It was a new morning.  Vindar rose from his bed and yawned fitfully, having slept well and ready to tackle the day.  He hopped up out of bed and quickly got dressed, sprinkling some tree musk on his neck before throwing the door open and sauntering down the hall.

This is how Vindar started every day, whether he was sure it was going to be a good day or not.  But it was looking a bit on the up side.  As he passed a row of openings down a covered catwalk connecting two buildings, the sun shone through the windows, a little hopeful in its ascent.  He whistled as was his custom, and quickly came upon the floating figure of Isabelle.  He slyly made his way toward her, startling her as he grabbed her about the waist and swung her down the catwalk.  Once she figured out who it was, she laughed, and, for once, went along with his playful lovers games.  “Vindar, you nearly scared my head right off my shoulders!”

“Good, then we can have a proper Fiery dance.”  He took one of her hands and began to waltz her into the other building.  “Let’s go find out how things are going with the recovery process, shall we?” he said as they made their way toward the throne room.  Isabelle giggled the whole way there.

Once they made it into the room, they saw that Leah was already there speaking with people and creatures alike on how things were going.  Whoever she was speaking to left, and they approached to get the news.

“How goes it?” Vindar asked Leah while he went to hold Isabelle’s hand.  Isabelle bit her lip and seemed to think of pulling her hand away, none too comfortable with a public display of emotion, yet she seemed to think better of it and gave way to his romance.

“Surprisingly good,” Leah answered, making obvious note of their hand-holding and winking at Vindar.  “I think the corn worked…  The crows dug right in, and not too many hours later, everyone apparently went back to normal.  So many of the citizens felt bad about their behavior, that they went to the task of trying to fix all the damage that had been done due to the spell.  We’ve dispatched citizens all throughout the Labyrinth to make repairs.  It seems quiet so far.  We’re even able to release those we had to put in the dungeons.”

“That’s wonderful news,” Vindar exclaimed.  “What about my people?  Have they come to their senses?  They had already started a battle with us before all this chaos, thanks to Eberon’s scheming.”

Leah smiled as if she were surprised herself by the answer she was about to give.  “The elves are helping, too, believe it or not.  Once I told them what Eberon had been up to, most of them decided to break away from allegiance with him and to join us here in Sunset City.  Apparently he had been feeding them some kind of nonsense about how Sarah was using her allegiance with the other six kingdoms as a way to take over smaller groups, and that they were planning to get revenge on Ulmar on behalf of Sage.  God knows why they believed that crap.  And why would your father want revenge on the kingdom of Ulmar?”

Vindar frowned noticeably.  “That’s another story entirely…  I mean, my father is better than that, wouldn’t try for revenge, but he would have good cause should he choose to.  Eberon is the one responsible for my mother’s death.”

Leah seemed taken aback, and Isabelle immediately squeezed his hand in an attempt to comfort him.  “Oh, I’m so sorry Vindar…” Isabelle said quietly.  “I had no idea.  How long ago was it?”

“Oh, not long after I was born.  I really never knew her, though I can remember her vividly.  Elves have a stronger awareness as babes than do humans.  She was a beautiful woman.  She used to sing this enchanting song to me…”  He drifted off a moment.

“Well, it doesn’t ever matter how long ago it was,” Isabelle replied, as if pondering her own similar heartache.  “It’s still difficult to handle the death of one’s mother.”

Vindar looked at her so intensely, it was as if Leah were not there.  “Yes, you are right.  So so right.”

Leah gently broke their silence.  “Well, guys, it looks as if things are back to normal.  Why don’t you two take it easy for the day?  I’ve arranged a large lunch to be served out in the square for all those at work today.”

“What about Sarah?” Isabelle asked.  “Now that we are done dealing with the crows, should we go after her?”

“Well, we’ll see.  I’m going to try to contact Sage later today and see how things are going.  He may need our help.”   Leah started to leave, and then thought better of it.  “Oh, I almost forgot.  I’ve been keeping an eye on Hoggle through the mirrors, and he’s still asleep.  But he looks as if he’ll awaken soon.  I think he needs more help than anyone right now.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Isabelle answered.  “We’ll look after him.”

Leah smiled broadly.  “Good.  Now I’m off to be the queen I never wanted to be.  I swear, when this is all over, I’m going to go home and watch t.v. and eat Ben and Jerry’s for a week.”

Isabelle and Vindar looked at each other in confusion.  “Teevee?” Vindar asked.

“Just a form of mass brainwashing they have Aboveground, that’s all.”  When they still looked confused, she finally said, “Oh, forget about it.  I’m gonna go make lunch plans.”

“Okay,” Isabelle answered.  The two shrugged and walked hand in hand to the gardens.

Isabelle and Vindar walked quietly together through the exotic gardens of Sunset City.  The flowers themselves seemed like living alien creatures, tumbling wildly in predefined patterns set by the castle gardeners.  One fiery gardener stood in a far corner, watering plants and alternating between hums and bops to a strange fiery tune.  As he saw the two enter through the adorned alcove, he slipped out, bopping as he went.

“This is probably the loveliest garden I’ve seen,” Vindar said quietly as he gazed about.

“Yes, Sarah has done well with it.  I think she really likes flowers a lot…  She sent scouts all through the Underground to discover the loveliest of species.  She told me once that the flowers here are even more beautiful than Aboveground.  Yet she still has her favorites.”

“There are some flowers here that I don’t recognize, and I thought I had seen all the kinds there were to be seen Underground,” Vindar replied.

“She brought some seeds from Aboveground, because she didn’t want to forget the flowers from home,” Isabelle answered, smiling at the thought of Sarah’s nostalgia.

“They’re beautiful.  Nice to get to know a bit about the Queen’s world.  And what better means than studying its flowers?”  Vindar chuckled.

“Yes, I suppose they would be the most peaceful and pretty specimen of her world.  I’m glad she brought them here.”

The silence permeated once again bringing an awkwardness to the two courting youngsters.

“Do you miss your mother?” Isabelle finally asked somberly.

Vindar gave her a wan smile.  “I didn’t know her well… but, yes.  Every moment.  I think Elves feel our lifeforce differently than humans.  There’s a sort of vibration in the soul, an excitement.  I can feel my mother still vibrating through me, and I know it is her.  It is almost as if she is still living.  Sometimes I think a see her doing things right now, out of the corner of my eye.  It’s very strange.”

“What do you mean?  Like things she used to do around you while you were still a babe?”

“No, I mean, I visualize those moments, but I actually feel like I am watching her now.   Like she is living her life out, and I am watching.  Maybe it is a vision of what she could have been, had she survived.”

“What kinds of things do you see her doing?” Isabelle asked, squeezing his hand sympathetically.

“Gathering herbs.  Making potions.  Talking with strange people.”  Vindar laughed.  “Imagine it, I think I’ve even seen her talking with Jareth! Of all things…”  He paused a moment to consider the issue.  “But I never see my father, or myself.  It makes me a little sad.  I wish we were with her.  I always knew she was a strong woman, but whatever realm she is in now, she should not be alone.  Yes, I miss her.  Strangely enough, I do.”

Isabelle smiled sweetly.  “But she is not alone.  Wherever she is… I am sure she has made friends wherever she went.  If you love her without knowing her, then I am sure strangers – whether they be otherworldly creatures, or creatures such as ourselves – feel automatically compelled to take her in.  If she is anything like you –“ Isabelle stopped and blushed, as the words slipped unconsciously from her lips.

Vindar stopped in his tracks and looked deeply into Isabelle’s eyes.  He said nothing, brushing his slender fingers through the girl’s wavy locks.  Her face turned a deep shade of pink and she looked away uncomfortably.  The elfin boy pulled her chin up to face him, and began to sing these words:

Gazing on stars from leaf-strewn fields
I gaze upon the very soul
Of life itself

I find a seed, to plant, to grow
A beginning where life begins
The plant’s life, my own

And when the summer casts a shadow
Upon the face, upon the heart
Upon the seedlings in the furrow
Upon the maidens in their silks
Upon the world so wild and sweet

I think on thee

The source and beginning of my life
The force of being
My relief from the summer sun

Should the waters flow awry
Should a tear beset my eye
Should the sky turn red as blood

My mind will follow deep and true

To oceans blue
To skies of you

In the faery wilds I’ve seen
Twists and turns, warped and mean
Beauty like an unwashed pearl
A pearl most like our dark/light world

I find my peace in thoughts of thee

Most like the foamy, deep blue sea.
Most like the foamy, deep blue sea.

Isabelle’s eyelashes were glistening with tears, from which one drop finally fell.  “That was beautiful, Vindar.  It was…  I’ve never heard a song like that.”

“It’s an ancient song of my people, one my mother used to sing to me.  The words are difficult to translate, but I believe that it comes across close to how it was intended… I’ve waited a long time to find someone I could sing it to.”

Isabelle seemed lost for words.  “It’s beautiful,” she finally managed.

Vindar brushed his fingers along her cheek.  “Not as beautiful as you, my lovely Isabelle.  Very little could compare to your beauty, inside as well as out.”

Isabelle smiled slightly and turned her face away from his intense, gazing eyes.  They seemed to burn a fire within, exotic, from the realm of faery.  She was drawn back toward them, and felt herself taken in, a willing participant to their magic.  Vindar drew close, his fine high cheekbones mere inches away from the soft curve of her own.  His shiny black hair mingled with her own brunette waves as he came in close for a kiss.  Their lips touched softly and sweetly, their eyes remaining open as they gazed at each other during this intimate moment.  Slowly Vindar drew away to gaze at his love, as Isabelle gazed back, suddenly less shy in her mannerisms.  As they cherished this elegant moment, they could suddenly hear Leah’s voice echoing from the very walls of the castle. They pulled away slowly and turned their ears to take her words in.

“Isabelle and Vindar… Please come quickly, Hoggle has disappeared.”

*        *        *

Delina had arrived at the Dwarven kingdom the previous night, by flight of the Spangores.  She was sitting in her throne room, doing her best to bring order to the floundering city, and talking to her messengers about the events of the night before.  One more search had proved useless.  With the help of the Spangores, the little dwarves had searched for the source of the crows, and they had returned empty handed yet again.  The queen was beginning to feel very disturbed by the whole ordeal.  Though Sage’s plan for spreading enchanted corn about the kingdoms had worked to dispel the birds, the crows still flew overhead in great flocks.  In Delina’s mind, they seemed angry.  Who knew when they would strike again?  Or in what more dreadful manner this hidden sorcerer would torment them a second time?  This was indeed the most frightening type of enemy: hidden, powerful, without morality or shame.  There was a feeling of doom in the air, as if something worse were about to strike.  Delina did her best to comfort the peoples of her kingdom in a speech earlier that morning, yet they were still piling up around the doors, waiting for an explanation.  Why do they wish our destruction?  What is their motive, and what do they hope to accomplish?  Who is this enemy? 

She was saddened greatly that she could not answer any of their questions.  So she remained in silence at her throne, pondering all possibilities.

Just as she was feeling her lowest, her court sorcerer approached, his grey tunic lined in silver, the bottom of his black trousers touching the floor at his heels.  He looked very tired, and his bushy eyebrows drooped more than usual.  Delina couldn’t help think that he looked worse than when she had last seen him that morning, after he had stayed up all night in an attempt to rid the kingdom of the magical birds.  “What is it, Gris?”

He hobbled up to the throne and shook his head sadly.  “I’ve gotten news that the Bookkeeper has passed on.  By way of enchantment, his wife journeyed with him to the other realm.”

“Oh dear me.”  Delina hunched over, propping her head up with her little hands.  “What a miserable day this has been.  How did you get the news?”

Gris looked uncomfortable in answering.  “The Guardian spoke to me.”

Delina was astounded.  “The Guardian?  But I thought he only came in dire situations?”

Gris rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  “Yes, but he and the Bookkeeper had a close relationship.  He helped him to pen the knowledge of the worlds above our own.”

“Why do you think he told you?  Surely he is not concerned with easing our worries over his passing?  We would have learned from his son soon enough.”

“I don’t know, your majesty.  I think there must be a greater cause.  I think…”

“What is it, Gris?”

“I think – if you can believe this – that I detected…. sorrow in his voice.”

“Oh dear me,” was all Delina could managed.  “I knew something about this day did not feel right.”  The queen drifted off quietly, staring thoughtfully at the walls.

“My queen, what is it?” Gris asked.

Suddenly snatched from her reverie, Delina answered.  “Oh Gris.  It just makes me horribly sad.  If only my father had not been so stubborn.  The Bookkeeper was a great man, and my father insulted him.  It was a horrible mistake.  And now he is gone, and there is no time to repay him.”

“I am sure, your majesty, that he is in a place of greater understanding, as your father,” Gris consoled.

“Maybe.  Or perhaps they are still the same stubborn old men they always were.”  She seemed to think on it a moment longer, then rose from her chair.  “Well, there’s no time to harp on it right now.  Maybe we can send some dispatchers to the other six kingdoms of the council, and see how things are going for them.  Since we have no real solutions at the moment.  Maybe Sage has come up with something…”  As she started to walk off, Gris remained stationary, looking as if he had something remaining to say.

Delina picked up on his hesitancy and turned around.  “Gris?  What is it?”

“Uh.”  He hobbled over slowly and finally stuttered out, “The Guardian… He also said something else.”

Delina’s face dropped. “What did he say?”

Gris gulped and finally answered, “He said… Prepare for the worst.”

Delina sighed heavily.  “Oh dear me.”

*        *        *

Kaleb stared out of the window of his study and gazed upon the hazy mists outside.  It had been quite a task to create a false horde of minions to accompany him to Sarah’s kingdom during the independence festival.  In truth, he had few followers, and most of them were of the aviatic sort.  Humans were far too emotional.  None would have been able to withstand the dangers of the Mist of Dreams, even to live within his protected castle.  Sarah had been the only one, and she did not succumb to the madness, because she had already been maddened by him.

As if voicing his thoughts, Kaleb’s Spangore companion, Claw, entered the room and said, “Do you think this girl would have survived the Mists if you had not transformed her?”

Kaleb turned slowly about from his musings and thought the question over carefully.  After a few moments of silence, he said, “Yes.  I think she would have.”

“I do not know whether or not that is a good thing, M’Lord.  If she is not powerful enough to withstand the Mists, then she is not a fit companion.  If she is powerful enough, she may attempt to overthrow you.”

Kaleb laughed at the prospect.  “Her overthrow me?  Never.”  He glanced out the window, continuing, “She could not overthrow the part of Jareth that was me when she first arrived here.  It was a game we were playing, and I only let her go because that fool Jareth would have discovered my existence if she had continued to be around to toy with his emotions.  And, as she was trying to outwit Jareth by obtaining the Amethyst to use against him, she inadvertently gave me the means to control this world.  Even now, she is probably trying to overthrow me, only this time it is going to be for her own gain.”

“And this does not trouble you, M’Lord?”  The bird nestled his beak into his feathers and pecked at an elusive itch.

“Not at all.  Greed is so predictable.  Besides, she is not at all savvy in her use of the darker emotions.  I am sure that she has been the good little school-girl all of her existence.”

“But have you not watched over her throughout the years, M’Lord?  You would be most likely to know her whims.”

Kaleb seemed disconcerted by the question.  “No.  Once she returned to her world after she acquired her brother in the first journey, I – I mean, Jareth and I – were unable to spy on her.”

“How can that be?”

“She must have put up a block against us.  That is when I knew Sarah was indeed powerful.  After having been exposed to the magic, she did not need spells or tricks to keep us away.  Occasionally I could get through… It was a block she created unconsciously, all through her desire to be rid of us, of Jareth.  That is why I wanted her to acquire the Amethyst.  I knew she could withstand the perils, might even sway to my manipulations and make me more powerful.  She didn’t at first, but, in the end…”

“Patience is a virtue,” Claw replied, in an attempt to finish the sentence of his Lord.

Kaleb waved his hand, as if brushing the remark aside.  “I have no use for virtues, Claw.  Patience is a means to an end.  The end is Payback.”

*        *        *

The Grand Chamber sparkled in inky hues all about her.  From a distance, she looked small, sitting in the large silver throne that belonged to Kaleb.  Rich burgundy tapestries curved inward toward her, a large accentuation of her feminine curves.  Her face was pale and lovely, her lips a ruby color, with a hint of dark purple at the edges.  She was so still, she seemed a permanent part of the environment.  Her hands were placed on the hand rests of the chair, her legs held closely together underneath her shimmering, golden gown of silk.  A black scarf decorated her fair neck.  She was symmetrical, splitting the room in two.

Her purple eyelids were closed.  They had been closed for some time.  Sarah was in deep meditation, her quiet and dark presence making a heavy impression upon the room.

From across the chamber, Eberon sat in his glass cage, a new jester’s hat adorning his head, rosy circles of red paint on his cheeks.  Despite his clown-like appearance, it was obvious that he was in misery.  He finally rose up from his sulking position on the floor and pressed against the glass.  “What are you doing?  Trying to consult Sage telepathically?  Practicing Yoga?”

When she didn’t respond and continued to remain still, Eberon turned around and slunk back to the floor.  “Figures.  She goes Farbotz at the worst time.  What is she doing?  She’s been like this for hours.”

“Do you talk to yourself all the time, Eberon?”

Eberon jumped at the sound of her voice.  When he turned around, she was staring him down through the glass.  “H-how did you get here so fast!  I didn’t see you move!”

Sarah just smiled at him.  “Not frightened of the little play queen, are you?”  She ran her fingers along the glass and gazed at him through lazy eyes.  “I think it is funny that you wish me to contact Sage.  ‘Oh help us, Sage! I know I betrayed you, but am I not the son of your best friend?’”  He seemed uncomfortable with her talk, but he stopped in fear when she stared him directly in the eye, an evil stare taking hold of her countenance, strangely becoming.  “’Oh that’s right, I forgot,’” she continued, pretending to speak from Eberon’s viewpoint.  “’I killed your wife, didn’t I?”

Eberon backed away from her, trembling.  He seemed to have forgotten he was in a cage, for he jumped when he ran into the opposing wall.  “How did you know that?  Did Sage tell you that I killed her?”

“Oh, please.”  She turned her back to face him.  “Sage is too good for that.  He knew that telling me such a thing would ruin your chance of becoming a member of the council.”

“Then… how?”

She gazed at him over her shoulder, smiling flirtatiously.  “Your thoughts run like water on the surface of your mind, Eberon.  You can’t hide from me.”

One couldn’t tell, but it was almost certain that Eberon was going pale beneath his white facial paint.  “You can… read my thoughts?  That can’t be.  No, you’re lying.”

He looked up and realized she was gone.  And he was out of the cage.  He turned around in shock, and she was crouched low behind him, at eye level.  As if he were a child.  “It is you that are lying,” she said, poking her lip out in a childlike manner.  “Or at least, keeping things from me.  What are you thinking?”  She began to toy with the bells on his hat.  “You had a little flash there for a moment.  When you realized I could read your mind.  Now what would that little lightbulb be saying, Eberon?  Hmm?”  She rubbed her finger across his sharp nose, and white paint came off her finger.  She showed it to him, then rubbed her fingers together to wipe it away.

“You’re mad,” he answered.

She rose up and spread her arms out, laughing.  As she twirled about the room, she cried, “Why yes!  I am!  Isn’t it a curious thing?”  Stopping abruptly in her tracks, she gave Eberon a serious look.  “A little over the top, huh?  Maybe a bit too British?  I’ve been practicing my Jareth impersonation lately.  How do you think I am doing?”

Eberon gulped.  “Look, I will help you defeat Kaleb.  You just tell me what to do, and I will help you.  Just please, get me out of here, out of this… atrocious clothing.  I am a king, this is humiliating.  Anything!”

“No, Eberon.  I am a queen, and it is you who are not treating me with the appropriate respect.  Remember, you are withholding information, and you’d better give way soon, because Kaleb will be unoccupied shortly, and the first person he will seek out is me.  And when that happens, I won’t be so happy.  I’ll have to play his little game until the next chance comes about for me to do a little snooping, and that may not be for a long time.  And I could always come up with some entertainment to occupy you while I am waiting…”  She snapped her fingers, and a wickedly grinning dancing monkey appeared from nowhere.  Eberon began to dance with it, an expression of horror crossing his face, as he was not dancing voluntarily.  “Alright!” he shouted.  “Anything, I’ll tell you!  Just no dancing beasts! Please!”

The monkey disappeared, and its evil grin was last to leave.  Eberon shivered. 

“That’s more like it,” Sarah dripped.  “Now what was it you were thinking, my little green elf?”

“I just…  It seemed to me that you had gained a little power from the Amethyst.”

“How is that possible, little boy-king?  I don’t have the Amethyst.”

“Yes, but…  well, there is something Sage never knew about the Amethyst.  Only the lineage of kings are to know.”

“And what would that be, current king in standing?”

“The first person to touch the Amethyst has true power over it.  It is a link that cannot be broken.  That is why Kaleb brought you here…  He has to have you in order to have the full power of the Amethyst in his control.”

“Aw, that’s all he wants little old me for?” she said, pretending to sound injured.

“Well, I, uh… I assume there are other factors playing into it, surely.”  He briefly looked her over as he said this, then stopped out of fear of her reaction.

“Oh, you flatter me, Eberon,” she answered with a dry chuckle.  “Thanks for telling me, though.  I read it from your mind anyway, but I thought it would be good to see whose side you were playing on.”

With that, he was back in the cage.  “Wait!” he cried.  “Aren’t you going to let me out?”

“Do you really think I am in a position to do such a thing?  And why would I enlist your help, anyways?  You are a backstabber, no matter what side of the board you are playing on.  I don’t trust you, even if I can throw you across a football field.  I think I’ll keep you around a bit longer, for your entertainment value.”

The monkey reappeared, and the two began dancing.  Eberon tried to scream, but no sound came from his mouth.

“Payback is a bitch, isn’t it?” she said under her breath as she left the room, untying her black scarf and flailing it about playfully as she did so.

Hoggle’s left eyeball popped out from behind a corner and swiveled about, in search of any passerbys that might divulge his location.  Once he was comfortable that he was alone, he came from behind the corner, hobbling down the hall with a large talisman in tow.  The heavy iron scudded across the floor as he dragged it laboriously, a mere few feet from his destination.  He grunted with the exertion.  “Damn you fer bein’ a weak fool, Hoggle.  C’mon, c’mon…”  He dragged it behind the foundry doors just in time; a fiery guard started to head down the hall for his regular patrol.  It thought it heard a sound, scratched its chin, then decided to take its head off, dribbling it like a basketball down the hallway whilst it hummed a merry tune.

The dwarf gingerly closed the doors behind him, and came upon his work in progress.  A large dusty book lay open next to the half-built machine, which was made primarily from old rusty bits of metal, and a few odds and ends Hoggle had scrounged up from around the castle.  He dropped the talisman next to the machine, and started to pass his finger across the tome to refresh his memory on the next steps.  “So’s I put this, here, then attach this and this…”  He looked up and summarized the remaining work.  He dragged the talisman over, leaving the book opened to the appropriate page.  At the left top of the page was the title of the book, “Magical Machines.”  At the right top, was the name of the chapter.

“Portals into the Afterlife.”

*        *        *

Granen had gone out into the forest in search of some food for the two to eat.  It had been awhile since Sarah’s last meal, and her stomach churned for sustenance.  Being the gentleman he was, Granen immediately offered to find something, immediately after he heard her growling stomach.

“Where is he?” she mumbled under her breath.  She rubbed her arms slowly, trying to engage a little warmth in her tired flesh.  Night was closing again on the Mists, and with it, the cold.  She had a dark premonition inside of her, yet she tried to stay optimistic.  “He’ll be back soon, I bet.”  Yet, she couldn’t hide from the fact that she was suddenly aware of how alone she was.  And how powerless.

There was a noise in the grey forest.  Sarah jumped and turned towards the source.  It was Granen – he fell in his tracks, and tried to crawl toward her.  He was covered in blood.

“Oh my God! Granen, what happened to you!” She ran to his side and held him up.  His skin was very cold to the touch.

He coughed and answered in a scratchy, quiet voice, “Sarah, you must run.”

“Run from what!?  What happened?”  The panic was evident in her eyes.

“We cannot defeat Kaleb.  Kaleb will destroy us all.”  He started to close his eyes.

“NO!” she shouted.  “Keep your eyes open!  I swear, I will get him for what he has done to you… How –“

“No Sarah!” he replied hoarsely, his eyes popping open.  “You are too weak!  You are powerless against him.  You must run.  No one can defeat him.  Just… run… away…”

He drifted off, and was dead.  Sarah’s eyes were wide with horror.  She was in denial.  “Oh no, please, GRANEN!”  She was about to try CPR, then saw fully the extent of his wounds.  Once she saw the clawmarks in his stomach, she dropped her hands and discontinued her attempts.  “Oh Granen, not this…”

She brushed the hair from his eyes and kissed his forehead.  She didn’t have long to mourn his loss – footsteps began to approach her from the darkening distance of foliage.  She jolted upright and started making backward steps into the woods.  “Kaleb, you bastard!” she shouted into the distance.  “How could you do something… so evil?”

A faint voice weaved through the air.  “Poor poor Sarah.  I have defeated your kingdom, killed all of your friends, and torn the seven kingdoms to shreds.  If you ever get out of here, you’re not going to recognize your beloved Underground.”

“No!  Please, no, you’re just telling me this to frighten me!”

The footsteps started to come from all directions.  It was even darker, Sarah could barely see the trees in her immediate vicinity.   “But I am not lying… Hoggle asked me why you weren’t there for he and the others, when he had vowed to come whenever you needed him.  Why is that, Sarah?  Why are you here?  You should have saved him.”

Sarah turned white.  “There’s no way you could have… known… about his vow?”  She felt herself beginning to hyperventilate.  “Oh, God!  My friends!”  She grabbed her chest, as if fighting off a heart attack.  She tried to talk to stave off her fear.

“You!  If you were a part of Jareth, why wasn’t he more evil?  You are hideous!  Insane!”  She began to run into the forest.  “Because Jareth was a truly good man,” she whispered to herself, tears streaming down her check.  “Because he held him at bay.”

She ran faster.  “I should have let myself love him.  Oh, damn you, Sarah!”  At this last outburst, she tripped on a tree root and fell, cutting her face.  She held her hand to her skin, and came away with blood.  She could barely detect its redness in the dimming light.

“What are you moaning about, little girl?” Kaleb’s voice taunted as it changed tone, morphing into a voice more evil and demonic.  “You will never feel love again.  You are going to die alone.”

Out from the shadows came a darker shadow.  Yellow eyes glowed from its face.  Other shadows came from the depths, encircling her, but it was obvious that this one was the ringleader.  It smiled, and a yellowish light came from its twisted mouth.  Its voice was deep and resonant, and made the air quiver and vibrate.  The trees seemed to turn to water at the touch of its waves.  “Such a nieve little girl.  You thought that you would escape the darkness of your world, and be free in a realm of magic.  That you would pretend to be queen by day, and dance with the fieries by night.  You are a fool.”

The other shadows echoed him.  “A fool, a fool… a fool,” they all said in cascading tenors.

Sarah looked up at the shadow, wide-eyed with terror.  “Is that you… Kaleb?  Is this what you really look like?”  She tried to breathe as he brought his dark, formless claws toward the canopy of the sky, where the moon shone behind them. He laughed at her.  “You are just now beginning to understand, little girl in the Underground?  Why do you think mortals from your world abandoned their dreams, abandoned magic?  It is a flight of fancy one night, but the nightmares are going to plague.  Magic has a price.  They would rather fight to avoid a tax audit, than to admit to themselves again that magic is possible.  Now they only have to face their nightmares in their sleep.”  His silouhette came closer to her, the bright light of his eyes and mouth casting an eerie glow on Sarah’s pale face.  The red blood trickled down her neck alongside a river of tears.  “We are their nightmares, Sarah.  You have come to a world where the shadows live.  And now you will die here, frail girl.  Powerless girl.  Now you really know what it means to find your way into the part…”

He raised his claw high in the air, and the other shadows chittered in delight.  She closed her eyes, as if in preparation for the blow, then screamed a deafening scream.   Her face was contorted with the unreal sound coming from her diaphragm.  The trees shook, and the shadows shrieked, melting away into the very air.  “I am not powerless!” she screamed.  When she opened her eyes, they were gone, and it was day again.  She was standing in the clearing, where she had been waiting for Granen.  She heard footsteps in the forest, and regained composure enough to hide behind a tree.

Soon the source of the footsteps became apparent.  It was Granen, holding leaves and berries in a nook in his shirt.  “Where are you, Sarah?”

She peered from behind the tree, terror still in her eyes.  Granen immediately dropped his bounty, and came running to her.  He raised a hand to her cheek, looking at the blood that stained his skin as he did so.  “What happened to you, Lass?  Are you alright?”

Sarah put a hand on his chest, as if detecting if he were real or not.  “Oh, Granen. You’re alive.”

He laughed uncomfortably.  “Of course, Lass.  The shadows aren’t gonna eat old Granen.”

“Shadows?” she said, again fearful.  “Why did you say that?”

“What are you talking about, Sarah?  Please tell me what happened.”

Sarah took a deep breath.  “I don’t really understand.  Just give me… a second to recuperate.”  With that, she sat on the floor and tried to compose herself.

“I should have let myself love him,” she mumbled, shaking her head.  Granen scratched his beard worriedly, and tried to wait for her explanation of the events that had shaken her up so badly, and left her bleeding.  She was too caught up in her own thoughts to gratify him as fast as he would have liked.

Ashley, Jareth, and Toby walked leisurely down the sidewalks of New York, having left Sir Didymus at Marlena’s Shop, in the trusted care of Marlena herself.  They had spent a good portion of the day roaming about various shops.  Toby was enchanted by the busy city and its variety.  Many times he had declared, “I want to live here!”  It was certainly better than his boring town.  Ashley seemed to adore Toby, and dragged him gleefully from place to place.  She was a child of fancy, and she seemed to fancy showing off her favorite city to the newcomers.

It was mid-day, and Toby had made friends with a few guys playing chess.  He managed to wiggle his way into a game, and to wiggle his way into the hearts of the old men.  Jareth and Ashley watched on, both of them smiling.

“That kid is somethin’ else,” Ashely remarked.  “He just makes friends so fast.  Bet he casts some sort of spell on them, I bet.”

Jareth continued to look at Toby as he spoke, a sort of reverence in his eyes.  “I don’t think you’re far off.  Even when he was a babe, I was enchanted by him.”

Ashley looked confused.  “Is he yours?  Or are you just the freaky uncle that comes to visit, now and then?”

Jareth raised a brow at her query.  “No.  Neither.  Though, I suppose the latter is not far from the truth.”  He chuckled and crossed his arms.  “This is Sarah’s little brother.  We all had… an adventure together… long ago.  A bit difficult to explain.  But I’ve known Toby since then, and have met him through various stages of his life.  He is a special boy.”

Ashley spun about to face Jareth.  “You know, you remind me’a some guy I almost dated.  He was French.”

Jareth seemed amused. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah.  Actually, we have a sculpture class together…  He comes in the room, and, ‘Bon jour!’  Nice guy.  He dresses like… erm.  I think like Prince?  With a touch of punk rocker.”

“Sounds like a unique fellow,” Jareth said, shaking his head and smiling.

She seemed too busy fantasizing about the guy to have heard Jareth.  “Mmm…”  Then she jumped back to reality.  “Geeze, I’m just so in love with that guy!”

“Then why did you ‘almost date him’?” Jareth asked.

“Uh…  Well, you know, I’m not in love in love.  He’s just so damned cute.  Makes me just wanna…”

“Pinch his bum?” Jareth finished for her, laughing.

Her eyes got big and she smiled wide.  “Yeah! You got it!”  She suddenly grabbed Jareth by the hand and pulled him over to Toby.  “Hey, Tobester, gotsta go!  I need to take you guys somewhere.”

Toby looked up and smiled. “Okay.”  He turned toward the old men.  “Thanks for the game.”  They smiled wholeheartedly and shook his hand, before Ashely dragged the two guys away.

“Where, pray tell, are we going?” Jareth asked, amused.

“You’ll see,” was Ashley’s curt reply.

They were soon standing in front of this humongous, and very ritzy, male clothing store.  Jareth stepped back.  “Uh-uh, no thank you.  Been there, done that.”

Ashley looked like she was enjoying herself too much.  “Oh, come on.  What I would give to see you in some Calvin Klein, or maybe Gucci.”  She looked up to the window, and saw some displays for Prada.  She was entranced.  “Ooooooh.  Prada.”  She then proceeded to drag a very unwilling Jareth into the store.  Toby followed from the rear, looking equally mischievous in his gait.

“You’re not in on this, are you?” Jareth asked, looking back at Toby.  Toby merely shrugged his shoulders and grinned, then stuck his hands in his pockets.

“Fantastic,” Jareth mumbled, scowling.

After a couple of hours, Jareth finally convinced Ashley that she couldn’t afford the barrel of designer clothing she had selected for him to wear, nor could they spend all their time hovering about a clothing store when there was precious little time left for her to show him the remaining splendors of her city.  However, he hadn’t escaped unscathed; Ashley had managed three new outfits for Jareth, one of which he was unwillingly donning the linen of as they left the store.

A high, off-white turtleneck collar climbed his throat and offset his pale blonde hair.  As he walked, the long brown coat he wore fluttertered in the gale of oncoming evening.  His trousers were of the same brown as his heavy linen coat, and were freshly pressed at the seams.  He wore the collar of the coat up, and it pressed against the cottony turtleneck.  His shoes were a daring and shiny off-white, tying in nicely with his tucked-in shirt.  A belt with a silver buckle that looked much like the moon sat at his waist.  Ashley walked behind him so she could drool unnoticed.

“Well, are you going to come walk up here with Toby and I, or are you going to stand back there and drool all day?” Jareth asked as he continued to look forward, hands in pockets and a smirk playing on his lips.

Ashley sucked on her bottom lip one last time in adoration before winding alongside the two.  “Sorry ‘bout that.  Can’t hide anything from you!” she joked as she tore a longing glance from his backside.  She had also chosen to change her attire, and was wearing a blue dress in silk, with a darker chemise underneath.  Lavish beads adorned her neck, and large, tinkling earrings hung from her ears.  She had even found an opportunity to get her hair blue-streaked by the store hairstylist.

Jareth gave her a sidelong glance.  “I have to say, you look lovely in that dress.  Perhaps you should consider dressing lavishly every day?”

The unabashed Ashley found occasion to blush.  “Really?” she said, smiling shyly.  She then wrapped her arm around his.  She was totally in love.  “You’re sooooo sweet.  Can I keep you?”

Jareth chuckled warmly, a sadness creeping in on him.  “Ah, if only.  But I am afraid, dear lady, that I am already claimed.  Your offer is however most kind.”

“Then I’ll just have to pretend you’re mine for today!” she said teasingly, unwilling to remove her arm from beneath his.  He patted her on the arm warmly with a gloved hand. 

“Make believe is a healthy habit.  We can indulge for just one evening.”  With this said, he winked at the city-gawking Toby, and ruffled the young boy’s hair, distracting the boy from his reverie.

Toby seemed a bit sad.  Jareth gave him a good look before breaking his silence.  “What is it, Toby?”

The boy looked up at Jareth with a slightly drooping brow.  “I wonder if Sarah’s okay.”

Jareth gave him a wan smile before looking into the night sky and sighing.  “As do I,” he mused.  “As do I.”

Ashley was totally unaware of their conversation as she had just spotted a friend of her.  “Jacob!” she cried as she ran and kneeled to hug him at his position on the concrete, completely unmindful of her brand new dress.  Colored chalk dusted the edges of the silk dress as she bent down near his sidewalk drawings.

“Ashley?” he returned, looking up at her.  He wore a beret and smiled with full pink lips.  “Well, I’ll be damned, that is you!  Haven’t seen you since that last class we took together! How have you been?”

“Oh, just great!” she said happily, looking back at Jareth. 

“That your new boyfriend?” Jacob said in low tones as he smiled knowingly at Ashley.

“Just for today,” she whispered as she rose to bring Jareth forth to meet her friend.

“Is this the sculptor you were speaking of?” Jareth asked quietly with an amused smile.

“Oh no!” Ashley exclaimed, almost dragging him toward Jacob.  “This is another guy I’m in love with!”  She said it just loud enough so Jacob could hear.  Jacob and Jareth smiled at her knowingly.  “Jacob, this is Jareth.  He’s one of Marlena’s friends from out of town.  I was just showing him the sites.”

“From Europe?” Jacob asked.  “You look a bit German.”

“No,” Jareth answered, unsure of what to say.  “I’m – um – from England.”

“Ah, that was my second guess!” Jacob exclaimed, completely unaware of Jareth’s delayed response.  “Your first time in New York?”

“Yes, it is,” Jareth answered as he shook Jacob’s dusty hand.  Jacob looked at his hand with sudden understanding, and quickly brandished a small towel.

“Like it so far?” Jacob asked, wiping the chalk from his hands belatedly.

“Very much so.  There are many interesting things here that I have not seen before.”

Jacob laughed.  “Hey, Ashley, you should take him to see the Blue Man Group, those guys are a riot!  Definitely not something you’d see in merry old England!”

“Oh, whatever, Jacob!” Ashely countered.  “They got elves and faeries in England, leprechauns too!  He doesn’t need to see our human imitations of blue fae!”

Jacob cleared his throat playfully.  “Erm, Ashley… Leprechauns are from Scotland.  Don’t want to insult him, ya know…”  He smirked at his own wit.

The girl slugged him playfully on the shoulder.  “He don’t care!”

As the two chattered, Jareth admired Jacob’s chalk drawings.  “These are quite good, Jacob.  Do you only do chalk drawings, or are you into other media?”

Jacob turned his attention from Ashley and looked down at the landscape drawing with Jareth.  “Oh, these?  Thanks…  I seem to get a couple bucks here and there for them.”  He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, the cut off fingers of his gloves revealing chalk-stained digits.  “Ah, I paint mostly.  Sometimes I do a bit of graphic design to get a little cash, but my love is painting, to be honest.”

Jareth ignored his lack of understanding of the notion of graphic design and went straight to that in which he was interested.  “Ah, another painter.  Yes, painting is certainly something one can be passionate about.  Although, chalks are quite nice, as well.  And you are masterful with them.”  He admired the mountain scene which Jacob had so well carved from the harsh concrete.

“Do you paint, too?” Jacob asked.

“Yes, I do.  It is what I miss most since I left home.  Well, that, and the people I left behind.”

“Well, then, why don’t you have a go?  The sidewalk is practically free…”  Jacob handed the box of chalks over to Jareth.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly…” Jareth said, a hint of uncertainty in his eyes as he accepted the offering.

“Sure you could.  Go ahead.  I love to see a fellow artist at work.”

“Yeah, go for it Jareth!” Ashley prodded.  “Gosh, I didn’t know you painted, too!  You’re just full of surprises.”

Jareth looked over at Toby, who was smiling.  “Well, it’s Toby’s day, so let’s ask him what he wants, shall we?” Jareth said.

“I’d like to see you draw,” Toby said shyly, obviously fascinated by the prospect.  “I bet you could draw all sorts of neat places,” he said, almost as an afterthought. 

Jareth caught his drift, and kneeled carefully.  “Very well then,” he mused.  “The decision has been made by young Master Toby.”

Ashley let out a very undainty guffaw and elbowed Toby playfully.  “Master Toby!” she blurted.  “What a laugh!”

Toby chuckled quietly, too enraptured by Jareth’s task to take much notice of her humor.

And so Jareth began to draw.  He was swift and masterful, drawing with skilled ease.  Onlookers noticing his concentrated demeanor stopped nearby to watch his work.  A small crowd gathered, and, within a matter of minutes, Jareth had completed a full block of sidewalk.  A woman at the forefront of the audience gasped quietly.  Jareth looked up at her from his kneeled position, his hand still touching the concrete through the use of the stick of chalk.  His mismatched eyes looked at her with concern from beneath sleepy and mesmerized lids.  She looked into his eyes so intensely, that he wondered if she might have met him somehow before.  “Are you well, Madame?” he asked, noting that she held her hand to her chest.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she managed, transfixed.  “It just seems like you drew… a place that I’ve dreamed about for years.  Is it a copy of a painting?  I’ve always thought I must have seen it in a painting as a child, because I don’t know where I ever saw it before.”

Jareth looked down at his work.  He had been in such a state of Zen that he hadn’t taken notice of the content.  It was a verdant field, with dusk creeping in on the horizon.   A peculiarly shaped tree sat at the center of the field, reflecting pink and orange hues from the sky.  A young girl with red hair could be seen far away, dancing through the grasses.  A doe looked on from the outskirts of the field.

He looked back up at her.  The woman seemed strangely similar to the girl in the painting, the red hair identical.  “No, Madame.  I’m afraid this is completely from imagination.”

The woman seemed more disturbed by the prospect.  She handed him ten dollars, said “thank you,” then hurriedly walked away.

He slowly turned to look at Ashley, his gaze lingering on the retreating woman.  The crowd slowly dissipated, but not completely.  Ashley merely shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s beautiful,” Jacob offered.  “And so strange that it was of her dream.”

Toby also seemed transfixed by the drawing.  “You’re really fast,” he commented.

“Draw another,” Jacob begged, prodding Jareth slightly with his hand to continue.

Intrigued by the initial response his drawing had received, Jareth put chalk to ground once again, this time drawing smaller pieces, as quickly as his hand would allow.  Passers-by would stop and gaze, amazed by something that they would not mention.  The ideas seemed to flow non-stop from Jareth’s mind, as he presented one dreamscape after another, and sometimes one nightmare after another.  Jacob put his beret by the drawings, and it filled to the brim with money within a half hour.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but it’s like magic,” Jacob commented.

“Yes it is,” Ashley said in a whisper, giving Jareth a knowing look.

It didn’t take long for Jareth to realize what was happening.  He had spent so long using his paintings and drawings as a medium with which to escape into his dreams, that he had somehow tuned what magic that remained in him to the skill of painting dreams.  Each person that passed was somehow mentally connected to him, unconsciously using him as a channel.  What was more interesting that many of the images that he created through this strange channel seemed directly from the Underground.

“My home is just reality’s dream,” he mused quietly.

“What was that?” Jacob asked, still transfixed on Jareth’s artwork.

“Oh, nothing,” Jareth said, finding it difficult to shake the strangeness of his last thought.  “Here,” he said pensively, “let me just try one more, and we shall be off.”

He took the chalk to a task he had done many a time before, and attempted to draw Sarah’s dream.  Perhaps it would help him figure out where she was.  He closed his mind to all thoughts, and found the images that lie before him oddly scattered and blurred.  Focusing his thoughts further, he separated the picture into parts, and realized soon that three paintings had filled his mind.

He drew them hurriedly, so as not to forget them.  Then he and the others sat and marveled at their content.

The top showed a woman in glowing white, covering her eyes from the onslaught of a light-eating demon with bright red eyes.  The bottom depicted the same woman in stark black standing beside a glowing and caged dove.  And, in the center was the image from his dream; Aboveground and Underground separated, almost reflections of each other, a crow flying on the horizon of the upper world, and a white dove flying high above the horizon of the lower.

“These are good,” a black woman with a shaved head said as she admired the work of a suddenly very distracted Jareth.  “Hey Jacob – see your friend has made you quite a bit of money today.”

Jacob still seemed amazed.  He rose to hug the woman.  “Hi Gail.”  Looking down at the sidewalk, he replied, “Yeah, he certainly puts my work to shame.”

“No, he just looks like an experienced painter.  And obviously still engrossed in his work…” she said teasingly toward Jareth, who was still pondering the drawing.

He caught on to her comment, and looked up with a sheepish smile.  “I’m sorry, it’s just that… the drawing surprised even me.”

Gail seemed taken aback at the face that greeted her, and it took her a second to recover. 

“Oh no, not another frightened woman?”

Gail caught her bearings and said, “Oh, no, it’s not that… Wait, what are you doing to frighten women?” she said to Jacob jokingly.

“Oh, nothing, it’s just that Jareth’s drawings seem to have touched a chord with people passing by.”

“I can certainly see why,” Gail answered.

“You seemed startled a moment ago,” Jareth prodded as he rose from the ground and finally brushed himself off.

Gail chuckled lightly.  “Oh, no, just for a second, you looked just like my… erm… boss.”

Ashley laughed at her.  “Yeah, your boss.”

“What’s funny?” Jareth asked, looking at Ashley’s amused expression.

“Oh, she just refrains from saying her boss’s name, since he’s pretty famous, and she doesn’t like to seem uppity or anything.  You probably know him.”

“Ah, I would guess not.  I don’t keep up with celebrities,” Jareth answered.

“He’s a musician,” Jacob said with a smile.

“Oh, one of those…” Jareth said somewhat jokingly. 

“You look a little preoccupied,” Ashley offered, concerned about the deepening wrinkles in Jareth’s brow.

“Um, yes, I would suppose so,” Jareth answered, playing with his goatee.  “Actually, I hate to cut the evening short, but I really need to see Marlena, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure,” Ashley answered, obviously concerned over his sudden looks of worry.  “Hey,” she said to Jacob and Gail, “gotta go.  It was nice seeing you guys.”

As she went to shake Gail’s hand, Gail said, “If it’s okay, I’d like to go with you.  Jacob’s been telling me I need to check out Marlena’s place for awhile, and I’m tired of going to old Bogey for herbs for my spells.  He’s getting to be a real pain in my neck.”

“Okay,” Ashley said.  “I’m sure she’ll love the business.  Tag along!”  With that said, they waved good-bye to Jacob as he closed up shop, and headed back toward Marlena’s shop.  Jareth was in quite a state of consternation, as was Toby, who knew exactly who the subject of two of Jareth’s last three drawings was.  “I hope Sarah’s okay,” he mumbled under his breath as he tagged along behind the group.