**Slightly reworked, no big changes... **
((Not mine, the only thing that belongs to me are Annalisa, Aelis and Emily... Have you noticed my like of "A" names for some reason?))
Chapter 2: What Dreams May Come
Her mother was singing, but her mother was dead, the castle was falling down, overrun with monsters and ivy. The grand courtyard's stones split with weeds and the tree's dead. Everything was dead, everything that had once lived there was dead except for Annalisa and her sister. She was in the courtyard again, she looked down and saw the same plaid britches under a long blouse with flared sleeves. Her mother had let her dress comfortable because no one was in the castle for delegations that day. The sky was heavy with clouds, and soon it would rain. She looked about, after twenty years much had changed, but Emily's basket still sat on the stones by the fountain that had long since run dry.
She turned and looked to the windows that her mother always kept open during the day, so she could hear the girls call if they needed her. The singing continued, slow and sad, tears welled in her eyes but she could not cry. This was not her dream, she didn't want to be here. She wanted to be safe in the castle of the Goblin King far away from the nasty memories that Castle Kildalton caused in her.
She sat down on the fountain, not sure if she could make herself from this nightmare but unwilling to go farther. The singing stopped, and once again there was a scream from her mother. A scream that she had heard before, a hundred times, the same yelp that her mother would give if her father had sneaked up on her, but this was different, there was no laughter afterwards. "No, no, no, not again..." she pleaded with herself to stay put, she already knew what gruesome sights awaited her in that parlor, but her body would not listen, it stood and walked slowly to the doors, not trying to hide this time.
The sight was as horrific as she remembered, once again time slowed down, and her scream echoed through the halls of the castle.
He jolted awake.
Screaming.
Someone was screaming, she was screaming. With out thought, he disappeared and was beside her. She was struggling, fighting with the sheets that were tangled in her legs. "No, no, no," she cried out, her back arching trying to escape whatever terror was following her.
Jareth gloved hands pulled the covers away, he could see her pale legs, he didn't think he had ever seen them before, she was so proper, only wearing pants when they went riding. "Annie, Annie, wake up, girl..." he paused, she wasn't really a girl anymore was she. She slept in a sheer shift that was currently covered in sweat sticking to her body.
She arched her back again and her eyes snapped open like shutters. Her face was pale, normally she was sheet pale, but as the blood drained from her face she neared translucence. Her screaming stopped, but she was hyperventilating. Their eyes met for a moment and she rolled over onto her side and curled into a ball. It was just awful, it was happening all over again. She was dreaming the same dream over and over again just like before. "Damn," she said softly.
His heart stopped threatening to come out of his chest and he lay down beside her. Gathering her to himself like an infant. "You should have told me, Annalisa, I would have helped you." They had laid like this many a night, when the dreams had become too much he held her. He was not experienced with the scarring that threatened to rend her soul. He was not experienced with having feelings this strong for someone. His instinct was to protect her, and he did.
"I couldn't," she whispered. Her back was to him, and her eyes stared blankly at nothing. "I couldn't bare for you to see me this way."
"This isn't the first time you have had nightmares, girl, nor the first time that I helped you through them. Swallow your pride and let me help you! I will have Morpheous come and you will never dream again."
"No!" She said it to quickly, Oh damn. She thought, Now I have to tell him! "No, I..." how to explain to him that she didn't want to miss out on the dreams she had of him. How in the Universe could she do that? She couldn't, he would want to know what she had been dreaming, but he would see through any lie she managed. She turned and looked into his hard face, framed by nearly white locks, tinged with blue, his beautiful mismatched eyes, so full of concern for her welfare. Thin lips that she had longed to kiss, how did she tell the man that had cared for her like a daughter that she loved him like a man. "I would miss my other dreams very much," she said quietly, hoping that it would satiate him.
"That's ridiculous!"
The Labyrinth, who up to this point had stayed out of the conversation because She felt that perhaps Jareth and Annalisa needed to work this out for themselves, tried to sooth Her adopted daughter, but failed. He felt her body stiffen and pull away from him. "You of all people would call me ridiculous? You who parade around this kingdom like a stuffed up cockerel are going to call me ridiculous!"
"You should not say such things Annalisa, my behavior has nothing to do with you." His features hardened and he sat up as the words came, he didn't want to be angry with her now. He had been angry with her before, she could be infuriating.
*Shhhh, my daughter, he knows not what he says. He has no idea of your feelings, let him be ignorant* the Labyrinth forced her will upon the young woman, but she was too far-gone in anger. "Nothing to do with me! For the last twenty years I have followed you around like a forsaken puppy, only to be treated as a pawn in some game for you. I am here to make your whores jealous and boost your over rampant ego."
The slap rang out like a bell. His hand stung from the contact and her face was immediately red. Surprise flashed across her face, and then anger. He had slapped her like a disobedient child. "You should not say such things, Annalisa," he said through clenched teeth.
He did not bother to transport himself out of her room. He got out of her bed, the bed that he had made especially for her, walked to the door and on his way out slammed it so hard her ears rang.
She considered screaming his name and beating him to death with her fists but then the Labyrinth stepped in. *You should have held your tongue, child. He cares for you deeply, but he is independent and does not take well to criticism.*
"I should have held my tongue, but I cannot let him take my dreams away from me. It is not my fault that he cannot handle the truth." She sat cross-legged in the bed. Her breathing was still hard and the sweat had just started to dry on her skin. She went to her bathroom, full of beautiful things that he had made or had made for her, and drew a hot bath. She added bath salts and slipped into water that was much to hot. The water dissolved the salty sweat on her skin and eased her soul. "What am I going to do?"
*You could apologize.*
"Oh, no, not me. He couldn't control himself and now I am expected to apologize."
*I love you child, I have watched you grow as I watched Jareth. You are too much alike. You have seen too much destruction, you are touched by an evil that you cannot purge from your soul. Be the stronger person, be the brave woman that your mother would have wanted you to be. Give him your love, but let him be himself.*
"So in order to love him, I must let him be right constantly?"
*Do what you feel is right, not what keeps your pride intact.*
Across the castle in a large room, he sat cross-legged on his bed. The room was his, and had been his for centuries. Decorated in dark mahogany wood and velvet. He shouldn't have hit her, he should never have raised his hand to her. She was not a pet, or a goblin that he could kick out of his way when he had grown tired of her. She had seen such tragedy in her young life. So much death and it was keeping her up nights again. He wondered weather or not he should go to her. "What do I do?" He asked himself softly.
*You could apologize, Jareth.*
"Shouldn't you mind yourself?"
*I am more then capable of protecting the denizens within myself and advising you, your Highness. Apologizing will not kill you. You need to either love her or let her go. She must be able to live in the light and grow or she will wither and die in the shadow you have cast.*
He pondered the words of his faithful Labyrinth. He had taught her much in the millenium that he had ruled her. In the last seven years there had been a peace in his life that he had never known. It was strange to think that he may have to let him go one day, he had grown so used to laughter in his dreary castle. They brought light to the shadows that had plagued the place for centuries.
Considering Her words he wondered if he had ever felt as close to anyone as he did with her. He had been angered, and his pride wounded with his mother had deigned him the only one fit to /handle/ the Labyrinth. He had become instantly the lowliest among equals. After thousands of years in charge of her he realized that perhaps his mother had meant to teach him to be humble, unfortunately it had not worked. He was still as head strong as his father, and as full of pride as... well, as a cockerel.
Since he was in a pondering mood, he /pondered/ his mother. The Kildalton's were a clan. Their magics pulled from the land. Like druids they venerated the land and made their home so as to be tolerated by the Land. Their home had been far from his, but he had met Annie once when she was very young at the High Court. His mother had been quit interested in introducing him to a sixteen-year-old red haired girl, at the time the only Kildalton female. They were a powerful clan and the attack, let alone massacre of the family had left many a Fae feeling exposed and afraid.
For some reason his mother proclaimed that he, King of the Goblins, King of Orphans would take these girls in. "You have been stockpiling unwanted children for centuries Jareth, to simply give them away, perhaps it is time that you actually cared for the two that chose you."
At the time he was sure that his mother had gotten quite a laugh of it, but as they grew, and his mother's visits were fewer and farther between he understood that perhaps this was another attempt at humbling him. "So much more then you knew mother. You have delivered your own son to the lions and didn't even know it."
Soon it would be time for the court to meet again. /I could petition Titania to find her a husband/ His heart sank at the thought. /Now, there is always the chance that a Duke's daughter would be suitable to marry a higher official in the Courts/. His heart sank farther, he was certainly not the only unmarried man of power in the Fae court, and a Kildalton child would be quit a prize. Annalisa had land that she wouldn't step foot on, but could be used as farming land, or land for cattle. He would petition Titania to choose a suitable husband for her. /Even if she doesn't choose me, it will be someone to let her reach the sunlight./
For a moment tears threatened to run down his face. He was truly sorry for what he had done, and wanted to make it up to her, but he had to make sure that she would be happy, and safe, before he could promise her the moon.
((Not mine, the only thing that belongs to me are Annalisa, Aelis and Emily... Have you noticed my like of "A" names for some reason?))
Chapter 2: What Dreams May Come
Her mother was singing, but her mother was dead, the castle was falling down, overrun with monsters and ivy. The grand courtyard's stones split with weeds and the tree's dead. Everything was dead, everything that had once lived there was dead except for Annalisa and her sister. She was in the courtyard again, she looked down and saw the same plaid britches under a long blouse with flared sleeves. Her mother had let her dress comfortable because no one was in the castle for delegations that day. The sky was heavy with clouds, and soon it would rain. She looked about, after twenty years much had changed, but Emily's basket still sat on the stones by the fountain that had long since run dry.
She turned and looked to the windows that her mother always kept open during the day, so she could hear the girls call if they needed her. The singing continued, slow and sad, tears welled in her eyes but she could not cry. This was not her dream, she didn't want to be here. She wanted to be safe in the castle of the Goblin King far away from the nasty memories that Castle Kildalton caused in her.
She sat down on the fountain, not sure if she could make herself from this nightmare but unwilling to go farther. The singing stopped, and once again there was a scream from her mother. A scream that she had heard before, a hundred times, the same yelp that her mother would give if her father had sneaked up on her, but this was different, there was no laughter afterwards. "No, no, no, not again..." she pleaded with herself to stay put, she already knew what gruesome sights awaited her in that parlor, but her body would not listen, it stood and walked slowly to the doors, not trying to hide this time.
The sight was as horrific as she remembered, once again time slowed down, and her scream echoed through the halls of the castle.
He jolted awake.
Screaming.
Someone was screaming, she was screaming. With out thought, he disappeared and was beside her. She was struggling, fighting with the sheets that were tangled in her legs. "No, no, no," she cried out, her back arching trying to escape whatever terror was following her.
Jareth gloved hands pulled the covers away, he could see her pale legs, he didn't think he had ever seen them before, she was so proper, only wearing pants when they went riding. "Annie, Annie, wake up, girl..." he paused, she wasn't really a girl anymore was she. She slept in a sheer shift that was currently covered in sweat sticking to her body.
She arched her back again and her eyes snapped open like shutters. Her face was pale, normally she was sheet pale, but as the blood drained from her face she neared translucence. Her screaming stopped, but she was hyperventilating. Their eyes met for a moment and she rolled over onto her side and curled into a ball. It was just awful, it was happening all over again. She was dreaming the same dream over and over again just like before. "Damn," she said softly.
His heart stopped threatening to come out of his chest and he lay down beside her. Gathering her to himself like an infant. "You should have told me, Annalisa, I would have helped you." They had laid like this many a night, when the dreams had become too much he held her. He was not experienced with the scarring that threatened to rend her soul. He was not experienced with having feelings this strong for someone. His instinct was to protect her, and he did.
"I couldn't," she whispered. Her back was to him, and her eyes stared blankly at nothing. "I couldn't bare for you to see me this way."
"This isn't the first time you have had nightmares, girl, nor the first time that I helped you through them. Swallow your pride and let me help you! I will have Morpheous come and you will never dream again."
"No!" She said it to quickly, Oh damn. She thought, Now I have to tell him! "No, I..." how to explain to him that she didn't want to miss out on the dreams she had of him. How in the Universe could she do that? She couldn't, he would want to know what she had been dreaming, but he would see through any lie she managed. She turned and looked into his hard face, framed by nearly white locks, tinged with blue, his beautiful mismatched eyes, so full of concern for her welfare. Thin lips that she had longed to kiss, how did she tell the man that had cared for her like a daughter that she loved him like a man. "I would miss my other dreams very much," she said quietly, hoping that it would satiate him.
"That's ridiculous!"
The Labyrinth, who up to this point had stayed out of the conversation because She felt that perhaps Jareth and Annalisa needed to work this out for themselves, tried to sooth Her adopted daughter, but failed. He felt her body stiffen and pull away from him. "You of all people would call me ridiculous? You who parade around this kingdom like a stuffed up cockerel are going to call me ridiculous!"
"You should not say such things Annalisa, my behavior has nothing to do with you." His features hardened and he sat up as the words came, he didn't want to be angry with her now. He had been angry with her before, she could be infuriating.
*Shhhh, my daughter, he knows not what he says. He has no idea of your feelings, let him be ignorant* the Labyrinth forced her will upon the young woman, but she was too far-gone in anger. "Nothing to do with me! For the last twenty years I have followed you around like a forsaken puppy, only to be treated as a pawn in some game for you. I am here to make your whores jealous and boost your over rampant ego."
The slap rang out like a bell. His hand stung from the contact and her face was immediately red. Surprise flashed across her face, and then anger. He had slapped her like a disobedient child. "You should not say such things, Annalisa," he said through clenched teeth.
He did not bother to transport himself out of her room. He got out of her bed, the bed that he had made especially for her, walked to the door and on his way out slammed it so hard her ears rang.
She considered screaming his name and beating him to death with her fists but then the Labyrinth stepped in. *You should have held your tongue, child. He cares for you deeply, but he is independent and does not take well to criticism.*
"I should have held my tongue, but I cannot let him take my dreams away from me. It is not my fault that he cannot handle the truth." She sat cross-legged in the bed. Her breathing was still hard and the sweat had just started to dry on her skin. She went to her bathroom, full of beautiful things that he had made or had made for her, and drew a hot bath. She added bath salts and slipped into water that was much to hot. The water dissolved the salty sweat on her skin and eased her soul. "What am I going to do?"
*You could apologize.*
"Oh, no, not me. He couldn't control himself and now I am expected to apologize."
*I love you child, I have watched you grow as I watched Jareth. You are too much alike. You have seen too much destruction, you are touched by an evil that you cannot purge from your soul. Be the stronger person, be the brave woman that your mother would have wanted you to be. Give him your love, but let him be himself.*
"So in order to love him, I must let him be right constantly?"
*Do what you feel is right, not what keeps your pride intact.*
Across the castle in a large room, he sat cross-legged on his bed. The room was his, and had been his for centuries. Decorated in dark mahogany wood and velvet. He shouldn't have hit her, he should never have raised his hand to her. She was not a pet, or a goblin that he could kick out of his way when he had grown tired of her. She had seen such tragedy in her young life. So much death and it was keeping her up nights again. He wondered weather or not he should go to her. "What do I do?" He asked himself softly.
*You could apologize, Jareth.*
"Shouldn't you mind yourself?"
*I am more then capable of protecting the denizens within myself and advising you, your Highness. Apologizing will not kill you. You need to either love her or let her go. She must be able to live in the light and grow or she will wither and die in the shadow you have cast.*
He pondered the words of his faithful Labyrinth. He had taught her much in the millenium that he had ruled her. In the last seven years there had been a peace in his life that he had never known. It was strange to think that he may have to let him go one day, he had grown so used to laughter in his dreary castle. They brought light to the shadows that had plagued the place for centuries.
Considering Her words he wondered if he had ever felt as close to anyone as he did with her. He had been angered, and his pride wounded with his mother had deigned him the only one fit to /handle/ the Labyrinth. He had become instantly the lowliest among equals. After thousands of years in charge of her he realized that perhaps his mother had meant to teach him to be humble, unfortunately it had not worked. He was still as head strong as his father, and as full of pride as... well, as a cockerel.
Since he was in a pondering mood, he /pondered/ his mother. The Kildalton's were a clan. Their magics pulled from the land. Like druids they venerated the land and made their home so as to be tolerated by the Land. Their home had been far from his, but he had met Annie once when she was very young at the High Court. His mother had been quit interested in introducing him to a sixteen-year-old red haired girl, at the time the only Kildalton female. They were a powerful clan and the attack, let alone massacre of the family had left many a Fae feeling exposed and afraid.
For some reason his mother proclaimed that he, King of the Goblins, King of Orphans would take these girls in. "You have been stockpiling unwanted children for centuries Jareth, to simply give them away, perhaps it is time that you actually cared for the two that chose you."
At the time he was sure that his mother had gotten quite a laugh of it, but as they grew, and his mother's visits were fewer and farther between he understood that perhaps this was another attempt at humbling him. "So much more then you knew mother. You have delivered your own son to the lions and didn't even know it."
Soon it would be time for the court to meet again. /I could petition Titania to find her a husband/ His heart sank at the thought. /Now, there is always the chance that a Duke's daughter would be suitable to marry a higher official in the Courts/. His heart sank farther, he was certainly not the only unmarried man of power in the Fae court, and a Kildalton child would be quit a prize. Annalisa had land that she wouldn't step foot on, but could be used as farming land, or land for cattle. He would petition Titania to choose a suitable husband for her. /Even if she doesn't choose me, it will be someone to let her reach the sunlight./
For a moment tears threatened to run down his face. He was truly sorry for what he had done, and wanted to make it up to her, but he had to make sure that she would be happy, and safe, before he could promise her the moon.