291 When We Cross Over

"I did not want to tell you this before, but my suspicions were right about him."

"What did Cari do?" Astrid asked with her arms crossed over her chest.

While they were at it, Snow took the opportunity to rest his body and let the two adults banter it out.

"I overheard him talking with someone, saying he had succeeded in breaking us apart and you trust him. That now he can easily take you away."

0_0

Astrid could not believe what she was hearing right now. "Are you sure of what you are saying?" she asked him again.

Her brows furrowed deeper as she watched Jareth for any form of body language to see if he was lying but ended up with nothing. 

"What? You do not believe me, Astrid?"

"No, that's not it."

"Fine. Since you do not believe, let me say it in his own words, quote and unquote."

"Enh?" Her brows furrowed deeper at him. 

'What is he saying?'

"Listen to his words exactly, Astrid and tell me if you still think I am being paranoid or something."

"Okay, shoot."

\u003c"I succeeded in causing a rift between them. In no time, she would be mine and I can take her away."

"Good. I expect you to not fail me, Cari. Do this right and I would grant your wish."

"Thank you, princess."\u003e

0_0

"You still think I am being paranoid?"

Astrid was speechless at the news she just heard. 

Cari really was a bad person and did not wish her well. She still could not place it in her mind. 

She was too trusting against all warnings that she shouldn't. Why was it easy for her to be close to him and trust him? 

Was it really due to the fact that they came from the same place and that her father's blood flows through her veins? 

She really did not know but without being told, she knew she would have been a goner if not for Jareth. 

'Princess? Meaning, he never was exiled or perhaps he was exiled and my capturing would bring him back to his people? Nevertheless, it still hurts that he would have betrayed me still.' Astrid pondered on the issue. 

"I am sorry, Jareth. You were right. You really cannot trust people, can you? I can't believe I trusted him and he was going to hurt me."

Jareth gulped at her words. They were heavy and quite full of hidden pain. 

"Yes."

In as much as Jareth wanted to console her, there just seemed to be nothing he could do. 

He understood she would be full of regrets now, but never the less... It was worth it. 

She needed to harden her heart a bit more and learn not to trust easily. 

People would exploit her kindness and a good heart and if she was going to leave in this world peacefully, Astrid needed to understand that. 

"So now you understand quite well, why I needed to get you away from him?"

"I do and I am grateful."

"That is why I want to take you out of here, Astrid. If he is a merman that wasn't exiled, meaning he has access to his powers and he even has backing. I have never once fought a merman so I know nothing about their skills or their speed and strength. I rather run from the opponent I know less about than the one I have a fairly good idea of what it is all about."

"I understand. But we still need rest. You of all people need rest, Jareth. No matter how small, close your eyes and I would set up a barrier. Let us rest a little while. Don't you agree with me, Snow?"

Astrid turned towards her little beast to seek his help and found that little Snow was already sleeping.

"You see, even Snow is tired. No matter what, Cari cannot catch up to us. I made sure he would not wake up until sunrise at noon and by then we would have been long gone. That and coupled with the fact that we ran most of the journey, no one would catch us."

'She does have a point. Perhaps it is just my overprotective side showing forth and preventing me from thinking rationally. I do need to ret so that I can be at my best tomorrow.' Jareth finally came to a decision after pondering on the matter.

"Fine. We can rest the night. At night, we would carry on again. We need to beat our chasers."

"Oh, Jareth, would you ever rest?" Astrid asked him.

She took some steps closer to him, then raised her hand to pat his cheeks trice. All the while their eyes remained locked on each other as she elicited a certain warmth in them.

"Free yourself, make light your burden. Do not worry, I am here with you."

Jareth allowed his eyes close for a split second to enjoy the feel of her hand on his face. His right hand moved up to cover hers on his cheek.

"I would truly rest when we cross over to the sorcerer's wasted lands. I know they would not pursue us further."

"The sorcerer's what now?"

"The wasted lands, spoils of war and by spoils, I do not mean the reaped good. No, I mean spoilt in all its forms."

"Seriously?"

"The war did quite the harm to what remained of the kingdom. Half of their kingdom was lost and the other half, they merged with the fairies to form the new Fortland, an alliance between the fairies and the mages."

"The alliance was because of the drought and famine. The land was becoming barren and they needed to survive. It was a help extended by the fairies when no other race decided to help. I think it was the best alliance ever made."

Jareth dropped his hand from hers and so did she as her gaze wandered off into the distance.

This was the story of her people and how she, the first hybrid, came to be.