The room became silent as the rulers of each of the other six kingdoms filtered into the hall. Sarah stood and acknowledged each with a silent nod and smile. First came the tall king of Feline City, a striped cat with a strangely unassuming air, dressed in a robe of tapestry material. Behind him came the queen of the Dwarven Kingdom, who was resplendent in her multi-colored brocade gown and its pastel pearls, and then the clan leader of the Spangores, donning a golden jeweled crest and silver feathers on his head. The faerie queen led the other side of the procession, walking proudly, her gauzy, olive gown trailing almost out of reach of the bluish aura that surrounded her. Next came chief of the beasts, two golden caps at the tips of his horns, and a large gold amulet standing boldly out from his shiny, black fur. Lastly, the king of elves walked in, decked sensibly with rich-colored silken robes, his long brown hair shimmering beneath his circlet.

When no one attempted to leave, Sarah continued, "Now that that is taken care of, you may be seated." Chairs shifted as the members of the council were seated. The room smelled of freshly pressed linen and hot cider. Sarah tapped her manicured nails against the table a few times nervously, then laid her hands atop one another elegantly. Her manner became somber as she faced the group. "I would like to get straight to business. I have received news that the elfin kingdom has been experiencing problems, but I was never informed as to the nature of the problems. The only thing that I learned was that these problems were due to an outside force, and since it was a possibility that such problems could affect the rest of the Underground, it seemed plausible to me that a council should be formed so that no kingdom would be alone in facing any type of difficulty. I will now hand the floor over to the elfin king, Eberon, and he will inform us as to what exactly is troubling his people."

Though she remained collected, Sarah felt within the need to sigh. The council seemed as if they had been impressed by her speech, and nodde dtheir understanding as they turned to face the elf. Eberon turned his head slightly, his circlet glimmering beneath the bright candlelight. "Thank you, Your Majesty. There is indeed a great turmoil within our kingdom, though I do not think I will be able to explain it as clearly as one might assume. All I can say is that I am sure our troubles stem from magic, and that this magic is not our own." His long hand spun fluidly about his wrist and the air above the table sparkled with the invocation of a spell. A picture of an elfin village materialized, showing two young male elves quarreling. "This magic appears to act randomly, and its effects have at times been disastrous. Some elves have become bitter and some have become violent... There is no logical explanation for their animosity, for, as you know, we elves are a very peaceful people. We pride ourselves on our wisdom and gaiety toward life... This behavior is..." He shook his head sadly as the two elves in the presentation came to blows. With another move of his fingers, the picture was gone. "Well, it's just unexplainable."

The king of Feline City spoke up. His sharp teeth only showed when he spoke, giving him a menacing appearance at such times. "Well, have you seen any odd occurrences otherwise? Has anyone out of the ordinary appeared in any of the villages?"

Eberon shook his head and gave a wan smile. "Not really..." He stopped abruptly as if considering. "Well, no, we have been seeing a lot of... it really seems a bit unrelated, but we have been seeing a lot of birds. It is unusual for several flocks of birds to make journeys this time of year."

Sarah bolted upright at this knowledge, but only the feline king noticed her startled motion. "What do birds have to do with magic?" said Delina, the Dwarven queen, in a jeering tone.

Eberon clasped his hands together and faced her with a rigid expression. "Sometimes, milady, it is irrelevant when animals behave oddly, but magic and animals are quite connected. I do not think we should dismiss a possibility, no matter how extreme it seems."

Benedick, the Feline king, faced Sarah and addressed the assembly. "I believe her majesty Sarah, has something to say on the matter."

Sarah pulled her hair back nervously and replied, "Yes, I do see that there might be a connection with the birds... As you all are probably aware of, Jareth, the former king of this city, transformed into an owl. He also used birds, as I hear it, to carry out some of his work."

The faerie queen shifted her hazy eyes to Sarah and asked softly, "What kind of things were his birds used for?"

"I am really not certain." Sarah began to feel lost, but did not let her lostness overwhelm her. She scrounged her brains for a clue. "I believe he used them for spying, but I am not sure of any other uses. Even if it were Jareth, I do not see a reason for him to send several flocks of birds to perform any kind of task." Little by little she regained her assuredness, but the issue was one in which she had little desire to participate in conversation.

"After all," Eberon added, "Jareth has not been seen since Sarah defeated him years ago. Chances are that he is dead."

"How do you know that?" the Feline king asked.

The faerie queen held out her hand as she answered. "It is common for a human being to expire after using any magic to an exhaustive amount. The Goblin King was several years old when Sage and the elders released him from the power of the crystals... I believe he had controlled this city for a few decades, before his ousting. Heavens know when he actually took control of it, he could have been older than his appearance. It was the magic that sustained him beyond a normal livelihood, and, when that magic expired, he probably did, as well."

"So, we can rule out Jareth," Benedick said after downing his spiced cider. He placed the chalice onto the table noisily. "That means we have no clue to the cause, and we must figure it out."

The Beast king, Zane, spoke up for the first time that evening. "Beast-men get angry. Beast-men hurt other beast-men." The king's face became wistful. "Friends hurt friends."

Sarah was amazed to see that any beast could say so much at once. Out of all the time she had known Ludo, he had said little more than one or two small sentences at a time.

Benedick seemed to have taken charge of the discussion. "Then, there are other kingdoms facing the same problem. Zane, have you seen any birds in your area? Anything strange?"

The Beast fingered his amulet nervously. "See birds - not seem strange. Always see birds."

"Then that brings us where we were a moment ago." After Benedick's words, the room became uncomfortably silent. A few members of the council took sips of cider, while others became engrossed in consideration of the matter.

Sarah began to stare into the limelight of the candle on her end of the table. Blue wax dribbled down the side of the candle, like a sea-colored teardrop. Her thoughts melted and trickled from her mind in a similar fashion... Everyone had concluded that Jareth was dead, but the bird sightings left her unsure. There was a connection, she was sure of it, and she could not let her hunch go, even if it proved to be a false one. Hopefully she was wrong, and Jareth was not up to his old pranks, if he was not dead. Furthermore, something within her still hoped he was not

dead. She had given up the possibility of his return two years ago, and her love for him had dwindled. There were more practical things to be taken care of, without chasing after lost loves. Her highest hope was to be able to ignore her feelings for him, since he was probably never going to return.

Suddenly Sarah realized that someone had been talking to her, so she looked up. It was the Feline king. "I'm sorry, I was lost in thought. What were you saying?"

Delina spoke for him. "He said that maybe we should not get our hopes up."

Sarah shook her head in confusion. "I apologize, I don't quite follow you. Get our hopes up..."

"We should not get our hopes up in believing that the birds are the solution," Benedick explained. "Perhaps they are only reacting to the magic, as are the peoples of the Beast and Elfin Kingdoms."

"That is very likely," the Faerie queen replied. "I will ask my faeries if they have observed any ambivalent behavior in the birds. We will keep an eye on them."

They all spoke for another half an hour on other relevant matters, treaties, and economic agreements. When they had finished the signing of several documents, Sarah stood from her seat and spoke to the council as a whole. "Are there any other matters that need to be presented before this council?" The soft glow of the candles revealed puzzled faces, but no one brought forth any other issues. "Does anyone have anymore suggestions as to the cause of this enigmatic behavior of the beasts and elves?" Silence. "Then, I bid you all to look further into the issue, as will I. I am sure we can come to the answer if we put our heads together in deliberation." Sarah managed to rekindle the warm atmosphere that formerly permeated the room with her smile. "I invite you all to remain in my city for the next week. We will be celebrating our fourth independence day, and great festivities have been planned. They will start tomorrow, and conclude half a fortnight from now with a special competition."

"What kind of competition?" Benedick asked warmly.

Sarah smiled knowingly. "You will see. It is a bit of a surprise."

The Faerie Queen chuckled. "Any surprise you have planned for us, Sarah, is sure to be a pleasant one."

"Perhaps we should surprise Her Majesty for once?" Delina offered in good humor.

A light murmuring laughter filled the room as Eberon said, "I think Sarah has received too many surprises in her lifetime, as Sage has told me."

Sarah laughed and nodded her head in affirmation. "I must agree with you... My life is full of surprises."

"But surprises can be pleasant!" exclaimed Benedick as he nudged Zane.

Knitting her eyebrows, Sarah gazed at them all through slitted eyes. "You are all up to something, I can see it."

Eberon rose and grinned broadly at her. "No, Your Majesty, I do believe we are guiltless in this matter... Maybe you should talk to Sage..."

"Maybe I should ask you," Sarah said with a delighted expression. "Sage won't tell me anything, I am sure."

"Milady," Benedick said, "we do not know what he is up to, anymore than you. We just know Sage, and his pranks prove interesting."

"Oh, I see. You are all his pawns of torture."

Everyone else rose and began to exit the room. As Benedick passed, he patted Sarah on the shoulder. "You know what?" he whispered. "I think you are right."