CHAPTER 6
Jareth had enough of ignoring Sarah and went to her room and knocked with no answer. He sent a goblin in to look for her. The goblin said she was nowhere to be found but there were tracks out on the balcony to the rail. He saw the nightgown and robe on the bed.
He said out loud and frustrated, "Why did she do this?" Jareth disappeared to search over the labyrinth in owl form and then appeared in a dark stone catacombs under the castle. There was an eerie green light glowing in a pit.
A disembodied voice said, "Yes, my king?"
He stated, "I think Sarah has left the castle. Can you locate her for me? She still has my crystals blocked."
The entity said, "Yes, my king. She left earlier today and was taken by Argus the Unseelie raven guardian. I fought with him but he captured her. Somehow, my champion has escaped him."
Jareth was in shock. He asked, "What do you mean she escaped him? Is she ok and alive?"
The entity said, "My champion is fine and healthy somewhere in the Underground."
He angrily said, "Why are you unconcerned?"
The entity said, "My champion is clever and not under threat."
Jareth asked, "Where is she?"
Gaia said, "I cannot tell you because you will interfere with her path. You will have to wait until she either finds you or fate brings her into your path again. You will have to learn, my king, that you will have to change your ways of behavior and thinking in order to obtain what you desire most. Your entitlement will be your downfall and you will never have Sarah in your life if you cannot understand this. She will end up in the arms of another who will be loyal to her heart. So it has been ordained by me and so it is written." Jareth was completely upset and disappeared in a haze of black glitter.
—--
The days went by and Sarah and Valira were becoming fast friends. When Sarah's food got low, Valira had Sarah wear the bear fur she gave her and make it into a heavy coat. She had Sarah ride on the back of her neck and hold on to take her to a village to break into the market and fill her burlap potato sacks with food for herself. Sarah convinced Valira to let her leave a few gold coins for the goods taken. Valira agreed after some convincing.
Sarah had everything she needed. Sarah was grateful to her new dragon friend. Sarah kept herself and her clothes clean with the bars of soap she collected and bathed regularly.
—--
One day, after a couple months had gone by, a large red dragon landed in the entrance to the cavern. It startled Sarah and Valira was on guard.
Valira said, "Why have you come to my lair, Ragnoth? I did not summon you."
Ragnoth said nastily, "I heard you were keeping a filthy little fae, but I couldn't believe it was true. You of all dragons would not keep food around to age like that. Perhaps, I was wrong." He looked at Sarah.
Valira said defensively, "This is no regular fae. She is special and Lady Sarah the Champion of the Labyrinth."
Ragnoth said distastefully, "What are you keeping such a tiny creature of that type around? The Labyrinth champion is a human. That is a fae with strange dark hair. Eat it and be done with it! It is an insult to our kind to meddle in the lives of humans, fae or elves for that matter. The council will have something to say about this. They will make you get rid of it or I will for them." The red dragon, Ragnoth grinned a sickly grin at Sarah while licking his lips. Sarah got goose pimples on her skin looking at him.
Valira spoke angrily, "It has nothing to do with the council or with you because Lady Sarah is my friend." Valira came out of her hoard and stood up. "You are not welcome here and have overstayed your time. If you must go tattletale to the council about one little fae female staying with me, as a wyrmling would do, then be gone and done with it Ragnoth. I grow weary of you plugging up my entrance."
Ragnoth roared and said, "No wonder you have no mate, Valira. You are a vexing female with a lack of respect."
Valira said, "Respect is not just given, it is earned. As this far has mutually earned it from me. You know nothing of the circumstances of our friendship. You spit on that which you have no basis of comparison to understand. You believe all are good or bad but no shades of gray between in your narrow vision. That is why I hold no respect for you." The red dragon roared vibrating the cave to let go of some of the ceiling stalactites narrowly missing Sarah who ran to Valira to shield her.
Ragnoth laughed and said, "Look at it scamper to you like a wyrmling of your very own. How priceless."
Valira spat and said, "She is no fool to let rocks hit her out in the open that you have caused! Be gone from my lair and trespass no more!"
Ragnoth said nastily, "I will return with permission from the council to remove the fae my way as a crunchy snack."
Sarah said, "I hope I make you sick and puke." Valira laughed. Ragnoth roared and took in a deep breath to exhale fire on Sarah. Valira inhaled to exhale ice to cancel it. The dragons both let go and canceled each other's breath out. Sarah was standing on Valira's foot holding on to one of her scales.
Ragnoth said, "Fine. Have it your way. I will return to eat your friend." He turned and flew off.
Sarah stepped down and walked out to turn and face Valira with a sad face. Sarah asked, "Is our moment in time over, Valira?"
Valira sighed and sadly said, "I believe so, little one. I would like it to have lasted a bit longer but it is time to send you out into the Underground on your own way. I will miss you, my good friend. I will never forget you. I want you to gather all your belongings into the net and tie it closed so I can carry it. Then I want you to fill your pockets with gold coins. I will not turn my friend out into the Underground at a disadvantage in the cold. You must survive."
Sarah cried out sadly, "Oh Valira, my best friend! I love you!" Sarah ran up to Valira's snout and wrapped her arms wide to embrace her.
Valira said sadly, "I will miss you too." Sarah cut off a piece of her hair, tied it together and picked up a gold locket out of the gold things on the ground and put it inside of it. She took a long leather strip that she had braided into a rope and tied it around Valira's throat and attached the large locket to it.
Sarah said, "Now you will have a piece of me wherever you go."
Valira said, "Sarah, pull a small scale from the outside of my eye. It won't hurt. I want you to use the tip of your dagger to make a hole in it and tie a leather cord through it. As long as you have my scale. I can never die."
Sarah smiled in a melancholy way and said, "I will protect it always. And wear it over my heart when I get a silver chain."
Valira said, "Let's hurry Sarah, I want you safe from my kind."
Sarah gathered all of her belongings into the net and tied it closed. She filled all her pockets with gold coins like Valira asked her to do. She climbed on Valira's back one last time. Valira flew off into a wintery Underground. Valira landed next to a farm but a day's walk to a nearby village. Sarah climbed down off her back and stepped out in front of her with tears in her eyes.
Valira put her head down at Sarah's level and said, "You are the best human and fae of both our worlds Sarah. I am honored to count you as my friend."
Sarah kissed Valira on the snout again and said, "Be safe, my dear. I count you as one of my best friends. I'll miss and never forget you either. I love you, Valira." The beautiful white dragon lifted off hovering for one last look, as Sarah waved goodbye and she flew away.
Sarah picked up her bags of belongings and left the big net in the snow. Sarah left in the direction of the village to find shelter for a couple nights and get resupplied for travel. She was going to have to survive on her own and camp overnight. There was a large rock formation ahead and Sarah was looking around the perimeter for an entrance for shelter. She found a tunnel after a lengthy search that was overgrown with piles of dead limbs and vines blocking the entry. Sarah hacked away the debris and crawled inside with her bags to find a tunnel.
She stood up and followed the tunnel in the darkness using her flashlight. The walls went around in a curve to the left. There were blue glowing worms in places on the ground. She went down a tunnel that veered to the left. There were strange rock sculptures by the walls on each side. She looked closer and it looked like statues worn down by time and water dripping down them. You could make out the shape as a humanoid, but no features anymore because they were washed out. The first statue looked like it was holding something like a sword.
Sarah touched the statue and said, "I am sorry your sculpture wore off the details, whoever you were. I bet it was a magnificent effigy to you in the past. I am glad to have met your statue and send my respect and regards to you." An electrical shock went through her body from the statue and knocked her backwards.
Her body was tingling like when your arm falls asleep and the pins and needles prickle your skin. Sarah felt very strange and laid there a minute to put her brains back in her head from a light electrocution and get her equilibrium back. Sarah said, "What was that? It sure packed a wallop. Thank you for the blessing, my friend, but that kinda hurt a bit."
Sarah stood up and looked at the other statue next to the first one. It had an item in their hand. She thought it looked like a spear or staff worn down to a nub. Sarah patted the stone sculpture and said, "I bet that spear and your details were wonderful also." She touched the nub of the spear and her hand felt warm for a moment. She took her hand off of it.
She looked at another statue and it had a bowl in front of it at waist level. She reached in her baggage and took a piece of bread placing it in the bowl. She recalled that offerings in ancient times were grains to the gods. She said, "This is in appreciation for letting me visit you."
She moved down to the last ones and said putting her hand on a lump of stone it had in its hand, "I wonder what this was? I bet it was something of great importance." The stone glowed and she took her hand off of it.
She smiled and said looking at all four of them, "I am glad to have found all four of you in this obscure place. Thank you for letting me give my respects and visit you all. Blessed Be, my friends." Sarah turned to leave and found an opening after wandering around for quite a while. She hacked away at the exit and crawled out into a wooded area and came out to a road. She followed the road.
It was getting dark outside and she put her head deep inside her bear fur cowl hood. She walked further down the road and saw a town as she came around the corner.
She walked through the town as people stared at her. She found the inn and a stable a few doors down from it. Sarah walked inside. The inn was all wood and had hardwood floors with a polish to it. There were tables sporadically placed around with chairs and a counter at the back of the room with keg spigots lining the back wall. There were about ten people s around .
The innkeeper was a fae with dark red hair and green eyes. He had on a long sleeve green shirt rolled to the elbows and black pants with boots. He looked up from doing something under the counter and asked, "What do you want?"
She said in that low voice, "I need a room for three nights."
The fae sourly said, "Show your face under that hood there first. I don't rent rooms to humans." She looked up from under her hood.
He smiled widely at the beautiful fae woman with dark unusual hair and said quietly, "I'm Darin, two gold, four silver. Traveling carefully, my lady?"
Sarah said softly, "I am Shara, but you can call me Shar. You could definitely say that. So the less that knows I'm female the better."
Darin smiled at her and bowed. He said, "Not nary a word from me, Shar." She gave him the coins in exchange for a key.
He said smiling, "Room eight at the end of the hall."
She smiled, took the key he handed to her and walked down the hallway to room eight. Sarah dropped her bags and locked the door. There was no plumbing but a latrine with a heavy lid and a water pump. She made a fire and put the screen up laying on the bed for a while. She sighed happily knowing she was no longer being scrutinized or the chance of molestation. Sarah relaxed for a while. She eventually left to get dinner at the inn's pub. That night, Sarah slept hard after a hot bath.