Anam Cara

The Champion's Last Chance

"Torren, show me how to  access the portal to my old mirror. I don't have time to argue with  you," Sarah asserted. Why wouldn't he see reason? Tying the sash of her  robe over the nightgown she wore, she stalked him down the hall as he  retreated from her room to Jareth's.

The Lord Chamberlain  shook his head with a hum of disapproval. "You need rest. You need to  recover. Who knows what damage all this time travel will have on you?  You have the information. Let's use it and be done with this."

Sarah  ignored the aches in her body and pounding in her head. The remedy she  forced Torren to concoct for her took the edge off the side effects she  felt last time. There was no time for her to sleep the night away. She'd  survived worse hangovers than this during college. She could power  through this one. Time was too short.

They stopped  outside the large wooden doors leading to the king's chambers. "I told  you. I want to check and see if we can narrow it down more. I know  Kildare, Ireland. I know her name is Brigid. I know she thought of  becoming a nun. Maybe I could find a nearby abbey or convent," she  argued. "We would be able to figure out exactly where to search for her  grave?"

"And how would you be able to find that  information so quickly? You told me you lived an ocean away from where  she was." This woman was nearly as impossible as the king. Ignoring  trivial things like logic and reason in pursuit of her aim. As always,  it fell to him to try to reason with the eccentricities of others.

"I  told you. We have a way–it's called the internet–people use  computers–oh, never mind. I am not going to explain modern technology to  you right now. Show me how or I'll get Hoggle to." She didn't want to  drag her friends into this mess but she would if she had to.

Torren  removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. She would not  leave well enough alone until she got her way. In no time, she could  have all the goblins whipped into a frenzy. The dwarf, knight, and  monster raiding the castle for portals. And who would have to deal with  the chaos? He would.

Replacing his spectacles, he grabbed  her wrist. "Fine." He'd done his due diligence. It was not his fault  she would not be deterred.

They disappeared and  reappeared in what looked to be a storage room. Mountains of books  teetered precariously around them. The carpet had threadbare paths worn  on it between the towers. The legs of a desk were all that was visible  under stacks of parchments, scrolls, and ledgers. It was impossible to  tell if the room had any windows.

"Where are we?" Sarah asked afraid to step anywhere. One false move would send everything crashing down around them.

Torren  maneuvered sideways through a small alley of cleared floorspace with  practiced ease. "My study." No one had ever been inside this particular  sanctuary of his for this precise reason. His methods were never well  received even though the results he achieved were impeccable.

"This  is where you work? How? Why?" Her eyes widened. She grasped her hands  in front of her as she tried to make herself smaller as she followed  him. He seemed so studious and organized. Had she ever tried to envision  his natural habitat it would have had filing cabinets, a clean desk, or  even just a visible floor.

"I know where everything is.  Try not to mess it up." He stopped when they reached a wall and pulled  back curtains to reveal a floor-length mirror.

Don't mess it up? How by cleaning? She  kept her thoughts to herself though she was not certain she was in full  control of her facial expression. Now was not the time to tease or  torment him. She needed him if only for a moment. She stared at their  reflections in the mirror that seemed to waver on the surface of the  glass.