Brenna series

Brenna series

Chapter 4: The Delegation

Author note: I just realized that Brenna's stuffed animal, peta, might be mistaken for Peta. I wanted to clarify that the pronunciation of Peta is Pettah, As in Pe-ttah. This is, after all, a three year old. How creative are three year olds? Just didn't want people to think I was promoting Peta or anything, because really I don't, but people do make assumptions.

Part of me can't wait till I get through the beginning part of this series and to when Sarah comes in. .''' I have PLANS.

Jareth rose with the dawn the next morning, though it shouldn't have seemed as unusual as it did. He awoke by some inner calling or perhaps the nerves that were already stirring at the thought of standing up to the council delegation that was fated to come today. He knew they would and perhaps the reason he rose so early was to be sure that he was ready for them. The delegation could come at any time and he wasn't risking being caught off guard. So as he strode quickly across the just lightening expanse of his room to his wardrobe, he pondered what would be best to wear.

As his eyes trailed over the various different colors of fabric before his eyes, he almost made up his mind to wear the outfit he more often wore when confronting a challenger to his labyrinth. Then he remembered the most important aspect of this confrontation, convincing the council to allow Brenna to stay in the underground and in the labyrinth. He figured, after spending two days with the child, that to appear in the pitch black outfit like death himself before the child would traumatize her more. If she was afraid of him when the council visited, there was no way they would let the child stay. Of course logic would say that she would sooner or later see him in the aforementioned outfit, but it didn't have to be today. So he quickly pushed that thought aside and decided upon a royal blue shirt and steel grey pants.

Though the pants were plain, the shirt was elegantly embroidered with glittering threads and jewels. To add to that he added a glittering blue cape that drifted around him weightlessly and his customary boots. As soon as he was sure of his attire, and had convinced himself that he was dressed well enough to show respect to the delegation, he made towards his door.

He might have expected just about everything and anything, as he opened the door, but he wasn't expecting to see Brenna seated outside his door and playing with Peta peacefully. She was as quiet as a mouse, though she was talking to peta softly in the nonsense chatter of a toddler, and hadn't seemed to notice that he had opened the door. Her cream colored night dress was getting smudged with dirt, though he was more worried about her playing on the cool floor then the prospect of more laundry. Taking a step out into the hall drew her attention to him. Her large evergreen eyes stared up at him a moment before she cowered away, hugging peta close to her. She seemed wary, as if unsure if she had committed a wrong, but she didn't move.

Jareth approached her slowly, confusion overriding his brain. Kneeling down beside her, he made sure to speak slowly and quietly so not to startle her.

"Brenna, why are you up so early little one?"

He murmured to her. She stared at him over the top of her toy a moment, before whispering hesitantly.

"Waked up, not tired no more. Play with peta"

She hugged her toy close and he smiled at her. He motioned her closer, waiting as she crept over slowly, and then picked her up.

"That's alright Brenna. You can play if you weren't tired, and you weren't being loud."

Brenna looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Brenna quiet, very quiet"

She murmured Jareth nodded agreeably.

"Yes, you're very quiet Brenna. Just like the well behaved little girl you are."

Brenna continued to watch him silently as he began to move towards the dining hall. Breakfast was in order, and perhaps he'd be able to put aside the inevitable visit. It was unlikely, as it was constantly haunting him in the back of his mind. Servants bowed as he passed them, doing the early morning chores that were normally completed before he rose. He wasn't sure if the cooks were ready to serve breakfast, but he could at least urge them to.

Something tickled at the back of his mind, like a bunch of ants crawling across his head. Shaking his head he reached out to trace the feeling, for it was magical not physical. The presence eluded him, evading his searching gaze far too easy for his liking. He did not like that notion, something wasn't right. As he came before the doors to the dining hall, he felt Brenna tense in his arms and murmur disagreeably.

Chancing a glance down at her, he saw her insistently shaking her head like he had. Concerned he paused with one hand on the door.

"Is something wrong Brenna?"

Brenna looked up at him, reaching up to rub her head.

"Itchy."

Jareth frowned again and for once Brenna did not shrink away. She was too preoccupied with trying to rid herself of the feeling. Carefully he reached out and checked her alive but subtle aura. A magical touch was in the air around her, as if some one was looking at her. With an irritated frown Jareth slid passed the touch and enveloped Brenna's distressed aura in a shield. Brenna stilled in his arms and sighed in relief.

"No itchy no more."

She murmured sweetly and Jareth nodded, still frowning. The touch had pulled back, with an almost offended quality to it. It served the council right for being so intrusive. He would like to know who felt they could just search a child like that in his kingdom, he intended to find out. Pushing open the door, Jareth failed to notice when Brenna tensed with a distressed murmur. His gaze landed straight on a small group of people standing at the far side of the table.

Lifting a brow at them in amazement, he continued to approach the table and set Brenna in the chair he had modified for her. Then he turned to face them. There were two women and three men. One of the men was Riordan, the high king, with his queen Armina. They both stood in the front, with the others standing behind them. He was a bit amused to see his parents were part of the delegation, he would think that the council would not include them in this. Then lastly Gregory, the council's judge and jury. Jareth took a stance behind the chair where Brenna sat. The child was as stiff as a board, staring fixatedly at the people on the other side of the room.

Finally, after several moments of appraisal, Jareth bowed regally.

"Greetings Riordan, I see that you are all here early. I didn't think to expect the delegation till at least after the morning meal."

Riordan shrugged, looking serious but with a kind glimmer in his eyes.

"I wished to get this over with. I want to know why you do not send that child back to her parents."

Jareth chanced a glance at the others present and noticed a slight pout upon his mother's face. He smirked a bit, wondering if it had been her he had so daftly shrugged off a few minuets before. His mother could easily hide the feel of her magic from him if she wished it. Then he looked back at Riordan, then down at Brenna. Lifting a hand he gently ran a hand over her hair.

"This child does not need to go back to such deplorable conditions in which she was living."

"The child needs her mother Jareth," Armina gently contradicted, soft spoken as always.

"The child's mother wouldn't have cared if she died. See as she just stood there while the poor child's father struck the precious little thing."

Brenna giggled then, and tossed her Peta around. She was relaxed as long as he was close. He wanted to pace, but when he stopped stroking her hair she stiffened again. Riordan's expression grew darker as he looked at the tiny bit of a child.

"Of course we wouldn't send her back to such conditions, but she should be raised with her own kind."

That made her sound like an animal of some sort. While the opinion of mortals was one of tolerance, they weren't exactly the favorite of creatures in the underground. Jareth wrinkled his nose and lifted a brow at Riordan, placing his hand on her head.

"She is more around her kind here then she is up there."

His mother, Guinevere, canted her head curiously and took a step to the fore.

"Explain your self, Jareth, now is not the time to speak in riddles. What do you mean? You can't possibly mean that this child is fae."

Jareth shook his head, smiling slightly at his mother.

"Not quite fae, but not quite mortal either."

It was Gregory that gasped softly, staring at the child with renewed interest.

"You mean to say that this child is a Faeling, Jareth? How could you tell such at such a young age?"

Jareth called a crystal to him then, causing a gasp from little Brenna.

"Ball!"

She laughed and reached for it. Jareth nodded and handed it to her before looking back at Riordan and the others.

"I have made that a simple ball. It contains no magic abilities like my normal crystals."

Riordan, Gregory and his father, Sebastian, starred at Brenna. The women, too, watched but with less intensity then the men. Brenna shrunk back in her chair, clutching peta tightly and sinking low into her seat. Jareth reached down and pulled her back up into a sitting position. Then he focused a searing glance at the men.

"Do not scare her so, she is only a child and not used to such attention."

Perhaps his voice held a bit more bite then it should, as Gregory and Sebastian looked startled at being reprimanded by him. Riordan, however, ignored him and continued to watch Brenna. She looked right back at him, keeping Peta in front of her face. Finally, after a long moment, Riordan tilted his head to the side.

"What is that you got?"

He asked her gently, motioning to the ball in her hand. Brenna, like she had with him, shrunk away from the gesture then looked at the ball in her hand. Hesitantly she offered it at him.

"Ball?"

Riordan nodded in agreement.

"That is your ball?"

Brenna looked at the ball a moment, then up at Jareth. Jareth looked down at her and smiled slightly in reassurance. She watched him for a moment more before looking back at Riordan and nodding.

"My ball."

Riordan smiled.

"What can you do with your ball?"

Brenna once again looked up at Jareth and he nodded to her.

"Go ahead Brenna. It's good to practice. Show King Riordan what you can do with the ball."

Brenna nodded slowly then looked at the ball in her hand. With to much focus of a three year old, she watched the glistening surface as its reflection changed while she moved it. It was pretty, like her bed. Pretty and purple.

As soon as the color had come of her bed had come to her mind the ball exploded into color. A collective gasp from all at the other end of the table echoed through the hall. Brenna looked at them with wide terrified eyes and dropped the ball, the color instantly leaving and scrambled onto her feet and almost demanded to be picked up by him. Afraid she might fall from the chair, Jareth scooped her up into his arms. Peta lay forgotten in the seat, while the ball rolled across the floor. It's clear surface now reflecting all that was around it.

Jareth gently stroked Brenna's back, speaking to her softly as she murmured apology over and over again frantically. He almost jumped when Gregory spoke, Brenna having taken all of his attention.

"He's right. The ball holds a foreign magic to it. Though why I can't sense it on her, I do not know…I do sense a shield however. Jareth, why would you shield her?"

Gregory landed a hard gaze upon him.

"That would be my fault,"

His mother spoke up, drawing Gregory's gaze.

"I wanted to check the child before the confrontation and I think I was irritating the child. Jareth pushed my gaze away and shielded the child so that no one could search her."

Gregory looked at Jareth, who nodded in agreement.

"Brenna did not like the feeling of being searched, since it was irritating her I decided to put an end to it."

Gregory nodded in understanding.

"There are reasons why we rarely search a child," at this he shot Guinevere a admonishing looks, "one of them being that they do not understand what the searching is."

Guinevere looked properly chastened, with a slight smile.

"However," Riordan spoke up, "since the child is a Faeling, she should then be placed in a proper home. One with a suitable family environment and with some one who can properly train her."

Jareth's hold on Brenna tightened slightly, hoping his argument would hold. In the end it would be Gregory and Riordan that made the final decision.

"The child is adapting to life here. She seems to like it. And while there isn't much for a family environment, I think it better for her. Brenna scares easily and is very wary of strange people."

"Nonsense, she's fine with you," Armina stated, coming around to get a closer look at her.

Brenna watched her with wide evergreen eyes; half curled against Jareth, and then suddenly gave a terrified shriek as Armina reached for her. Squirming like a snake, she tried to get away from Armina unsuccessfully. Jareth adjusted his hold on her and took a step back as Armina took a step back as well. The High Queen's gaze was alarmed, even a little stricken. Jareth bowed to her slightly with an apologetic look.

"Pardon for me saying so, your highness, but she behaved the same way around me. A little less vocally, though. This has been the loudest she's been since she came to the labyrinth. She has had nearly three days to get comfortable around me. Even then, she's still wary."

Brenna settled down as Armina retreated, tears coursing down her face and trembling. Riordan motioned his wife closer, reassuring her with his closeness. Their youngest child was over two centuries old, no where near a child any more. Armina was naturally a loving and kind woman, and Jareth hoped that she wouldn't take the refusal to hard.

"Of course, if the child was neglected and mistreated, as my son has said, then it would prove his story. Only a child who has undergone long periods of such treatment would see everyone as a threat. She is too young to have met many people, and the only people she has met have been harmful to her."

His father spoke up from where he had been standing quietly. Sebastian wasn't aggressive in such court functions, but he was excellent in finding a solution, for he analyzed the situation as it happened. Now his father watched Brenna as she hiccupped and whimpered forlornly in Jareth's arms.

"It is obvious," he finally said after several moments, "that the child has, indeed, started to feel comfortable around my son."

"But feeling comfortable around a person does not make that person family. And what of her schooling," Gregory countered.

"We cannot take her, it would terrify her," Guinevere added, with Armina nodding slowly in agreement.

Riordan was silent again, watching the child.

"Gregory is right," he stated after some time.

Jareth felt a creeping feeling of loss as Riordan continued to watch the child.

"But so is everyone else," he added after a long time, "including Jareth. The child must stay in the underground. And she cannot be removed from the labyrinth. At least not now."

Then he looked at Jareth, focusing his eerily intense pale gaze upon him.

"What are your feelings of the child Jareth? You are the one that has rebelled because of her since she arrived. I should be holding you responsible for it, but you seem already set to the task."

Jareth looked down at the endearing child that was now humming softly to herself. Her soft curls framed her face, hiding her dark evergreen eyes. Occasionally she would sniff, but her tears had dried. Then she looked up at him, her angel's face so sweetly innocent to the turmoil around her. He smiled, and then looked up at Riordan with a face set in stone.

"I have already decided that I care for the child, I want to make sure she is taken care of and has a safe and loving existence in the underground. I want her to stay in the labyrinth, where I can look after her."

"But could you love this child as one of your own?"

Riordan inquired calmly.

"Yes, I could."

Jareth said, after a moments though and adjusting Brenna to a better position. Riordan looked as if he was up to something, as if an idea had come to him at that moment. Slowly a smirk curved Riordan's mouth, and he chuckled.

"For once I believe you are sincere. This child means something to you, which is amazing, and I will believe that you would give her the best life she could have."

He looked back at those that came with him.

"Here is my proposition. We allow Jareth to keep Brenna in the labyrinth for a time. Say a month. If, in that time, Brenna sees Jareth as a parent figure then the child will stay here."

Gregory, ever the one to not let a topic die, countered.

"What of her schooling, Riordan?"

Riordan waved that off with a snort.

"Jareth has more connections then I care to mention in the underground. He is quite capable of her basic and intermediate training, and I know Tiombe will aid with her expert training."

At this, Riordan rolled his eyes. Jareth smirked, yet inside he was dancing. He was being given the chance to keep Brenna. In the end it was up to the child, of course, but that didn't bother him as much as it would have if they had just taken the child from him. Then Riordan turned back to look at Jareth.

"You have heard my verdict. Because of this, no punishments will be given for the taking of the Faeling child, as we can see it as the child was returning home."

With that, Riordan bowed and vanished with Armina and Gregory. Sebastian and Guinevere remained a moment longer then they to vanish with a smile. A soft hum from his arms made him look down, to where Brenna was playing with the hem of her dress. She was still tense, having had way too much excitement, and refused to look up at him. That was alright with him.

Yet when he made to place her in her high chair, she whimpered pathetically and clung to his shirt. Her emerald eyes turned up to look at him reproachfully. He drew her close to him again and stared at her in wonder. As soon as she was settled against his side, she began to hum pleasantly to herself. Her behavior was, for a moment, unusual to him. Then he made himself think. She had people, strangers, coming close to her and trying to touch her. It had been a very stressful morning for her. So now, after she had found a place of comfort during the stressful period, she was loath to leave this place of comfort.

He pondered what to do; they had yet to have breakfast although he could hear the servants bringing the meal to them. Sitting down in the chair he normally sat in as of late, to help Brenna with her breakfast, he set her in his lap. Immediately she placed her little hands upon the table, playing with the ends of the ribbons that wrapped around her waist. She wasn't directly paying any attention to him at all yet if he tried to pick her up to put her in her chair she started to fuss and squirm so finally he resigned himself. Not a moment later the servants arrived to set the table and were witness to their king allowing a pint sized child to eat her breakfast from his lap instead of her chair.