Next chapter then:
Before I start i just want to clarigy a few things that my wonderful reviewers brought up (those who read and didn't review, SHAME ON YOU ALL!): The first 25 or so chapters will cover the 20 years between Gifts and what goes wrong (the main story if you will). At the moment I'm still in the honeymoon period as I need to set up a few things. These and the susequent 20 chapters will allow me to put things in my story without having to stop to explain too often. These are all significant points in the lives of some on or other of the main characters. Each chapter will be titiled as to the year that its set (ie: one year, two years etc). Hopefully that covers it.
Many thanks to LabyLvrPhx, Laurely-Halliwell, Lady Galriee, The Labyrinths Scribe, Tess Michaela Bowie and Crystall3moon,without you guys, I would not have posted this chapter. Also it's a little short and I apologise, I'll try to make them longer, but i can only do so much.
Newly Weds:
"How is Toby, my love?" Jareth asked when Sarah reappeared in his study later that evening. She smiled a little wanly and shrugged.
"I'm not sure. He was quiet today." Jareth pushed his chair away from the desk and she gracefully sank onto his lap. He put his arms around her and kissed her before she could continue. "Hmm, I love you, have I told you that today?" She asked.
"Not that I recall," he said quietly in reply. "I love you too, you know." She smiled down at him then continued with her original topic.
"I wish he could have stayed here."
"He'll settle in eventually, love, you just need to give him time. He has seen some pretty traumatic things." He pulled her close and she put her head on his shoulder.
"I know, Jareth," she sighed, "I know. I miss him though."
"So you should. It would have been easier on him if you would have let Alyana wipe his memories of the Aboveground." Sarah flinched away from him then stood, angrily walking towards the fireplace.
"We went through this, Jareth! I just..., it would be hard, living so close to him and seeing him so often and knowing that he didn't have a clue about who I really was. It wouldn't be fair on him either." She held up a hand. "Don't tell me that life isn't fair, I know, I just want Toby to remember me, that's all."
"I understand, love, really I do, you just need to give him time. You also know that if he had stayed here I would have to change him into a Goblin, don't you? It would have been the only way for him to survive."
"Then why didn't I get changed into a Goblin too?" it was the question that always came up during this discussion and he gave her the same answer that he did every time.
"Because you are the Goblin Queen, and my wife."
She looked back at him and he saw her smile weakly. Then she walked back to him and sank back onto his lap, sliding her arms around his neck and kissing him.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
It was much later, Sarah and Jareth lay together in their bed in the royal apartments, Sarah's head on Jareth's chest as she lazily traced patterns on it. It was nice to be here, in the castle, with Jareth, and though she would never have admitted it in the past. Their wedding had been opulent, beautiful, and in her opinion, completely over the top, yet every time she thought of it, she had to smile.
"Sarah," Jareth kissed the top of her head as he spoke, she looked up at him, a faint smile on her face.
"Yes, love?" She snuggled closer to him.
"Vaela came whilst you were visiting Toby." Sarah sighed, it was not that she disliked the Fairy Queen, it was just that the Prince Consort made her uneasy, any time Vaela stopped by, meant that she was planning some royal function or another.
"What did she want this time?"
"She's having a ball in honour of her four hundredth year ruling over the fairy realm, we've been invited." He felt Sarah tense in his arms. "I know you don't care much for Prince Alon, but for the sake of diplomacy..."
"Of course we'll go. I need to talk to Vaela about the Garden Fairies anyway." The Garden Fairies were the small fairies that Sarah had first encountered outside the Labyrinth. They were considered by most as a common pest, even Vaela did not care much for them. They were rebels and known to attack anything and everything that moved. A single, tiny bite may sting but it does not bother a person much, even the venom in their tiny fangs was nothing more than a mild irritant. It was tens of tiny, venomous, bites that would be a problem and lately there were plenty of the tiny, vicious, fairies around to bite the unsuspecting, and not a few suspecting. The final straw had been when nearly twenty of the little pests had attacked Jor'yl when he ans Sarah had been inspecting the outer wall.
"I doubt that she will be able to do much about them, she only has the barest control over them."
"Maybe if she spent less time in her chambers with her consort and more time actually being a queen, she might not have this problem." Sarah's tone was slightly snide.
"Perhaps we should take your advice, my dear." He sounded amused.
"Don't be silly, it's the middle of the night and we don't do this very often anymore. Besides, she's been married three hundred and seventy odd years. We're still in our first month, I'm sure people understand." She reached up and kissed him, a rather serious kiss and there was no more conversation that night.
There we go. Again R&R if you want an update!
Artemis
