CHAPTER 9

Sarah had been woken up a couple times in the night. The last time, she fed the kit and made her go to the bathroom. After Sarah woke up in the morning and went on a fast trip to the bathroom, made breakfast and fed everyone, she packed up Valiant. She then left for the town of Bláthsilíní (cherry blossom). She decided, as she was thinking, to name the kit Lyra. The kit did not have the horns on her head or the scrollwork yet on its body. It was just golden short hair and cream white short hair on the tail, belly and chest. With little folded ears and cute little pink lips and pink paw pads. She was so cute and precious.

It was after dark when she got to the town and took her baggage to the inn. Sarah walked inside and it was full of elves and fae then everything stopped in silence. It felt creepy being under such a large microscope of people staring at her. She wondered if they got any travelers. So, she walked up to the counter at the back. A fae male with dark blonde hair and gray eyes gruffly said to her, "What do you want?"

She responded in a low voice, "Do you have a room for two nights?"

The fae replied, "I don't rent to humans or thieves. So show yourself." Sarah looked up at him so he could see her in her cowl. He stood there staring.

He cleared his throat and asked, "How many nights do you need?"

She replied, "Two."

The fae said, "One gold, four silver." She laid down the coin and he handed her a key with the number ten on it.

Sarah walked down a hallway of doors and found ten. She walked into a rustic room but no plumbing. There was a pump with a drain in the floor, a kettle on a swing arm in the fireplace and a bucket. There was a metal tub in front of a low window and a latrine with a heavy lid for a toilet. The biggest disappointment was the big bucket of tree moss for wiping. She thought how lucky she was for taking two rolls of toilet paper from the last city she stayed in. The moss was useful for Lyra though.

Sarah left her baggage and made a wish to secure the room. She left to board Valiant. When she got back to the room, she settled in getting out her clothes to bathe. She sat on the bed, filled the bottle of milk for Lyra and fed her. Once she was done, she made the kit go to the bathroom and back in the pouch to stay warm, Sarah put her pouch back on around her neck and went to get dinner with her cloak on.

Sarah sat down at an available stool at the counter. The fae acted a tiny bit nicer now, "What will you have?"

She said, "Dinner and wine."

He said all business, "Seven coppers." She put the coins on the counter. He took the money and went to get her food and wine. The kit was grunting trying to get comfortable in her pouch. She reached up and was patting the bag to calm her as she settled. The fae innkeeper put a wine with a plate full of roasted chicken, potatoes, mixed vegetables and a piece of bread in front of her. It smelled very good. Sarah ate every bite.

She went up to her room and started a fire. She disrobed after covering the doorknob to block the keyhole. Sarah heated water in the kettle and put water in the tub to mix with it. She took a quick bath and washed her hair. When her hair dried, she laid down with her kit and cuddled her under her chin. She slept getting up a few times in the night to feed Lyra.

—--

Sarah spent the next day getting stocked up on certain things. The women's clothing shopkeeper had a citrine remote hearing ring. The fae lady asks for twenty five gold for it. She said it was very old and had been in the shop for 214 years. She gave her twenty five gold and the woman told her to tap the stone three times on the off and she would hear anyone who was speaking about her. Sarah thanked her and went back to the inn.

She tapped the remote hearing ring and just left it on and reorganized her belongings to fit everything in her baggage.

She laid on the bed and pulled out her kit being the room was warmed up and coaxed her to crawl across the blankets. She cried, wiggled and squealed. Then Lyra started grunting and coming towards her. Sarah saw that her little eyes were opening and she heard her. She got excited and said, "You sweet baby. You'll know your mama now. I'm so glad you're going to see me now." She petted her and cuddled with her while taking an afternoon nap.

—--

Sarah got up with her kit crying for breakfast the next day. She cooed at her, fed her and made her go to the bathroom. Once she got settled, Sarah got dressed and ready packing away everything. She made a wish for all hidden items on the inn's property. A box containing 8 scrolls in tubes, 1 small box with two mirrors, 2 large bags of gold coins (1067), 1 chest of cut gemstones and a magical necklace in a box. Sarah kept it all, adding it to her bracelet and baggage before heading down to breakfast. This town was not very friendly, especially the innkeeper, so she left nothing.

Once she was packed up, she left for the city of Gleannlile (lily valley). She was going to have to camp before and after the town before getting to the Elven Kingdom capital city of Nadur (nature). As she was riding she heard coming from her remote hearing ring the voice of Jareth….

Jareth - 'Sarah said it was the day after her run that her mirror was shut off. It seems it was my brother Jared who did it but I don't know why he tampered with my runner. I remember reporting to the High Court about the Labyrinth Champion the following day. He must have immediately turned it off afterwards.'

The man named Darneth- 'Sire, why would he override you opening a portal. It seems odd for him to tamper with your champion?'

Jareth - 'I don't know why he would tamper or interfere with Sarah other than it would anger me. It has nothing to do with his Gremlin Kingdom and he can't go to the Aboveground so he had to gain access to the High Court Portal Keeper, Ellis, to override my spell in order to shut it down himself leaving his magical signature on it. Ellis doesn't persuade easily to access his domain. Which leaves me curious because he would have to give Ellis a high price to even do the override.'

Darneth- 'Yes, that is curious. Perhaps, he wants to gain access to the Labyrinth Champion to gain the Labyrinth half power she possesses. If he finds out she is here he may hunt her down to get it. You haven't been on good terms with him in a long time. She could be in danger if he finds out and goes after her, Sire. She has already changed in order to be safe, but if she were under duress she might comply to do his bidding.'

Jareth- 'That may be true but she is strong as I am and cannot be swayed or fooled easily so I found out. I should tell the Labyrinth all of this. It can contact and guide Sarah to avoid him at all costs because of his possible ulterior motives. It would follow his pattern because he has always been jealous of me getting the Goblin Kingdom with the Labyrinth as first born. He has not been satisfied with his gremlins and silver mines. He is greedier than most.'

Darneth- 'That's why he went to war with the Dwarven and Leprechaun Kingdoms for their gold and silver mines. If they had not bonded together in a treaty they would not have been able to keep him at bay.'

Jareth - 'No matter the tides of change, Sarah needs to be warned and the Labyrinth told even if he has done nothing yet. I hope she returns or my bounty hunters find her.'

Darneth- 'Indeed, sire.' The ring went silent.

Sarah thought, 'Holy crap. I'm glad I changed. This King Jared sounds like trouble. I wonder when the Labyrinth will contact me? Jareth sent bounty hunters after me? That jerk!'

She stopped and gave everyone lunch and went to the bathroom. She ate a fruit pastry and a handful of roasted salted nuts with water. After the horses got a drink of water, she continued until nightfall finding a campsite between a niche in the large rock outcropping, trees and huge wall of a blackberry thicket. Sarah got a fire started after wishing for split logs. She secured the perimeter and unloaded and unsaddled the horses.

After setting up camp, Sarah started cooking her dinner mutton, bean and vegetable stew. She used a small jar of beans she had with the dried mutton. It came out fairly good with the right ingredients.

As she was eating, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. There was a glimpse of white off in the woods. Sarah stood up in curiosity and peered into the dark trees. A white movement was approaching that's when she noticed a solid white stag. She stepped out of the perimeter of her campsite as the white stag that had a huge rack on its head approached. She was curious because she remembered the legend of The White Stag. He is considered to be a messenger from the Otherworld in some Celtic mythology. It is a harbinger of great changes to those it encounters as an omen or messenger. Sarah thought, 'Otherworld or Underground? Another realm indeed.'

Once he stood before her, Sarah was in awe of his beautiful face. She bowed reverently to The White Stag. She heard a voice in her mind, "Labyrinth Champion, Lady Sarah Williams, you know who I am?"

Sarah said smiling, "Yes, The White Stag and the harbinger of the Otherworld in the Aboveground."

The White Stag chuckled in her mind and said, "Yes, you are of this world now, child. I bring you tidings. There is one king that is coveting your powers for evil intent and another king coveting you. You must protect yourself against those who bear you harm. I give you this item to use against those who plot against you. For, you are a child of man no more but of destiny in this realm." He had an object appear on one of his antlers. The White Stag leaned his rack forward to give to her. She reached up and took the object hanging from a silver heavy chain from his antler.

She asked innocently, "What does it do?" It was a metal shiny round mirror about 40mm with Celtic scrollwork and runes carved around the mirror. On the back was a large oval ruby with little emeralds and more runes and scrollwork surrounding it. The entire necklace was polished to a high shine even in the dark woods it reflected. The most remarkable thing was the intense power coming off of the item. It was making Sarah's hand tingle just holding it in one hand.

The White Stag said, "It will protect you when the time is right. Never take it off even to bathe. You will find it does not come off until it's job has been fulfilled. It must remain on you until events unfold. Let your intuition and instincts guide your actions. Do not let it frighten you and do not tell anyone what I have told you tonight. Only the Labyrinth will know because it is raw wild magic in this realm and connected to all, especially you. It will guide you. This part of your destiny will be complete when the raven breathes it last, the light dims and one king shall fall as another king rises. I must go now."

Sarah put a kiss on the face of the stag and said, "Thank you, I need you to know how much I appreciate your time and efforts. Blessed be, Cernunnos." The White Stag bowed his head to her.

The White Stag said in her mind, "You honor me, Lady Sarah Williams, most do not know or remember my name. It has been a long time since I have heard it said to me. Blessed be, child and let wisdom guide you." She smiled and waved at him as he left.

She went back to her fire and heated up her food again smiling to herself thinking. Sarah put the necklace around her neck with the gemstone side facing outward. It shrank up to just short of a choker. The power radiated through her body. It felt odd but not annoying to her. She finished eating and was pondering to herself about what Cernunnos had said, 'The Labyrinth will know because it is raw wild magic in this realm and connected to all, especially you. One king that is coveting your powers for evil intent and another king coveting you. This part of your destiny will be complete when the raven breathes it last, the light dims and one king shall fall as another king rises. I wonder what it will mean? One king that is coveting your powers for evil intent and another king coveting you. That sounds like Jared and Jareth. The other part is cryptic about the raven breathing it last, the light dims, and one king shall fall as another king rises. The only raven I know of was the Unseelie raven Argus. I guess I'll figure it out at the proper time. I'm getting tired.' Sarah cleaned up, repacking everything away, went into her tent, fed her kit, Lyra and laid down to get to sleep.

During the night, the entire forest radiated a green glow coming from inside Sarah's tent. After a while the light faded and everything was back to normal. The forest creatures were confused about the light. Sarah never woke up. She was in a deep sleep. Her kit never woke up either. She had no idea what happened while she slept.

—--

Jareth was summoned by the Labyrinth and it said, "The gods have created a prophecy. My champion is the key."

Jareth asked, "What do you mean?"

The Labyrinth said, "She will set the balance for the fae. One king falls and another one rises."

He demanded, "Who are these kings?"

The Labyrinth said, "I am unable to see. The path will be revealed when the time is right." He knew he wasn't going to find out anything more.

—--

Jared was woken up by his gremlins to see his witch. Jared got dressed. He was an exact duplicate of Jareth but with dar blonde hair and both eyes were blue but the same dilation.

He went to his Royal Witch's lair in the bowels of his castle. Jared found her gazing into a crystal ball. He demanded, "What do you see, witch?"

The witch said, "I see the coming of changes. A prophecy has been brought forth by the gods tonight. A child of many magics of will and strength. She will set the scales to balance."

He asked, "She? You mean this child is female? And what strength of magic does she possess?"

The witch said, "Yes, female, your majesty. The magics are multiple. She is very powerful. This is a child of man turned into more than fae."

Jared asked astonished, "A human turned to more than fae? What of the prophecy?"

The witch said, "It is cloudy…. It says, 'When the raven dies, one King shall fall, while another king rises.' That's all I can see, sire."

He mumbled to himself, "One king falls and another king rises. Interesting. Perhaps, this will be my time to act. Tell me witch, where can I find this female?"

The witch said, peering into the crystal, "The woman cannot be tracked. She has obscure magic blocking all vision and location magic. This female is clever and has wisdom. You will have to wait until she is revealed."

He shouted impatiently, "I want her! I need to find her location as soon as you can get it!"

The witch said, "I will keep searching for information, my king." Jared stomped out of the catacombs angry at having to wait for finding this person. An ex-human/fae female can be manipulated. He needed the upper hand and knew this person could give him this against his brother and all the kingdoms. He could rule the entire Underground.