Sir Didymus sauntered up the steps of the palace—at his usual height of two feet—with Ambrosius ambling at his side. They were both panting at the exertion of going up the long flight of stairs. They finally reached the carved doors of the library and Didymus pushed the right door ajar and slipped through the slim opening to approach the desk that sat in the center of the huge room of books.

Hoggle was sitting at his chair, bent over a piece of parchment, writing with a ball-point pen. "Gosh, these Aboveground pens are great. Best thing about the changeover."

"Sir Hoggle, how goes the library effort?" Didymus asked as he hopped onto a chair next to the dwarf.

"Oh, good! My pa would be proud. We got two new libraries opened up, one in the Feline kingdom and one near the forest of the Fieries."

"I am sure your father would indeed be most impressed," the fox agreed.

"What kin I do fer you?" Hoggle asked as he rolled up the parchment and closed it with a wax seal.

"Well, I was hoping you might recommend a book for me," the fox said, his legs swaying over the edge of the big, plush chair. "Seeing that you are head librarian for the kingdom." He smiled at the last statement.

Hoggle blushed. "Well, I ain't too well read, but I think I gots somethin' ya might like." He slipped off the edge of his chair and waddled over to a ladder and climbed up to the top bookshelf. As he looked through the volumes, he asked, "So what was it like being a giant like Ludo? I heard from Rattlebeak that you were somethin' ta behold."

"It was rather difficult to get around," Didymus answered after some thought. "But I must confess, it was also rather thrilling. Nonetheless, I prefer being small and nimble."

"Hmph, I'd have wanted to stay a giant if t'wer me. Ain't ever liked bein' small. Everyone's so damned patronizing all th'time."

"I think you are a giant on the inside, Sir Hoggle. And one of the bravest men I know."

Hoggle blushed again and smiled. "Well, when you put it like that... Aha!" He finally found the book he was looking for and climbed back down the ladder. "Training Strategies for Knights. I remember you were talkin' 'bout needin' some ideas last week."

Sir Didymus jumped from the seat and took the book. "Yes! This is exactly what I was needing. Thank you! I have been doing a round of training exercises with my knights in the Mist of Dreams, but I have been running out of ideas."

"Yeah, I heard about your exercises, gettin'm to face their fears. Personally, I had enough of the Mist of Dreams to last me a lifetime." He picked up the scroll he had laid on his desk. "Gotta get this letter out to the beast kingdom, we've got enough in our coffers to build one more library, and I think Ludo's people should get the next one."

"Ah, my brother Ludo. Have you had news from him since he has returned home?"

"He's doin' jest fine, he should be coming back fer a visit in a fortnight," Hoggle answered.

"Very good, I have missed him."

"So, been pretty quiet at the round table, huh?" Hoggle said as he followed the fox to the door.

"Yes, it is taking some getting used to. I must confess that I miss Queen Sarah. It has been awfully quiet around here with she and Jareth gone."

"Well, she'll be back," Hoggle answered as he walked with the fox down the stairs. Ambrosius followed quietly behind. "She just needs a little break, some time to think on things."

"I wonder what she and Jareth are doing right now?" the fox mused.

Hoggle got a sour look on his face. "That's the last thing I wanna think about." He paused and shuddered. "I'm sure it's disgutin'."

##

Isabelle and Vindar rode in the back seat of a rental car, while Ashley drove them down the streets of a neighborhood in Wisconsin. John—the former guinea pig, now human—was pointing out the turns. In Isabelle's lap sat the little girl Marie, who was holding her teddy bear close and looking longingly out the window at her old neighborhood.

John scratched his beard. "Damn it feels good to be human again. It was hell—" he looked in the rear-view mirror at the little girl, who was oblivious to his cursing, "I mean, it was heck tryin' to comb my hair when I was a giant guinea pig."

Ashley laughed. "So do the others remember?"

"Not a one'a'them! I'm not even sure why I remember. Will thought I was crazy when I brought it up." He pointed to the next street, indicating for Ashley to go right while he continued to talk. "But hey, I ain't complainin'. Will and I're movin' to Denver. Apparently in all the changes, we acquired a successful business on eBay sellin' utility kilts."

"Awesome! We had somethin' happen like that, too... The magic shop is doin' great, now that everyone believes in magic, we get tons of business. I miss Marlena, but hey, Brenda, Ling and I are having a blast with talking to all of the customers, and the money doesn't hurt! I found a newspaper story on us just last week... Apparently we are the biggest magic shop in New York, now."

Isabelle wasn't really listening to them. She was too focused on the nervous expression on Marie's face. She just hoped that their journey would be successful and she wouldn't have given the girl false hope in finding her parents.

They finally pulled into a driveway of a nondescript blue bungalow with gardenias growing by the front steps. They didn't even get to a complete stop before the little girl suddenly threw the door open and ran up the yard and toward the door, where her mother was standing.

"Marie!" the woman shouted, then bent low to receive the girl in her arms. "Oh, Marie, you're okay."

"Mommy, I missed you," the little girl said, crying into her mother's shoulder as her father ran to the door and bent low to join in the embrace.

Isabelle smiled as she stepped out of the car, a tear rolling down her cheek as she Vindar quietly squeezed her hand from his hiding place inside the vehicle.

##

Eberon led Sage down the hallways of the palace, toward the throne room. It had been so many years since Sage had been in the elfin castle, he barely recognized it anymore. Marlena walked with him, with an even greater sense of awkwardness than he. The last time she had been in the castle had been just before Eberon had made the command to exile her to Aboveground.

They finally arrived at the throne room. Eberon held his arm out toward three chairs that sat on the pedestal. "I had these crafted this last week."

"I don't understand," Sage said. Eberon had called them to visit the kingdom soon after their wedding, and he hadn't been sure what the elf had in mind.

"I would like you to become my co-regent," the elf answered, coughing after as if it had been difficult for him to get out the words. "This would of course mean that Marlena would become queen."

"Two kings and a queen?" Sage said incredulously.

"I do believe there is some precedent for such an arrangement, if a certain teacher informed me correctly."

He was indeed correct. Some hundreds of years ago another elf king had taken on a co-regent. It was a matter of history that Sage had taught Eberon as a boy.

Sage approached one of the new thrones, which was carved in a fine ebony, adorned with the special symbol of the ivy leaf that indicated it was the seat of the co-regent.

"I needed someone with a vision for what our kingdom could be at my side," Eberon said with tone of humility that was unusual for him. "I would like you to help me renew the place of the elves within the rest of Underground, to rebuild our alliances. I could think of none better."

Sage stepped up onto the pedestal and sat in the chair. He had seen this room from this angle many a time before, but always standing at the side of the king. Marlena looked up at him and smiled warmly.

"Well," Eberon said, gently pushing her arm. "Get up there. The other one is for you."

She laughed awkwardly and did as bid.

Sage looked at her and smiled broadly. "My dear, you make a lovely queen."

"Just get someone to peel grapes for me, and I will be happy," she joked.

Eberon just rolled his eyes and clapped for a servant. A lithe elf in green silk robes approached from the outer hallway. "Yes, Lord?"

"Meet me in my study. I'd like to hear how the preparations for tomorrow's coronation are going. We have lost time to make up for."

Sage knew by the tone of the elf's voice that he did not just mean the lost weeks of the battle on the joined worlds. Eberon looked over his shoulder as he left the room and caught Sage's eye. They nodded at one another silently, a visual handshake and agreement on a truce.

##

Justin waited impatiently in the alleyway, nervously jostling a bunch of flowers behind his back as he lingered. He was dressed in a button-down blue shirt and a brown corduroy jacket with a missing button and a small tear on the hem. He rubbed his chin, which he had just barely remembered to shave before leaving his apartment in a rush. He had gotten some odd looks as he rode his two-seater bike alone down the streets of Los Angeles at seven at night.

He had just started to pace when Leah suddenly emerged from a secret entrance in the wall. He rushed toward her then remembered the flowers, pulling them from behind his back in a flash of motion not unlike a magician pulling them out of his sleeve.

She smiled and took them, pausing only a moment to appreciate them before she gave him a kiss. "They're lovely."

"It's good to see you." He took her in a moment. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered, somehow even more her than he remembered. She wore a backless red dress with a hemline that came just above her knees, and a pair of short, shiny red heels to match. "You look marvelous. Think you can ride a bike in that?" He stood aside to reveal the bicycle made for two, with a bottle of wine and bag of bread and cheese sitting in the basket.

She laughed and climbed onto the bike behind him. "Where to?"

"First, the park. There's a nice little spot where you can see the moon. Then? Whatever you fancy."

"Sounds wonderful."

The cool, night air rushed through their hair as they rode down the neighborhood side streets, under the full moon.

##

"Ingeborg, we really must find someone to groom you," Jareth shouted over the rush of air as he pulled a hair from his mouth for the thirtieth time.

"If you say 'groom' again as if I am your pet, I will start calling you stupid pet names yourself," Ingeborg shot out.

"Very well then, we must find you a hairstylist," he answered.

"I should hope no hairstylist you are seeing. I've seen the styles you've sported over the centuries. If anyone needs someone to tend to their hair..."

"Fine! Enough! I can't match your verbal abuse on my best day," Jareth answered, rolling his eyes.

Sarah held the support on her seat in the leather saddle that kept them both bound to Ingeborg as the fellwit flew over the land. "Where are we going now, Jareth?" she asked, grinning from ear to ear as she listened to Ingeborg and Jareth have it out yet again. She couldn't help but enjoy their verbal abuse of one another.

"I have a little favor to repay," he telepathically communicated to her, as his voice was raspy from having to shout over the wind.

They had just completed a journey to Jeremiah's/Crouch's old quarters in the city where Jareth had once lived. It had been a mere village last he had seen it, but since it had grown over the years it was apparent that Crouch had made a decent life there, living in a huge manor for some parts of the year. The fellwit told them of how Crouch had passed himself off as his own ancestor, thereby explaining away the fact that he never aged.

Jareth had looked through the demon's old things for something very specific, but had not told Sarah what it was he was searching out. But he had emerged from the search with a greater weight in his satchel, which hung from a metal loop on Ingeborg's harness.

After the last several weeks, she was more than happy to let Jareth show her the sights, to discover all the possible dreams to be dreamt. In fact, it was nice to let someone else run the show for awhile.

They flew high over a dense forest, a great chain of mountains rising in the distance from green growth to flint gray peaks. It was some miles before an outcropping of rock became apparent in the mountain's face, upon which a small city could be seen. As they got closer, Sarah could see that the city wasn't actually as small as it had seemed from a distance—large openings loomed in the stone, intricate carvings lining the edges, and the flicker of an intricate system of torches lighting a series of gemstone decorations that trimmed the various entryways. They all had unique stylings, revealing the various tastes of the inhabitants.

Ingeborg landed on one of many flat, open areas. This one was particularly noteworthy as its surface was decorated with a unique brick pattern and surrounded by a number of arches. As she brought her wings close to her side, several enormous beings emerged from the surrounding cave structures.

They were the nine dragons that Sarah's darker half had encountered Aboveground.

As she and Jareth dismounted Ingeborg, Sarah tried to contain the nerves that emerged unbidden by the sudden appearance of the huge, intimidating creatures. Their scaly flesh rippled and shimmered in the torchlight as they approached, their multi-colored eyes watching her with interest.

The red dragon that she had insulted the most in her previous incarnation came close to them and stared them down from where he stood several feet overhead. Smoke curled from his nose as he breathed. "Queen Sarah and the Goblin King."

She wasn't sure if he meant his words in anger or respect. In answer to her thoughts, the dragon lowered his head slightly. "These are much better circumstances under which to meet," the dragon finally said with a slight smirk curling across his reptilian mouth. "For what do we owe the honor of this visitation?"

Jareth removed his satchel from Ingeborg's harness and held it before him. "If I recall correctly," Jareth said, "I owe the dragons a favor for their aid in our troubles. I do not make light of my debts."

"What have you for us, Jareth?" the dragon asked, his eyes glinting in amusement.

Jareth opened the leather satchel and pulled a large egg out. "I believe that my brother may have stolen something from you some centuries ago. I found this preserved among his things."

The dragon's head coiled back in surprise, and a small flame shot from his nostrils as his eyes widened. "Great ancestors, is that a dragon egg?"

"Yes," Jareth answered, laying it down gently before the dragon, who sat on his haunches and reached down with his foreclaw to carefully pick it up and observe the glinting, blue shell. "We have not had a child among us for many a century, and many of us are nearing the end of our days." He sniffed the egg. "It is a female. We had lost all of our females," he said with great reverence. "And she still lives."

The other dragons crowded around him in wonder, gently stroking the egg with their soft, smoking noses.

"This is a great gift, Goblin King," the red dragon finally said with a hint of emotion in his tone. "You have far surpassed what you owed us."

Jareth bowed slightly. "It was an honor to serve. You have helped to return our futures to us, I felt it fitting for us to repay in kind."

"Come inside," the dragon motioned toward his cave. "Have a cup of tea. Stay as long as you like." He nodded to the fellwit. "You as well."

Ingeborg looked to Jareth, who nodded his approval. She ambled ahead of them. "I think that sounds just lovely."

As Jareth and Sarah followed behind, Sarah leaned into Jareth and said, "I've never had tea in a dragon's home before."

He squeezed her hand and whispered, "There are many things we will see together. This is just the beginning."

"I have no doubt," she answered, smiling. "Let's just take it one at a time, shall we?"

<THE END>