Two days had passed. They had made admirable progress on their journey, and had even come across signs of civilization, which had appeared in the form of a sturdy wooden bridge spanning a creek. Sarah had been excited but Jareth had quelled her hopes by explaining to her that it had probably only been put there by travelers and that they were still far from any city or town. As darkness had set in, they had agreed to camp near the bridge and had begun their nightly preparations for their overnight stop. Jareth had gone to gather firewood and Terra had excused herself to take a stroll, leaving Sarah alone with only the tents for company. She soon began to think that Terra's idea had not been so bad and set out in search of her. She wandered for a little while, admiring the scenery around her before discovering Terra seated on the bridge they had passed earlier. She sat there, her legs hanging over the edge and kicking at the surface of the water, sending up a light spray every so often. In her hand was a shimmering daisy, looking like a small moon against the blackness of Terra's gloved hands. Terra looked up as Sarah approached her.
"Bored?" she asked, "The tents aren't such great conversationalists, are they?"
Sarah laughed, sitting down next to Terra and likewise dangling her feet over the edge.
"What's that flower?" Sarah asked curiously.
"It comes with a story," Terra explained, "See, when Jareth was less than incredibly skilled with his magic, he used to practice by summoning simple life forms such as flowers. And for a long time, it was only flowers. He used to keep them in his room and wait to see how long they lasted. Finally, his poor mother got so upset at the mess of dead flowers in his room, she told Jareth she didn't want to see another flower in there again. So, naturally, his solution was to give them to me. Within a month, I ended up with at least fifty vases in my room. It was hardly possible to navigate through it. When they all inevitably died, I of course had to find a way to get rid of them. I had to carry them out, vase by vase, through the court and down to the woods to dispose of them. Needless to say, I discovered after the first hour that this method took far too long. So I started chucking the dead flowers out the window. Unfortunately, they just so happened to land on a courtier. I really got an earful that day."
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Sarah was giggling helplessly.
Terra finished it off, "This daisy was the first flower Jareth gave to me. It outlived all the others by some sort of fluke of magic. I didn't feel like throwing it away so I kept it all this time."
"That's pretty amazing," Sarah said earnestly, briefly letting her fingers glide across the smooth petals, "I'm sure Jareth must have been ecstatic about this little daisy having lasted so long."
"He doesn't know," Terra said, "And I doubt he would care now."
Sarah stared in confusion, "But—"
She stopped as Terra suddenly stiffened.
"What is it?" Sarah asked quickly.
Terra looked at her with clouded eyes.
"Danger," she murmured.
In an instant, she was on her feet, tucking away the daisy safely in her cloak. Without waiting for Sarah, she raced away into the trees.
"Hey!" Sarah shouted, springing after her.
She ran as hard as she could, following the bright red of Terra's cloak. A not-too-distant roar caught her immediate attention, causing the blood to drain from her face. She pressed on, watching as Terra gracefully weaved through the trees ahead of her. The frightening noises grew steadily louder until they sounded like they were almost on top of Sarah. Through the dim glow of twilight, she managed to catch a glimpse of something dark and huge writhing through the trees. But she hardly had time to let the real panic sink in before something shot toward her and slammed into her full force.