CHAPTER 10

Sarah woke up to her wiggling little kit crying out for attention. She fed her while rubbing circles on her belly softly, then made her go to the bathroom and kissed her, putting the kit back in her pouch. She got up and went to the bathroom, made breakfast for herself and fed her horse.

She rode on into the evening after talking and singing to the little kit and finally got to the city of Gleannlile. Sarah found an inn that looked nice enough and a stable was two doors down from it on the opposite side of the street. She tied the horse to the post in front of the inn and took all of her bags off her horse and went inside.

She walked up to the innkeeper and said, "I need a room for seven nights?" The fae looked her up and down scrutinizing her. He was dressed in all black with his shirt rolled up to his elbows. He had light blonde hair and green eyes.

The innkeeper tried to look under her hood and said, "Human, fae or elf?" Sarah looked up at him.

He nodded and said smiling, "Nine silver a night, room seven." The innkeeper grabbed a key from under the counter. She gave him six gold and three silver. She went to the room and dropped off her bags and noticed it had plumbing and toilet paper. 'Thank God.'

Sarah went and boarded the horse and returned to the room. She fed the little kit her bottle and used a piece of moss from the previous town she saved for traveling that substituted for toilet paper in this world to stimulate her to potty. She did and tossed it in the fireplace and put the screen up without starting a fire yet. Sarah put the kit in the pouch and went down to get dinner.

She went up to the counter of the inn's small pub and sat down. There were several people in the inn, and it was a little loud but not bad. The room was a bunch of square tables and chairs on a wooden slat floor, but Sarah was sitting at the counter on a stool. There were kegs with spigots on the wall to draw ale through.

The innkeeper asked her, "What will you have?"

She said, "Wine and a meal?"

He said, "Eight coppers." The innkeeper poured her wine, took her coins, and went to the back to get her a roasted chicken, potato and chard dinner. She was eating and the kit started crying. Sarah stopped and started petting her in the pouch around her neck to calm her. The innkeeper was surprised and looked at her while filling ale mugs and collecting money.

He went over to her and said, "I am Kalen. What have you got there?"

She pulled up the baby kit. Kalen smiled at her and asked, "Why do you have a cathaur (golden cat)? Most fae don't bother with animals and that one can get quite dangerous when an adult?"

She replied smiling, "I am not from here. I am from very far away and my people do not leave animal babies to die in the winter. My people like animals. My name is Shara."

He said looking at her, "How far away?"

Sarah said, raising an eyebrow, "Very very far."

He said smiling, "I see. Welcome to the city of Gleannlile (lily valley), Shara." She shook his hand and smiled at him.

She finished eating and went up to her room, finding the door open. Sarah wished that whoever was in her room was bound and on their knees. She heard hollering. She went in and locked the door. Two men had her baggage strewn all over from searching her belongings. Sarah sighed because she was going to have to repack and forgot to wish it secure.

She said, "I 'wish' that these two men had to tell the truth. What were you looking for?"

The one man said, "Valuables."

She said, "I don't keep them in my baggage or have any for the likes of you. I 'wish' for these two men's valuables to be piled in my room in bags." A large pile of bags, plus the items flew off of their bodies into a bag in the pile.

Sarah wished both men would never be able to commit a crime or have their magic taken away, take their other baggage and their horses and be sent to the Goblin Kingdom. They disappeared. Good. She wished her room was secure until she removed her bags.

She put the kit's pouch on the bed, repacked up her belongings and put a chair under the door knob. Sarah got out her flannel nightshirts, socks and her bathing things. She stripped herself and drew a warm bath after starting a fire and putting the screen up. Sarah was weary and scrubbed off the road from her travels.

After she had started drying her hair and gave the kit another bottle. She started going through the big pile of bags sorting everything out. They had seven large bags of jewelry, six large bags of mixed coins(1872 gold, 970 silver, 157 copper), two jewelry boxes with high quality items, two medium size bags of gold nuggets, a small bag of silver nuggets, and twenty three pocket watches. She put it all in her bracelet and the rest that wouldn't fit in her bags. There was a fancy watch which was gold with scrollwork on the door with an emerald surrounded by diamonds set in the middle of the watch door. It had a black face with diamonds set at all of the thirteen hours and had a chime alarm. Sarah wound it up and decided to set it to the time from her other watch and decided to switch them out for this better one.

She went to bed after feeding her kit and taking care of her bathroom needs. She cuddled her baby kit under her chin and the mountain of blankets she spread over the bed on top of the inn's blankets. Sarah only woke up to feed the kit a couple times.

—-

The next morning, Sarah woke up to a wiggling crying kit with her eyes focusing on her. She fed her and got her to go to the bathroom and laid down smiling looking in her little girl's eyes watching her.

Sarah smiled and stroked her soft little ears saying, "I love you, Lyra, my pretty little girl." She leaned in and kissed her on the head. The kit was purring in a little stop start way. It was her first time and Sarah adored her.

Sarah got up, did her morning routine and got dressed in her all black womens clothes. She made up several small bags of jewelry and tied them to her belt towards the back with the bottle of milk with a rinsed little bottle in a bag on her belt. She put on her cloak and went to get breakfast.

There were a few people in the inn eating and Sarah sat at the counter. Kalen asked, "Breakfast, Shara?"

Sarah replied, "Yes and tea. Do you have honey?"

He nodded and smiled at her saying, "Six coppers." She dug out the coppers and sat them on the counter. He returned with a big mug of hot tea, a spoon and a jar of honey. Kalen then brought her a plate of eggs, mutton strips, hashed potatoes and toast with butter. She was in heaven and had eaten every bite. Lyra was grunting and squealing trying to get comfortable in the pouch. Sarah reached in petting her until she got settled. Everyone was looking at her funny. She finished her food and had asked Kalen for some jewelry stores close by. He told her of three.

She had dumped in her bracelet a total of 3,184 gold coins from three jewelers at the end of the day. By the end of the week, she had got rid of all the jewelry, keeping only some in one of the jewelry boxes and in her bracelet.

—-

On her last day in the city, Sarah had shopped and got her food supplies stock up nicely and had herself reorganized. Lyra's baby blue eyes were open and focusing. The kit was crawling to her across the bed grunting and squealing. She was so very pretty, cute and a loud little thing. Sarah loved her face, pads and little tail.

She would pick her up and cuddle her. The kit would go silent. Lyra just wanted to be held, loved on and get some attention. Sarah loved petting her because her fur was so soft. Sarah thought she was so very sweet.

That night she kissed the precious foot pads of her baby kit's feet and cuddled her fat little body under her chin and said, "Goodnight, little baby Lyra." She held her and kissed her head as she had already fallen asleep.

—-

She had the next city of Nadur (nature) the capital and it was one night of camping to get there and then three days across the mountains with a town on the other side.

She woke up and fed Lyra and attended to her needs. Sarah did her morning regiment. She dressed warmly in layers in her all black leather outfit, black long sleeve tshirt under a black cotton shirt with leggings on. She put on her cloak and her pouch with her weapons belt. Sarah left her bags and her bow with a quiver to go eat breakfast.

She sat at the counter and Kalen said smiling, "Sorry to see you go, Shara. Breakfast and tea?"

She said smiling, "Yes, Kalen." He went back and got her tea with honey and then a full breakfast of eggs, mutton steak, potato hash with pancakes. He even brought her butter and strawberry jam. Sarah said happily, "This is wonderful, Kalen."

Kalen replied, smiling at her, "You have been one of my best patrons." She chuckled and looked up through the hood smiling at him. She ate every bite. Sarah went to get Valiant and a gray dapple, she called Luna. She packed up everything and rode out of town headed to Nadur.

Once she was on the road, she heard a voice in her head, "My champion, be not alarmed. It is I, the Labyrinth, Gaia. I know what I am about to ask you to do is not what you are going to be happy to hear, but you need to come back to The Castle Beyond The Goblin City and come to me in my catacombs. I can help you discover what magics you possess. You can choose to stay at the inn, my king cannot make you stay in his castle. You are my champion and you have nothing to do with the Goblin Kingdom or with fealty to my king. Only to me, because we are connected and your half of my loyalty is connected only to you. My king's half is connected only to him, but not to you and you not to him. Do you understand?"

She thought in her mind her answer, 'Yes, I understand. Will you train or show me what I need to know?'

The Labyrinth said, "Yes, my champion. You may trust in me and my discretion in your magical abilities. There are many things at work inside of you at this time trying to settle and adjust to a rhythm. Come to me. I will protect you. My king can no longer be a threat to you. Make your wish to come to outside of the catacombs of the Labyrinth. I will safely bring you here." She dismounted her horse. Sarah held the reins of Valiant.

Sarah said, "I 'wish' to transport myself and my horse to the outside entrance to the catacombs of the Labyrinth." Sarah disappeared and reappeared in the Labyrinth in front of the entrance into a very old section. The old gray stones were detailed but weathered by time. Mold and moss was growing on the stone's construction and there was a gloomy somber feeling to the place. Sarah tied her horse to a tree branch and wished for a safe perimeter around him. She took the kit's milk in the bag with the bottles with her and a flashlight into the entrance.

Sarah asked in her head, 'Gaia, how do I find you?'

The Labyrinth said, "Two rights, two lefts and a right." Sarah started out with her flashlight. When she arrived, she saw a stone room with a green glowing mist coming from the floor.

A disembodied voice echoed in the room, "Welcome, my champion. I need to examine you. Just stand still and take your animal off of your person. It may harm them." Sarah took off the pouch, setting the milk bag and the pouch on the ground. Sarah stood up and faced the mist. A beam of green light radiated surrounding her body. It was heating up her veins and felt unusual like a hot spider crawling across her skin. The green light stopped now a white beam of light was traveling across her. This time it felt like her body was being penetrated. It was very uncomfortable. The white beam stopped. The next thing she felt was from a blue beam of light. It took her to her knees and felt like she was going to puke with a headache. The blue beam stopped. Sarah was panting.

The Labyrinth said, "You are strong my champion. I knew you were the right choice long ago. Most magical beings could not withstand the tests I just performed."

Sarah said tiredly, "What did you find?"

The Labyrinth said, "Everything. You have wish, labyrinthian, fae, elven and fairy magic. You need to learn fae magic first. I can accelerate you and put it in your mind all of fae magical knowledge tomorrow. It will make you tired each day, I will push the magical knowledge in your mind for the next four days. Go to the inn and rest for now. Come back after breakfast in the morning for the next four days and we will accomplish this much. You do know that your eyes glow green in dim light and you have teal markings below your eyebrows, my champion? The markings appeared after my tests." Sarah wished for her compact mirror in her saddlebags and gasped seeing her eyes.

Sarah asked curiously, "What do the markings mean?"

Gaia said, "You have been blessed by the tribe of Lugh. They were dark haired fae that went extinct over five thousand years ago. They remained in the Aboveground with the humans. The markings are the sign of the royal tribe. Do you have any idea how this happened to be introduced to your body?"

Sarah thought for a moment and said, "I found my way into a cavern after I lived with a dragon for two months. I saw four stone-worn effigies in there against the walls. I talked and visited with each of them. The first had a worn down sword and electro shocked me off my feet when I touched the nub of the sword. The next had once had a spear in its hand and it heated up as I spoke to it. The third, had a bowl at his waist and I put a piece of bread in his bowl as a grain offering. The fourth had a lump of stone that glowed when I touched it. What, do you think it means something?"

Gaia said, "You, my champion, are the most fortunate of women to be blessed by four gods and claimed by Lugh the first with a sword. You will find you are more proficient with sword play than most."

Sarah asked, "Then I wonder why my eyes glow green? I mean they naturally are green but they never glowed before until now."

Gaia said, "You are radiating magic from your expanded storage inside you. It could be many things that could have stimulated it, even the tests I just performed. You must go rest, my champion for tomorrow." Sarah nodded wearily getting up off the floor after putting on the pouch and picked up the milk.

Sarah said, "I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you, Gaia." She walked out of the entrance after doing the opposite turns to get out. Sarah led her horse to the city, she just knew where to go to get out of the maze for some reason.