Warning: This story contains the mention of violence against children. Do not read if this offends you!!!!
Lift This Mortal Veil of Fear;
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Excerpt from the Chronicles of Brunhaven, Volume One Hundred and Ninety-Two; As recorded by Sir Bedwyr of Gathin.
The cathedrals of Rowan, located some five thousand miles north of the kingdom of Alsure, have been a mystery to those in the Underground for thousands of years. To fully understand the mystery of these great structures one should first know the kingdom in which they are located.
The kingdom of Rowan, once named Brynmor, is positioned in the northern mountains. Or more correctly on top. Little is known of the origins of the realm, most evidence points to the fact that Rowan may have once been the High Kingdom. This of course leading into other theories about the downfall of the High King and that particular hierarchy system in the Underground. But these theories can be discussed at length at a later time.
Whether or not Rowan was once the stronghold of the archaic Kings does not factor into the purpose of the kingdom today, only adds to the mystery.
The land upon which Rowan is located is vast and stretches over more than half the mountains as well as several mountainous valleys. The flora and fauna which inhabit these regions are so great that it has been documented that it would take two fae lifetimes to chronicle them all.
But it should be noted that it is not these things which make Rowan the great mystery that it is, nor make it so important. Rowan is the location of what has been calculated as some one hundred thousand cathedrals. Though the real amount is in debate, as the Keepers of Rowan are very secretive about these structures.
What information that has been gathered about them though is extraordinary. The cathedrals, which resemble grand palaces, are guarded by The Keepers of Rowan. A race of docile fae who are believed to be the remnants of the High Kingdom nobility.
It has been reported that all mortals chosen for a fae originate here, or are at least selected by the keepers.
This of course has been reputed as pure nonsense as those today in the Underground have thrown off the old beliefs and adopted a new concept;
We are in charge of our own fate.
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Sarah walked slowly through the halls of the hospital. The white walls whispered tales of innocent deaths at each turn. The lights fell upon the young woman and to her seemed to burn her silky skin with white hot heat.
She could hear others in the hall around her but she paid no heed to them as she made her way to one particular room. The smell of the hall seemed overcast with the stench of rotting flesh and she swore that with each passerby she could hear the screams of those who had made their last moments there.
Finally she made it past the lines of doors that led to this one small room at the end of the children's wing. With great caution she opened the door which seemed unusually heavy. She tried not to look at the child on the bed, she tried not to picture his once beaming face and bright eyes. How could any of that be what she now saw lying in front of her? How could this remnant of a child be her brother? This pitiful creature that barely resembled a human being.
Fate it seemed had been cruel on the Williams family. For years all had been wonderful, Robert had the perfect job. Karen was the ideal wife, Toby the best son and brother. Even Sarah had changed, and all because of that one night ten years ago.
Sarah had thought nothing in life could go wrong, everything was finally as it should be. How wrong she had been. No one had expected it when schools had become targets for violence. Even less that anyone would ever target a small child such as Toby.
Sarah thought that the offenders must have been counting on this. It was the perfect set up for a crime. The young woman cringed as she thought about that day only a week ago.
It had been a Friday and all the children were awaiting the sound of the bell signaling the end of class. Well maybe a little early as it was just after noon and most of the students were in the playground. Toby had been walking around the edge with his little group of friends. Toby was never in want for companionship, his vivid imagination had attracted many other children. Mostly young girls who had what Karen called the "Disney Complex." In other words daydreamers.
Toby would weave tales for them, and it had not gotten past Sarah that a great deal of them dealt with the Underground and even Jareth himself.
He had been at the time reciting one of his friends' favorite stories when a group of men had approached the group of children. Toby of course had the right idea to try and get away when they offered to take them to the toy store to buy them all new toys. He would have gotten away had it not been for the fact that one of the men had slipped behind the children.
Sarah began to wipe tears from her eyes as she remembered being the one to answer the phone that day. Toby and his small group of friends were in the city hospital being treated for burns. Sarah as the rest of the parents hadn't been told what had happened till they reached the hospital. There all but two families had been informed of the death of their child.
Karen had almost fainted and had to be held tightly by Robert as the officer gave the account of the attack. Sarah had to leave and spent much of the day in the bathrooms as she was unable to keep even a sip of water down. How could anyone do such a thing to a child?
Sarah now stood over what was left of her little brother. She knew just in the next room was Bailey, Toby's best friend and "girlfriend." She was lucky, her burns had been the least off all five children. The investigators surmised that Toby had tried to protect the little girl and this was why he was as bad as he was.
A moan came from the little child on the bed and Sarah kneeled down and rested her head beside his bandaged hand. The doctor had said that he maybe had a week left. There was little else they could do for him. Karen and Robert had gone home for the night, the entire family had flown in from all over and Karen being who she was couldn't just leave them to their own devises.
Sarah had volunteered to stay, they had been grateful when the doctors had broke the rules to allow her to stay as long as she wanted. The entire hospital had fallen in love with the two children, both had rooms filled with flowers and gifts from people who they had never met and most likely would never meet.
Toby groaned again as he tried to move his hands. He knew his sister was there, he could hear her and smell her. She always smelled like the Labyrinth, smelled like him. Or at least that is what Toby believed she smelled like. He had been so small when he had been there, but somehow he could remember it all. He often wondered did Sarah?
"Shh Toby, just lie still. If you move too much it will hurt. Don't worry, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." This seemed to calm the little boy and Sarah could just make out the single tear that had made its way past the white bandages.
"S-Sarah…t-t-tell me a-abu-about him." His words had been soft and strangled as they passed through charcoaled lips. Sarah bit back her own tears. Toby needed her to be strong not a crying mess. She stood up and grabbed a chair from across the room so she could sit by him without causing any pain. Resting her hand beside his so he could feel the heat of her body she began.
"The Goblin King is a handsome man, tall with piercing eyes that can look deep into your soul. He is a strong and cruel man. But he can be kind, he has a heart." Toby turned his head just enough so he could see his sister. She had tears running down her cheeks and her eyes were as red as cherries from her days of crying.
"H-how d-d-do you kn-know?" Sarah forced a smile and held her hand just over the boy's cheek as though she were caressing him.
"Because he loves you."
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The sound of breathing filled the small room where Sarah sat quietly. Toby had fallen asleep not long after she told her tale. She had been thinking a lot about the Goblin King lately, ever since Toby was attacked she had been unable to get him out of her head.
Something in the back of her mind kept nagging at her over and over again like someone smacking her in the face. Why did she have this urge to call to him? Why was it so strong, mostly now?
She had been able to keep the dreams at bay for so long, keep from thinking about him. And most of all keep the fantasies away. But now as she sat there beside her brother all she could think about was Jareth and the magic she knew he held. Was there some way he could help Toby, was he in fact strong enough to save him?
Taking a deep breath and a hard swallow she walked to the window and looked out at the night sky. She rested her eyes on the beautiful form of the moon and whispered softly.
"I need you… Oh Lord Jareth I need you."
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Jareth sat sprawled across his throne as he did most everyday. His head rolled back to hit softly against the bone back that curved around him. He groaned, the sound coming out with a slight vibration from his throat being stretched too far.
He was exhausted, he hadn't been exhausted in ten years. Not since Sarah had run the Labyrinth. He lifted his head and allowed a slow smile to cross his lips. He could still remember everything about that girl, her smell, the way she walked. Even the bittersweet sound of her voice as she stood up to him time and time again.
He figured she had to be somewhere around twenty-five mortal years now. Most likely already married with children of her own. His smile fell, to think that she could be at that moment curled up in anther man's arms or soothing away the nightmares of another man's child was heartbreaking.
He had loved her, still loved her. But he had to let her go. How could he have kept her there against her will, she would have hated him for eternity. For a couple of years he had watched her, watched but never interfered. But soon it grew to me to much to watch and not touch, not hold and love. And so he turned his eyes from her, tried to forget her. But it was in vain.
He often would dream about his Sarah, and even about the little boy Toby who he had hoped to groom as his heir. And as of late he had been dreaming about the two quite a lot. Though unlike the dreams before, the dreams of the past week had been more nightmares than anything.
The images he had seen of Toby being attacked and Sarah crying had proved too much for him. He had grown fearful of sleep, he couldn't take the images or the smells and sounds that seemed so real. It was strange how he felt, like he had been split in two. Like he was living two lives, one Underground and the other in this dream world where Toby was dying.
Leaning his head back again Jareth noted the stillness in the castle. He hadn't actually noticed before, but now that he thought about it there had been no noise coming from the goblins for an entire week. Starting when he had his first nightmare about Toby.
Sitting up straight Jareth conjured a crystal. If there was one thing that he had learned in his life was that there were no real coincidences. Unlike most of his kind today he still believed in fate.
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"She has called him?" A soft voice rose over the growing whispers that filled the vast hall of the cathedral. The whispers began to grow louder as each in the room began to voice their worries. Only Iseult remained silent. Watching as those around her debated on the correct course of action.
"Silence all of you!" Unable to stand the arguing any longer Iseult spoke. Standing from the elegant throne at the end of the hall she moved to where the group of disputing fae gathered. She looked down into the large crystal and allowed a small smile.
"Do not interfere with this path. I believe that which has been set in order is what must be." Drystan stepped forward, his eyes burning into Iseult's.
"He is not chosen! We have to keep Jareth from reaching the boy, if we don't all could be lost!" The fae woman only shook her head and smiled a long and slow smile. All gathered had seen this smile before, Iseult knew something they did not.
"I believe if we interfere what has been set in motion will die away much as the boy is at the moment. Do not think to understand fate my Love. This choosing has from the beginning been strange, the girl's rose may reveal more than what was once thought." Drystan stepped back and bowed slightly. As the oldest and wisest of the Keepers Iseult was not to be questioned on such matters, not even by her own husband.
"I am sorry My Lady, I spoke too rashly. But am I to believe that this boy is chosen? A rose never bloomed for the child in the garden." Iseult laughed and ran her hand over the shimmering crystal.
"No I am not sure if he is chosen, but I am sure of this; the fate of those three are intertwined tightly. To cut the string of the boy now would unravel the bond between Jareth and the girl. I dread to think on what would happen should this occur." The room fell silent, never had a fae bond been broken with their chosen. Such a bond was protected. No one truly knew what would transpire should it ever happen. Mostly when the bond was that of a King and his mortal Queen.
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Author's Note: Ok no I have not finished the othet stories, yes I shouldn't be starting a new one, and No I don't care. Hehe ok I had this idea had to get it out so here ya go. This seems to be getting to be a lot darker than my other stories. Don't now why though, oh well not called a Queen of Drama for nothing!
I don't plan on stopping the others just this story was nagging at me, so hope ya enjoy.
Disclaimer: Nope don't own it, just have some drama filled fun with it.