New Crystals, Old Dreams- Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.  I am simply borrowing their likeness and their attitudes to add flavor to my story in a feeble attempt to make an interesting plot.  Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!


The arrival of his mother was even more shocking than the castle’s transformation into vibrant splendor.  He hadn’t seen her in decades and now here she stood before him in her gorgeous ensemble, hugging him as if it had been merely days.  That was the weirdest thing of all, she didn’t hug him unless she was sorry for something or she wanted something from him.  He was going to find out which it was.  Pulling her back from the hug he looked into her eyes; she was doing her best to hide her emotions and it was working.

“Why are you here mother and why did you tell those things to the goblins?  So you could have a nicer place to stay while I was…”  He looked over at Sarah with another look that he was sure would confuse her more.  That’s the way he wanted her to feel because that was the way he’d felt during his entire seclusion in the Darkness.  “…while I was away?”  Sarah dropped her head in shame. 

Good, she should feel bad for what she put him through, but another part of him wanted to reach out and comfort her; telling her everything would be alright.  He was getting very tired of his conflicting emotions.  He needed to figure out what he was going to do with her and he needed to do it soon.  A warm hand on his cheek brought his face around from Sarah to focus on his mother.

“My son, you look more wounded and confused then I have ever seen you before.  I don’t think I have seen more emotions flash over someone’s face in ten seconds than I just saw on yours.  What ails you my dear?”  One more look over at Sarah was all that his mother needed as an answer.  “Ah, so this is the girl who sent my boy to The Darkness?”  He watched as his mother walked over to Sarah and started circling her, inspecting her.  Sarah’s hazel eyes followed every move that his mother made.  She was also taking the older woman in.  “She’s not much now is she Jareth?  I do not see why you feel for her instead of some perfectly willing and beautiful Fae.” 

“Mother…”  But Sarah’s tongue was a lightning fast and cocky as ever and her eyes would have burned holes into his mother if they had the power.

“Who are you to judge me?  You don’t even know me.  All you have done is circle me and you assume that I am a worthless heap of flesh because what…I’m human?”  His mother looked shocked and appalled for a moment, but slowly, a smile crept over her sculpted face.

“Ah, I see now why you like her Jareth.  She is strong and stubborn, just like you.”  Again she circled Sarah, this time with a more approving eye.  “Yes, I guess I didn’t want to see beauty there before, but it is there, if crude.”  Sarah opened her mouth to go off at what she thought an insult, but his mother cut her off.  “Oh I don’t mean that as an insult darling, when Fae talk we are very blunt.”  She looked over at him and chuckled a bit.  “If you have to stay here I suggest you get used to it.”  He was stunned to see a knowing smile creep over Sarah’s face.

“Yes, I know.”  His mother laughed again and then continued her inspection of the girl that he both loved and despised.

“Nice hair, if not a few split ends, but that can be dealt with and cared for.  Beautiful skin, creamy and smooth.  I have to say that there isn’t anything to change about that.”  Sarah smiled at the compliment.  “Big, beautiful eyes, if not a bit of a dirty color.”  The smile on Sarah’s face melted as one crept on Jareth’s.  He was loving this.  “Overall body tone and physic is good.  I do say, Jareth, for a mortal, she is exquisite.”  He gave his mother a sneering grin and then went to Sarah.

“Yes, I know, but sometimes the most exquisite and beautiful things can hurt and damage the worst.”  Sarah stood with her eyes downcast again, but Jareth lifted her chin so their eyes met again.  “What did I tell you about lowering your eyes to me?”  When his finger left her chin she was still looking up at him.  “Better.”  He heard a cough behind him, his mother wanted his attention.  He turned around and faced her, raising a brow inquisitively.

“I confess that I do have an alternate agenda being here.”  Jareth sat down in one of his mothers’ plush red lounge chairs.  Draping a leg over one of the arms of the chair, he looked back at his mother, clearly not surprised by this news.

“Shocking.”  He looked over at Sarah who seemed unsure of what to do with herself.  “Sarah…sit somewhere.”  He said it more as an offer than a demand.  She did and she sat down on the couch.  Feeling better now that Sarah was settled and he wasn’t thinking about her anymore, he turned back to his mother.  “So what is this alternate agenda?”  She sat down next to Sarah on the couch. 

Seeing his mother sitting next to Sarah showed him just how out of place his beautiful human was here in the Underground.  His mother was a classic Fae beauty and Sarah, though gorgeous on human standards, really couldn’t match that magical beauty.  He could see Sarah fidgeting next to the Fae woman.

“What’s the matter Sarah?”  She looked at him like she was unwilling to tell her problem.  She actually looked nervous…this wasn’t right for her and he wouldn’t have her act this way.  “Snap out of that attitude Sarah.  You are the champion of the labyrinth.  I will not allow you to be nervous around me or any other.”  Now she looked ready to beat him, which was better.  His mother was glancing back and forth between the two bemusedly.  “What is it now mother?”

“You care so much for her and she for you.  Just neither of you knows it yet.  Once you can both accept that, you will get along much better.”  Sarah no longer looked very nervous around the woman, but extremely curious.

“What should I call you ma’am?  Or am I just to call you Jareth’s mother forever?”  His mother laughed and placed a slender, graceful hand on Sarah’s smooth face.

“You don’t have forever my dear…not yet anyways.  As far as to what you may call me, for now you may call me Maesia.”  Sarah looked back to Jareth and then sat back, seemingly awaiting his mother’s explanation of what was going on in the Underground.

“Ok then Maesia, please tell us what the hell happened.  I’m completely shocked at the changes.”

“I know, it has been a magnificent transformation.”  Jareth was tired of all the stalling.

“Will you just out with it?”  His Fae mother shifted uncomfortably on the couch, looking much like Sarah a few moments ago.

“I would actually like to request that Sarah leave.  What I have to say is not for her ears and she might want to get herself dressed accordingly anyways.”  His mother snapped her fingers and two stunning Fae women came in.  “Erina and Jeaule will see to all of your needs Sarah.”  Turning from Sarah, his mother addressed the dark haired woman at the door who had been eyeing him like a piece of meat…he hated that.  “I want her washed and her hair done.  She is to look as perfect as possible for her…presentation.”  Jareth didn’t like the way his mother had paused.

The two ladies jumped into action over Sarah.  Erina was taller than his mother, but still had a graceful elegance that seemed to ooze from her very pores.  She was ebony haired and blue eyed, her milk white skin standing out in stark contrast to her raven hair.  He did like the soft, yet fake, blush that came to her cheeks when she looked at him. 

Jeaule was Erina’s complete opposite with almost silver hair and amber brown eyes.  The only thing that they matched in was their impressive height and milky skin.  The two of them rushed about his flustered human and bustled her out of the room.  Hopefully they would make her even more unbelievably striking than she already was with their Fae magic.  He turned back to his mother who had stood and was now pacing in front of the small round table to his left.

“Now we are alone.  Tell me all that has happened in my absence and all that is to take place.”  She seemed a bit shocked at his last statement, but shrugged it off for he had always seemed to know when something was going to happen.

“Ok.  Where to begin?”

“Try the beginning.”

“Oh Jareth, must you always be so insolent?”

“Yes, now continue.”  His mother sighed, but did as he asked.

“When Sarah beat your labyrinth and sent you to the Darkness the great council convened.”  His brows rose.

“So she is to be punished?”  He thought about it for a moment and smirked, this was perfect.  She would be punished and it wouldn’t be his doing, which killed two birds with one stone for him since he knew he would never be able to hurt her.

“Yes, but I don’t know how.  There is to be another meeting of the council today, but this time it won’t be a meeting…”

“It will be a trial.”  Jareth finished for her.  He got up and walked over to the window.  It overlooked the whole of his kingdom and he frowned for it wasn’t the kingdom he had left.  “I accept the fact that Sarah must stand before the trial for there is nothing I could do about it even if I was opposed.  I do say, I was thinking on how to punish her myself.  This is a merry coincidence, but my worry at the moment is what has happened to my kingdom.  Why the change?”  Again, his mother sat on the luxurious crimson sofa and looked up at him.

“When you disappeared Danu called me to her.”  His spun from the window, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“Danu called for you?  But she hasn’t called for the presence of a Fae in hundreds of years.”

“I know that as well as you do, but it happened and if you want to know what was said you will remain quiet.”  He nodded only because he was too interested to hear why the Mother Goddess had called his mother to her presence.  “As you know the Mother Goddess doesn’t feel there is much use for the Fae and doesn’t really think them needed except to add beauty to the underworld.

“She told me that my line, as one of the last honorable noble Fae lines, would be the only one that could stop Medb.”  She must have known that he couldn’t keep quiet at that remark because she sat demurely awaiting him to say something.

“What is Medb doing THIS time that we have to stop and how the hell does Danu expect you to…”  The look on his mother’s face was all he needed to know that it wasn’t going to be her.  “It’s going to be me isn’t it?”  She nodded gravely.

“Not just you though, my love.”

“Who else?”

“Your fiery human.”  He dropped into his chair.

“Sarah?  But she is just a human…how could she stand against Medb?”  She sighed and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“You will be facing Medb, but she will be saving you AND facing Medb.  She has a far greater task on her shoulders and it’s up to you to make sure that she gets out of it alive.”

“Why?”

“Because…oh bother, I can’t tell you, if I did the gods would surely banish me to the Darkness.”  His mind was swirling with all the information she had thrust at him so rashly, but that was his mother’s way, get it all out and be done with it.  She had no use for dilly dally.  How was he going to face Medb and why?  What would happen to Sarah when she faced her and how and why was she supposed to save him?  Lost in his silent thoughts he didn’t hear the first time his mother coughed to get his attention, but he did feel the gentle slap to his face.

“What was that for?”

“I have more to tell you.”

“Oh, well then get on with it; I have a great many things to think about.”

“First off, I don’t know when this meeting with Medb is to take place and I don’t know the reason for it or the outcome.”  He nodded at her explanation and waited for her to continue.  “Now I am sure you want to know the reason for your castles restoration?”

“That would be nice.”  He said sardonically as he kicked a leg up and over the arm of the chair again.  She pursed her lips at his arrogance, but continued undaunted.

“I told the goblins that it would bring you back.  That once the castle was to Sarah’s liking that she would bring you back to the castle and everything would be a happy fairy tale ending.  Really I just knew that she would be coming back and I wanted it to look nice for her.  The fairy tale ending is up to you.”

“So what am I supposed to do mother?”  She walked over and placed a hand on his forearm.

“Accept Sarah’s punishment and help her embrace it.  You know what it will probably be.”

“It will probably be the training course.”  The soft nod of his mother’s head told him that he was right.  He was happy that she was going to be punished, but if this was indeed her punishment then he wouldn’t have to be the one doing the punishing.  That would be the perfect thing for him because he knew that deep in his heart he wouldn’t have the courage or the heart to hurt her.  He only wanted to see her wallowing in anguish for a while.  “I guess I just have to wait and see.”


Whirling her around and about, Jeaule and Erina started preparing her for whatever it was that she was supposed to look fabulous for.  Her clothes were stripped from her body and she was dunked in a tub of hot water before she could formulate a thought on being naked.  The warm water felt good on her icy flesh.  It had been so cold outside the castle and she had picked up a slight chill from it, but now her body was immersed in near scorching water and she actually felt a lot better.

She finally looked up at the women who were now cleansing her whole body.  Yesterday she would have thought such a thing absurd or even unsettling, but strangely she felt relaxed and calmed.  The gentle scrubbing motions they made on her skin made her feel heavenly and she leaned back in the fragrant bubbles to unwind. 

“What is this scent?” Sarah asked the woman she had learned to be Jeaule.  That silvery cascade of hair shifted and she saw the sweet, creamy face of the girl beneath it.  Her face was far different from the harsh lines and eyes of her other girl.

“It is vanilla and lavender.”  Her voice was like a crystal chime to Sarah’s ears.  She had that same lilting Irish accent that Erina and Maesia had.

“Hmmm…never would have thought to mix those two.  I always had strawberries and cream.”

“Would you prefer that scent for your baths from now on?”  Sarah was startled.

“Do you mean this is to be common place?  You are going to bathe me all the time?”  Golden eyes looked slightly startled by her outburst.

“Only if you wish it madam.”  Sarah was aghast, what was she supposed to say to these women?  Would it be rude to them to say that she would rather bathe herself?  Too bad if it was.

“Well, I guess on special occasions you could, but other than that I would prefer to bathe myself.”  They looked back and forth at each other as if trying to contemplate what she was saying.  Erina spoke up again; it seemed that she was the voice of the two, unless Jeaule was addressed personally.

“We are your lady’s in waiting.  Whenever you need something you call for us.”  There was a bitter undertone in Erina’s voice that made Sarah uncomfortable.

“Did you say lady’s in waiting?”  The two nodded their confirmation.  “Isn’t that something that is a reserved right for a queen?”  Again they looked back and forth to each other for an answer.

“We are only doing what we were told madam.”

“Who told you to?”

“Maesia.”  Why was Jareth’s mother being so good to her?  She had banished her son to oblivion for years!  “If you don’t mind madam we need to get you out of the tub and get you ready for the trial.”  Sarah’s back jerked straight.

“Trial?”

“Your trial, for banishing King Jareth to the Darkness.”  Her heart felt like it was going to beat itself out of her chest and her head felt ready to explode.

“What is the purpose of the trial?”

“To determine your punishment.”  Erina was so non-chalant about it, almost as if she looked forward to it.  It really was unnerving.

“What could happen to me?”

“Most likely you will be sentenced to training.”  That word sounded scary.

“Training?”  They dried her off and had her in the giant closet.  There were hundreds, no thousands of dresses here and from the way they were eyeing her and the dresses one after the other, it seemed as if they were all hers.  The two finally picked out a blood red dress.

“Yes, training.  It’s not that bad…easy enough to get through if you simply do as you’re told.  Of course, if you’re picked for training, we won’t be attending you anymore.”  What the hell was she going on about?  “Please don’t ask anymore questions as we are not at liberty to talk to you about it anymore.  Just let us prepare you.”  She nodded and let them go to work.

The dress they had picked had a tight bodice that lifted her modest bosom to where she felt like it was going to fall out of the dress top, but it wouldn’t.  The princess cut bodice went to the normal point at the bottom center, but the skirt wasn’t poofy like her ball gown.  It had just the right amount of flare to it.  It seemed to naturally glide off her hips and at an angle down to the floor.  The bodice and hem of the dress had more gorgeous Celtic designs in it and as she sat at the vanity while her hair was being done, she admired the handy work.

Once her hair was done she saw that they had swept it up in a silver clip on one side and the other was pinned back slightly.  Her hair was gliding down her back in a way she had never been able to make it do before and she was in awe.  She didn’t even look like herself and she didn’t even have makeup on. 

As she looked around she took time to see what her room looked like since she was going to be living here now.  Besides the girls were bringing out the makeup case and she was going to be here a while.  Shockingly, they started on her hands and feet…it seemed she was getting a full spa treatment today and her manicure and pedicure had started.

Her room wasn’t the jolt of red that Maesia’s room was.  Sarah’s room was unbelievably earth toned and gorgeous.  She too had a four poster bed, but this one was unlike anything she had ever seen before in her life.  Each post looked like a tree trunk and might possibly have been made straight from tree trunks.  They curved and bowed naturally up into the dark green material draping over the tops and down the corners. 

‘So it’s supposed to look like a tree…beautiful.’  The headboard was immaculate as well.  It was solid wood and had a scene carved into it.  The detail was magnificent.  It showed a man fallen at the feet of a striking woman; he looked broken.  The woman seemed to be laughing at him, but she had a crown in her hand and from the way the picture was carved it looked like she was bending to place it on his head.  All around the people of the court seemed to be laughing and pointing and the poor man, but one wasn’t.  The one not laughing seemed to actually be running towards the man…trying to save him? 

She shook her head, she didn’t know what the carving meant, but it was beautiful.  She felt the girls moving away from her feet and over to the vanity desk again.  When she looked over she saw that they now had the make up out and she was subjugated to their whim. 

It seemed an eternity before they backed off and allowed her to look at herself in the mirror, but finally they did.  When she looked at herself she did a double take for the woman looking out at her was surely not her.  This woman looked elegant and graceful…this woman looked like a queen.

Her eyes seemed bigger from the earth tone browns with a touch of green at the ends.  It really made her hazel eyes seem beautiful and not dirty as Maesia had so callously called them.  Her lips were plump and perfect with the gloss they had put on it.  When she looked close she could also tell that the gloss had a slight pinkish tint to it.  The blush was perfect, not overdone like she always did.  That stuff was just so friggin’ hard to do.

“You two are always doing my makeup!”  They curtsied before her and she could see the proud smiles on their faces.

“Thank you, madam.” They said in unison.  She stood up and walked over to them, placing on hand on either beautiful, curving shoulders.

“First thing, if we are going to be around each other a lot then I want you two to never call me madam again.  My name is Sarah and I wish you to call me by my name.”  They looked confused and it seemed that neither knew what to say to such a request. 

“As you wish mad…Sarah.”  They both smiled as they lowered their guards finally.

“See, that was better wasn’t it?  We will be friends not mistress and servants.  I couldn’t do that.”  In a rare moment since she had met them, Jeaule took her hand and spoke, her voice sounded sad.

“Oh m…Sarah, sorry that will take getting used to.  What I was going to say was, I hope that your punishment isn’t horrible because you are such a nice person, but I suppose it will because you banished someone to the Darkness.  No one had done that in hundreds of years.”  Again, Sarah felt that sickness traveling up her spine and through her stomach to her head.  She felt a nice trip to the porcelain waste bin wouldn’t be far off unless she could calm her nerves.

“So when is this trial?” 

“Now.”


(A/N: I know that I left you hanging!  Sorry, but I thought it a good place to stop.  Hope you like it all so far.)