?"

The king laughed yet again. "I was going to ask you the same question. I'm not sure any human has ever stepped foot into the Underground without being wished away first. And you're far too old to have been wished away. What's the last thing you remember before appearing outside my throne room?"

"I was going to sleep. And when I woke up here I was."

"And here you are…" The king sat there deep in thought, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. "I wonder… Sarah, do you remember what you were thinking of before you fell asleep."

Her cheeks grew red and she looked down. "I suppose I was picturing what it'd be like to be a princess in a magical land, like one from the stories my mother used to tell me. I suppose it all is a bit childish of me."

Her blush deepened, even though at 16 she was far too old to indulge in childish behaviors, such as imaginative daydreams; she still did, quite a lot actually. Most girls Sarah's age were already wed, some even with child. Soon enough someone would ask her father for hand and she too would be married.

She started to speak again. "Your majesty, perhaps this is all a dream. And you're only a figment of my imagination."

The High King threw his head back and laughed. "My child I assure you this is no dream. I am just as real as you are. In fact I believe you never fell asleep at all. That while you were in the realm between sleep and wake you brought yourself here. You were thinking of far off magical lands and you imagined yourself here. If you don't mind I'd like you to try something. When I tell you to I want you to close your eyes and imagine yourself back in the Aboveground. If this works you'll be transported back home. When you get there you will close your eyes again and picture yourself back here."

He paused making sure she understood everything he said. She looked a little uneasy, but seemed to grasp what he had been saying.

"Now, I will travel along side you, but I must warn you I will not be in my natural state. I will have no way to speak to you when we reach the Aboveground. And my magic will be very limited."

"What if doesn't work? What if I try to leave and I can't?" She sounded very scared, but was trying to remain calm.

The kings gaze softened, "Have no fear my child, there are other ways to return you to the Aboveground. Though they will be far more time consuming and exhausting. Now close your eyes, my dear."

Sarah closed her eyes and felt a strange feeling in her stomach. When the feeling stopped, she slowly opened her eyes again. She was back at home in her bed.

"It was all a dream." She whispered. The loud hoot of an owl interrupted her from her realization. In shock and amazement, she looked over to see a large black barn owl, perched on her dresser. It flapped one wing into the air as if waving hello.

Sarah nearly screamed, but somehow managed to hold it in. The last thing she needed to do was to wake her mama and papa or any of her younger siblings. She choked back another scream as the owl hopped down from her dresser and on to her bed. The owl looked at her with its large beady eyes unblinking. Then closed its eyes, and opens them again. Slowly, the bird cocked its head to the side almost as if to question if she understood it or not. Sarah nodded and close her eyes again, imagining herself back in the High King's throne room. She felt the same feeling from earlier, in her stomach and this time when she opened her eyes she was once again sitting across from the High King. He was laughing again.

"I gave you quite the fright didn't I? I guess I should've told you more of my second form." He continued to chuckle to himself. When he spoke again he sounded much more serious. "You are a very powerful being, Sarah Williams. Only, a few can travel between realms at will and even less in their natural state. Not even I can do that."

Sarah sat there in shock unsure of what to do or say. This was all too strange and too much to take in.

Me, a powerful being? Does that mean I have magic? She had to admit she felt slightly giddy and the thought of possessing any sort of magic. She looked up to realize the king was still watching her, amusement danced in his eyes.

"Thank you, your majesty." She said shyly.

"I insist you call me Oberon. Unless we're ever in a more formal setting, then you must refer to me 'Your majesty.' But for now, just Oberon will do."

"Okay, Oberon." She said smiling at the King. She suddenly felt more sure of herself and relaxed then she had all night.

Oberon suddenly pulled out a great ornate pocked watch. "My look at the time," he said mostly to himself. He glanced at Sarah. "Well, I suppose this brings me back to my first question."

Sarah sat racking her brain trying to remember what he'd asked. But her her mind was too full of the rest of the nights events to remember.

"Would you like to attend a ball? It's in honor of my son's birthday. It starts in just a few minutes."

Sarah, unsure of what this ball would entail knew just one thing, she desperately wanted to go. Maybe, she'd get the chance to see more magic. "Yes, please." She nodded while speaking.

"Great. Let me get you something a little more suitable for the event." With the wave of his hand, Sarah was changed from the blue gown to a beautiful silvery, white one.

"Now that that's settled. I want to go over a few things with you as we make our way to the ballroom." Oberon took Sarah's arm and led her out of the throne room.

Sarah tried her best to listen to his words, but was having a hard time. She kept looking around the hallway they'd just entered. It was grand, and breathtaking. Stone carvings lined the walls, the ceiling was painted to look like the heavens above.

The king noticing Sarah's astonishment said, "I'll have someone give you a tour of the castle at a later time, if you'd like. Now as I was saying, I think it'd be unwise for you to stay after 13 o'clock, so when the clock strikes 13 you best head back to the Aboveground."

Sarah, looked completely disappointed at the mention of her having to leave anytime soon. But the king simply smiled and said, "Don't worry young one, you'll be able to comeback whenever you like." He smiled as her green eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Yes, you're more than welcome here, my dear. Besides, I must admit out of my own curiosity I want you to come back. I want to try to figure out how powerful you are and where the power came from. I suspect, I'll be spending much of my day in the library tomorrow. I want to try to find anything I can on the Aboveground. And see if I can find anything about humans in the Underground. But, let's talk of this later, for now let us enjoy tonight's festivities."

Sarah was shocked to find they were now standing in front of a giant set of golden doors. She could here music and laughter coming from the other side.

The king pushed the door open, and guided her inside. "If you'll excuse me my dear, I have to find my wife. I expect she'll be rather cross with me for being late. You go out and have some fun." Before she could get a word out he disappeared with a poof of glitter. Leaving Sarah completely clueless on what to do. She watched the celebration before her, feeling both interested and frightened.