Disclaimer: Yadda yadda yadda… You all know I don't get any financial
compensation for this, don't bother suing…
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Chapter 6:
Once again, Narcissa was wandering through her gardens alone. There had been a time when her confidante and husband would have been right beside her but those days were over. Now she was being forced to replace Thor. The image of the rugged, brown-haired fae was always with her.
She never understood her connection to Thor. They were not in love; they both admitted it. Even their children knew that. Their marriage had been about convenience and royal politics. Narcissa supposed that this was what bonded them together. They had acted more like friends than husband and wife and it did not bother them. But they did tell one another everything and although it was common practice among other married fae, they did not have significant others. She had always liked that aspect of their relationship. No mistresses, no flirtation, no handsome lieutenants to sweep the queen off her feet; in short, no scandals. They had been friends, the best of friends possible.
"I miss him so much," Narcissa admitted softly to herself. Her fingers traced the edge of the rose in front of her.
"Of course you miss him, being married to a man for one hundred and twenty five years definitely qualifies as a commitment."
Narcissa turned to see the serious face of the Goblin King. Seeing he was being sincere, she nodded in agreement.
"How did he die?"
The young queen gave a slight gasp at his candor. Not because of what he said, but because he did say it. Most people had tiptoed around the subject of Thor's death for the past twenty-five years.
Jareth sat down on the iron bench nearby, waiting for an answer. He looked undisturbed by her surprise. Narcissa slowly positioned herself next to him.
Her voice cracked with emotion, "War. He was the Norse fae of war. He was also the strongest of any of the so-called Norse 'gods' except perhaps Odin. When a small village implored him to come and save them, he had to go. Unfortunately, he had forgotten what a changed world this is. No one calls on a fae and actually expects that prayer to be answered. They haven't expected it for at least two hundred years. When Thor went to them, he saw, too late, what the village was fighting. A gang of murderers had come to the town. He gave quite a fight; after all, he'd sworn to protect the village. As you know, no fae breaks their promise without dire consequences. But he couldn't last against these new weapons. I think it was the guns that killed him… I'm not sure, they wouldn't let me see his body until they had cleaned it up for the funeral. All I know is that he died from 'overexposure to death'."
Jareth knew what she was talking about. Fae could live through a tremendous amount of physical abuse, but eventually, their bodies would just break down. Several bullet holes could certainly cause it. He looked at Narcissa. She was staring out into the distance, a pained expression on her face.
She glanced at the king next to her, "We think we're so privileged, living in a world set apart from the modern times. We still have palaces and courts and droves of dignitaries who aren't even aware that their own world died a long time ago. We live in the past. And it killed my husband!" She choked the final words out, and for the first time in a quarter of a century, began to cry.
Jareth was startled and she noticed it but could not stop the flow of tears. He recovered quickly though and took her small hand into her own.
"Shhh…" was all he said, trying to calm her. He did not enough experience in this area, he decided. Grief that was not his own was foreign to him.
Trying to hide her embarrassment at crying in front of a stranger, Narcissa teased through her tears, "Mother tells me your are quite the singer."
It was Jareth's turn to blush but he decided that this was a chance to get her mind off of things.
So he began to sing softly,
"There's such a sad love
Deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel
Open and closed within your eyes
I'll place the sky within your eyes
There's such a fooled heart
Beating so fast in search of new dreams
A love that will last within your heart
I'll place the moon within your heart
As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill has gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you
As the world falls down
Falling
As the world… Falling down
Falling in love
I'll paint you mornings of gold
I'll spin you Valentine evenings
Though we're strangers till now
We're choosing the path between the stars
I'll leave my love between the stars
As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill has gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you
As the world falls down
1 Falling…"
Narcissa sighed. It was like a dream she once had or a story she once heard. She put her head on the Goblin King's shoulder and silently cried herself to sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The eyes were there watching the entire scene. How dare he? They were not in love with each other!… Were they?
More tears onto the roses.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Okay, I know… totally weird chapter but it explains a lot about Narcissa. "As the World Falls Down" is a great song by David Bowie (as if you didn't know…) and I don't own it in any way. As for the whole "other world" thing… I suppose it's a confusing concept. Basically, I conceived it as a place where time essentially stands still. Don't ask where it is… it's magical, it could be anywhere.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 6:
Once again, Narcissa was wandering through her gardens alone. There had been a time when her confidante and husband would have been right beside her but those days were over. Now she was being forced to replace Thor. The image of the rugged, brown-haired fae was always with her.
She never understood her connection to Thor. They were not in love; they both admitted it. Even their children knew that. Their marriage had been about convenience and royal politics. Narcissa supposed that this was what bonded them together. They had acted more like friends than husband and wife and it did not bother them. But they did tell one another everything and although it was common practice among other married fae, they did not have significant others. She had always liked that aspect of their relationship. No mistresses, no flirtation, no handsome lieutenants to sweep the queen off her feet; in short, no scandals. They had been friends, the best of friends possible.
"I miss him so much," Narcissa admitted softly to herself. Her fingers traced the edge of the rose in front of her.
"Of course you miss him, being married to a man for one hundred and twenty five years definitely qualifies as a commitment."
Narcissa turned to see the serious face of the Goblin King. Seeing he was being sincere, she nodded in agreement.
"How did he die?"
The young queen gave a slight gasp at his candor. Not because of what he said, but because he did say it. Most people had tiptoed around the subject of Thor's death for the past twenty-five years.
Jareth sat down on the iron bench nearby, waiting for an answer. He looked undisturbed by her surprise. Narcissa slowly positioned herself next to him.
Her voice cracked with emotion, "War. He was the Norse fae of war. He was also the strongest of any of the so-called Norse 'gods' except perhaps Odin. When a small village implored him to come and save them, he had to go. Unfortunately, he had forgotten what a changed world this is. No one calls on a fae and actually expects that prayer to be answered. They haven't expected it for at least two hundred years. When Thor went to them, he saw, too late, what the village was fighting. A gang of murderers had come to the town. He gave quite a fight; after all, he'd sworn to protect the village. As you know, no fae breaks their promise without dire consequences. But he couldn't last against these new weapons. I think it was the guns that killed him… I'm not sure, they wouldn't let me see his body until they had cleaned it up for the funeral. All I know is that he died from 'overexposure to death'."
Jareth knew what she was talking about. Fae could live through a tremendous amount of physical abuse, but eventually, their bodies would just break down. Several bullet holes could certainly cause it. He looked at Narcissa. She was staring out into the distance, a pained expression on her face.
She glanced at the king next to her, "We think we're so privileged, living in a world set apart from the modern times. We still have palaces and courts and droves of dignitaries who aren't even aware that their own world died a long time ago. We live in the past. And it killed my husband!" She choked the final words out, and for the first time in a quarter of a century, began to cry.
Jareth was startled and she noticed it but could not stop the flow of tears. He recovered quickly though and took her small hand into her own.
"Shhh…" was all he said, trying to calm her. He did not enough experience in this area, he decided. Grief that was not his own was foreign to him.
Trying to hide her embarrassment at crying in front of a stranger, Narcissa teased through her tears, "Mother tells me your are quite the singer."
It was Jareth's turn to blush but he decided that this was a chance to get her mind off of things.
So he began to sing softly,
"There's such a sad love
Deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel
Open and closed within your eyes
I'll place the sky within your eyes
There's such a fooled heart
Beating so fast in search of new dreams
A love that will last within your heart
I'll place the moon within your heart
As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill has gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you
As the world falls down
Falling
As the world… Falling down
Falling in love
I'll paint you mornings of gold
I'll spin you Valentine evenings
Though we're strangers till now
We're choosing the path between the stars
I'll leave my love between the stars
As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill has gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you
As the world falls down
1 Falling…"
Narcissa sighed. It was like a dream she once had or a story she once heard. She put her head on the Goblin King's shoulder and silently cried herself to sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The eyes were there watching the entire scene. How dare he? They were not in love with each other!… Were they?
More tears onto the roses.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Okay, I know… totally weird chapter but it explains a lot about Narcissa. "As the World Falls Down" is a great song by David Bowie (as if you didn't know…) and I don't own it in any way. As for the whole "other world" thing… I suppose it's a confusing concept. Basically, I conceived it as a place where time essentially stands still. Don't ask where it is… it's magical, it could be anywhere.