"I need to go to my study. I must find a way to out of this mess" he said to himself and walked out of the room with the candle in his hand.

When she was so sure he had gone, she opened the wardrobe and came out. "Who needs doc.u.ment, I just found out something more."

----------------------------

~Elven Forest~

After riding for hours without stop, Big White-fire finally came down and landed on the ground.

Jareth jumped down from White-Fire, Astrid followed suit holding Little White-Fire in her arms.

"Wow, that was a journey. Thank you White-Fire." Astrid raised her hand and rubbed the body of the big white tiger-pheonix beast.

"Thanks for the ride." Jareth thanked the beast and began to set up camp.

"Welcome." The beast mind communicated with Astrid.

"I didn't know you were healed already, to the extent of carrying us for hours... "

"It's okay. I was recovering while you were unconscious. So I gained some of my strength back. I just need a little rest and we can continue our journey."

She put her hands on her waist, shooting an intense gaze at White-Fire. "No, you should rest more, you carried the weight of three beings for hours."

White-fire rolled her eyes at her and walked close to a tree to rest. "Two legged beings!!"

"White-fire I heard that!" She said angrily.

"You were meant to hear young one." There was a trace of mock on her voice.

Astrid snickered at her, dropped Little White-Fire from her arms and went to help Jareth.

Quickly the small beast rushed up to it's mother's side and coiled up close to it. Astrid's eyes wandered towards the mother and son duo, her lips curved upwards into a small smile.

Jareth noticed the way she looked at them with affection, his eyes found their bearing on her face, his gaze trailed their way from her mesmerizing black orbs to her lips. The lips he always felt drawn to, no matter what he did to prevent it.

He studied her carefully, she was efficient, powerful, kind, caring. She wasn't really a killer, but she could be one when it came to saving the people she cared about; even at a cost of her own life.

Simply put she was selfless, ignoring her own destination, to ensure the safety of the mystical beasts. No matter how he tried to put it, she was strong and kind.

"Rather than stare lovingly at my cub and I, focus your attention on your boyfriend."

"What!! He is not my boyfriend, White-Fire... " she gritted her teeth and clenched fist into a ball. She was holding the one of the woods Jareth had gathered so hard, her knuckles turned white.

When he saw her gritted teeth, his eyes went straight to her hand and saw her clenched fist. Her ears flushed bright red with each pa.s.sing second.

He gently placed a hand over her fist, jolting her in surprise, then flashed her a warm smile. Rather than relaxing, her heart thudded in her chest and her face flushed with embarra.s.sment when she noticed her was staring at her.

She quickly let go of the wood and stepped back. "I'm sorry, I–I... " she sighed, turning her face away.

"d.a.m.n it, why is my face all hot. I bet it is turning red already. What is wrong with me, Astrid focus, you are making everything awkward." She thought. Her mind drifted back to her conversation with White-Fire...

"Rather than stare lovingly at my cub and I, focus your attention on your boyfriend."

"What!! He is not my boyfriend, White-Fire... You saw wrong." She protested.

"At least I am not the one staring lovingly at someone," White fire shot back.

"What?! You mean... How do I even look at him now?" That was when he placed a hand on hers.

"Hmm I would love a nice bath though. Perhaps later in the morning, she fixed her cloak on the ground and laid on it, her bag served as her pillow.

After making the woods light up, he moved close to where they rested. He sat on a small wood on the ground, between Astrid and the beasts, then slightly closed his eyes.

"For this night, we would rest. Tomorrow morning another journey begins." Jareth mentally noted.

This journey was taking longer than he expected, they were lucky to have gone far when she was unconscious, but he only told her two days because he hoped there would be no stop.

But who was he kidding, Astrid hadn't regained her strength back. It would be dangerous tiring her out like that, but the Elves were on their tail.

He was confused, they needed to move faster if they planned on getting to the forest peak.