Later he went to sit on a stone near the Big beast, while watching Astrid as she lay on a cloth spread on the ground near the body of the White Tiger-Pheonix Beast and used her bag as a pillow to rest her head.
She opened her eyes and his eyes met with hers and he quickly turned his face away.
"Hey, you should get some rest too, you went through a lot today" she said to him.
"Who would keep watch? I'll be fine".
"I won't have it, we would watch each other, come lie, our hearings are sharp, we would know. Okay better still, I came upon a barrier spell in my book, I would try it out".
He just sat there looking at her, "I must say, you are smart and intelligent".
"Nah, I just read a few things in the book for the first time. It was never mine in the first place, it was for my aunt".
"All the more reason why you are intelligent. You spent some hours with that book and have learnt some of its spells".
"Well... Thanks. Okay let's give it a try".
She said some spells and directed her magic to the air and created a small barrier enclosing them in it. She looked at Jareth with a smile, who in turn beamed a smile at her.
"Now, no excuse, come and join me" she said and scooted over so there was space for him to lie. After some minutes of hesitation, he went closer but lay on the bare ground. Seeing this the little white Tiger-Pheonix beast rushed to Astrid's side and took up the space meant for Jareth.
The big White Tiger-Pheonix beast saw this and used its wings to cover them. In a couple of minutes they all slept except Jareth, who stared at Astrid and after thirty minutes, drifted off to sleep.
Somewhere far off into the distance, on a tree branch stood a person with a black cloak covering his head and body. He stood there gazing at the small party inside the barrier. After some minutes, he finally disappeared from the tree.
*********
In Alacia, the mer queen summoned Alvaro, after some minutes he came.
"Greetings your majesty, you summoned me. Alvaro at your service" he said with a bow.
"Yes, I needed to discuss something important with you. Come let us go to my study" she said to him and swam away.
"Yes your majesty" he followed her, swimming towards her study.
Soon they reach her study and she dismissed the guards outside the room and they entered.
"Your majesty" the Royal Advisor said with a bow as she entered the room.
"Rise" she said as she made her way to sit on a big sea shell.
"Royal Advisor".
"Ha, Alvaro, you are here too".
"Yes, I called for him as well. I have something important to discuss with you two".
"All right your majesty".
"We are all ears my Queen".
"Good, thank you. Something has been disturbing me".
"What is it your majesty?" The Royal Advisor asked her.
"It is Isadora".
"What about the Half breed Queen, your majesty?".
"Since she knows about her daughter's appearance, don't you think her daughter would try to find her?".
"Yes, then let her come your majesty".
"We just have to fortify our hold and strengthen the prison. After all you wanted the princess to be lured here right my Queen?" Alvaro asked her.
"Yes".
"Then what's with the worry?".
"What if she breaks herself out to go find her daughter. She knows the whole realm would be looking for her".
"Then we strengthen the prison, so she cannot escape. If she could escape she would have done so years ago" Alvaro assured the Queen again.
"Yes your majesty, she would have but just to be extra careful, we would fortify the prison and await the princess's arrival. It is either we get to her and bring her here or she comes to us by herself to find her mother" the Royal Advisor said.
"How would she know where to find her?" the Queen asked them.
"My Queen, we lure her in" Alvaro said.
"Either way, she would and she must come to us. We hold the most important thing in her life here. We own the cards, we won the game when we took her mother. And with the hybrid as our prisoner when she comes, Queen Isadora would have no choice but to... "
"Show us where her kingdom is" the Queen said cutting the Royal Advisor short.
"She would have to choose between her daughter's life and her kingdom" Alvaro chipped in.
"Perfect. Let the plan be put into action. I leave it to you two, do not fail me".
"Yes your majesty" they chorused as they bowed and left the room.
"I'll have my revenge a hundred fold on you Isadora. I would take all you have from you as you took my world from me" the Queen said to herself as she clenched her fists into a ball.