"JARETH!"
Loki looked up to his son, his eyes narrowed at seeing the fae's mirth. Before he could ask what he missed out on, Sarah stormed into the throne room with a huge white concoction of lace.
"This isn't funny." Sarah scolded when she saw Jareth's lips curl up in silent laughter.
"Your words not mine, precious." Jareth said without any laughter despite the grin.
Sarah glowered at her heartmate, "I am not wearing the peach dream dress."
"The seamstress altered it to be the sleek dress you asked." Jareth replied.
"It's all lace!" Sarah protested and threw the dress at him. "I'd be near naked."
Jareth magicked the creation back to the queen's closet, "I made sure that it covers what's important."
Sarah growled at him; the sound caused most of the goblins to squeak before making a run for it. The horde that remained hid behind Loki lest the woman threw fire.
Loki leaned back to whisper, "Now would be a good time to run, son."
Jareth glared at his sire and returned his attention to Sarah. He held up his hands in a form of peace when he sensed just how bad be angered her, "There's still time to make another dress."
"Jareth, the ball is tonight." Sarah frowned.
"Run," Loki hissed. Behind him the goblins did the same.
Jareth scrubbed his face with a sigh, "Can we talk about this later?" He requested and motioned to the wished away he was tending to.
.
Sarah's mouth snapped shut as reality flooded back. At seeing the babe's burns and once-broken arm she softened. Without much of a thought she brought the fragile girl to her chest to cuddle her. While she rocked the babe she looked at the crystal, "The caregiver ran?"
"To Duana's delight, yes." Jareth commented just as the crystal reflected the babe's caretaker and abuser being tormented by the Labyrinth's vines. In the back of his mind he imagined Duana's sadistic grin of glee over this runner.
Loki chuckled when the human man was pulled back from the path and into the shadows like the victim of a horror movie, "The remains would make good fertilizer." When the pair blinked he held up his hands in peace. "Just a thought."
When the ether rippled, everyone held their breath – expecting Arthur to crawl through the portal. Instead, Briec stepped out swearing in a dozen languages.
Loki took one look at the fae then transformed into Jareth, "I'll handle the runner." He said then Jareth nodded, both in approval and in thanks.
After the god left, Jareth jabbed a finger in the direction of the door, "Goblins, out."
The creatures took one look at the seriousness on their king's face then scrambled to leave. When the door closed, Jareth looked at Sarah.
"Precious-"
Sarah frowned and formed a crystal, throwing it at the door to seal it shut and soundproof the room. After she magicked the wished away to the nursery for the nannies to care for, she faced the king. "What's the verdict?" She asked calmly.
Briec sighed and scrubbed his face, uncaring of his clothes he sat on a dusty windowsill. After several moments he spoke, "Destroy them."
Jareth blinked, "Pardon?"
"The troll king is the most arrogant creature in existence. He didn't bother coming to the meeting, he sent someone in his stead despite my instructions that we were to chat face to face. When I asked for the reason the servant said the king was overseeing the formation of his army." Briec pinched the bridge of his nose. "Whomever he is, he isn't native or a pureblood. His servant stunk of Fae."
"But you don't have proof." Jareth noted.
"I can't find a single record of the man. Nothing of how he became king and near nothing of his parentage. Trolls who aren't allied to their homeland refuse to give me information but at the mere mention of the king they grow silent." Briec answered then sighed. "Unfortunately, I can't take back an invitation."
Sarah frowned, "So now the ball is more important than before."
Briec nodded, "You have my blessing, Jareth, and the court knows it. The nobles will still barter for allegiances despite that and no one will know which allegiances are honest and which are not. Some may approach you just to gain my favor."
Jareth sat back, his hands folded and resting on his chin, "Your advice?"
"Seek Queen Amena's aid and her allies." Briec stated bluntly.
"Amena," Sarah rolled the name over. "The Elf Queen?"
"And your cousin. She despises the trolls as much as you do, trolls have been attacking the trees of her people for centuries. Amena has been quiet about it but my guess is that once she knows of Sarah's involvement she'll step up to remain loyal to her family ties to Gladys." Briec explained. "As champion and lady of the Labyrinth your tie is faint and would earn the loyalties of some. But if your title were queen-"
"My tie would be unbreakable." Sarah concluded.
"And the loyalties sworn would grow in number. Some of the demi gods may even swear allegiance." Briec added.
Sarah gaped but then felt dumb, 'It's because I'm destiny's mother.' She nodded in understanding and glanced at Jareth. 'Marriage works by way of heartmates…'
"In that case, my title for the night is such." Sarah said and Jareth's attention went straight to her.
"Precious," he breathed.
"We are heartmates, it's only reasonable that we both would be announced as such in a formal setting." Sarah reasoned then turned to Briec. "I'll wear the seal so have it announced. You two shouldn't be the only ones doing the heavy work behind this."
Briec nodded and looked at Jareth. The fae was torn between joy and concern. With Sarah announced as queen, she was letting all know her place in Jareth's life and therefore his vulnerability. Without it though, the alliances needed for the upcoming war would be less. 'You carry a heavy burden, my friend.' Briec concluded solemnly.
.
When Jareth sighed, all attention was on him as he stood. For a brief moment Sarah saw him looking far older than he was. He clasped Briec in a brotherly hug, "Thank you."
"If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask." Briec offered as they released each other.
"I won't ask," Jareth stated. "Too much blood has stained your hands for my sake. It is time I alone should carry that burden."
Briec nodded gloomily, "Then I wish you luck." He said then magicked back to his castle.
.
Sarah looked at Jareth then she walked to his side and wrapped her arms around him. In her arms he relaxed and returned the comforting embrace.
"Together," she urged.
With a sigh he nodded, "Together."
They stood together in silence for as long as they could, knowing that it was probably their last true peaceful moment alone. It wasn't until they looked at the clock that they found they were standing in each other's arms for more than an hour.
.*.*.*.*.
Karen eyed the scene skeptically, "Are you sure this is wise?" She questioned as Sarah stepped through the portal to her apartment.
"Jareth is busy for the afternoon with defense meetings. Things are going to become dangerous in the Underground and I'm not about to let you or Toby go back to the house." Sarah said as she crossed the living room to grab her cell phone. "Mrs. Baugh has an apartment over the store that she has offered to me several times. Since the shop is a gateway, it's protected by both the Underground and the mortal world."
Karen smiled sadly but sat down, "I don't know what to say."
"Then you don't need to say anything." Sarah justified as she dialed. "Yes, Mrs. Baugh, I was wondering if the apartment over the store was still vacant…"
When Karen saw the goblins filtering into the apartment, she couldn't help but giggle at them as they surrounded Sarah. The creatures knew their king would be upset with Sarah sneaking away when he was occupied, and to prevent the pair from arguing too loudly they were glued to Sarah lest danger came her way. One goblin, named Fuzzy by his peers, blinked up at Karen like a fluffy puppy. Unable to reject the cute little creature, Karen motioned for Fuzzy to sit on her lap. With a grin the jumper clad goblin climbed onto the couch and then onto Karen's lap.
When she petted the creature, she found Fuzzy purring like a cat and it's hair light and fluffy like a kitten too.
"Alright, thanks," Sarah closed her cell and turned to Karen. "The apartment's available and is now reserved as a safe house if things go wrong."
"You don't have to go out of your way like this." Karen began.
"I'm not," Sarah stated. "I can't expect you or Toby to be safe in my apartment and soon I won't be living here."
Karen giggled at that, "Jareth won the argument?"
Sarah glowered at the reminder that since Arthur's birthday Jareth was apartment searching for the both of them. Yesterday he gave the argument that made her decide to humor him. A neighbor down the hall was arrested for running a meth lab in his apartment.
"To be determined." Sarah replied. "Do you mind waiting here? I'm just running downstairs to get the mail."
"I don't mind," Karen said then Sarah exited.
.
"Boss Lady, this bad idea." A semi intelligent goblin protested as he followed Sarah.
"I'm just getting the mail, Pip." Sarah said as she crossed the floor to the wall of post office boxes.
"Boss will be mad," Pip protested.
Sarah unlocked the box and pulled out a thick stack of letters. 'Bills, bills…' after the sixth envelope she stopped cold.
"Boss Lady?" Pip crawled up Sarah to perch on her shoulder. When the creature saw the return address on the envelope, he looked at Sarah's face. "Queenie?"
Sarah readjusted the stack so the letters from Robert were at the bottom of the stack, "I'm fine." She whispered as she climbed back up to the apartment.
"You don't feel fine." Pip noted, the creature sensed every emotion in the woman and some brought tears to his eyes.
"But I will be." Sarah replied.
Dejected, Pip nodded. When he spotted his friends, he hopped off Sarah's shoulder and into the ether.
.*.*.*.*.*.
"Precious, it's bad form for us to be late." Jareth said as he fought the urge to pace the antechamber. He'd never outright say "hurry up" to Sarah but the woman was taking too long getting dressed.
"Perfection doesn't happen without effort, Jareth." Sarah countered through the door that led to the queen's bedroom.
Jareth grumbled and slumped down on the settee. Across from him, Loki chuckled while bouncing Arthur.
"You'll get your honeymoon soon enough." Loki teased. Out of everyone in the castle, he and the royal advisor knew of Jareth's post ball plans to whisk Sarah away for the rest of the weekend to the royal seaside manor. His version of a honeymoon to celebrate Sarah not yet having throttled him over the heartmate issue and the fact that they both were bound by something far stronger than a pair of rings - nevertheless, the fae still had one to see if popping the question one more time would get Sarah to say yes.
For a brief moment both males heard the clinking of metal. Loki suddenly grinned and stood.
"I'll leave you two lovebirds now. Marrec and I will make sure the goblins don't make too much of a mess." Loki said and swiftly exited the room with Arthur.
Jareth opened his mouth to respond but then the door to the queen's bedroom opened his attention flew to the door.
.
His jaw slackened upon seeing Sarah's gown. Unlike the previous one, this concoction suited the role of queen and champion far better.
The gown was sleek and floor length. The midnight blue material hugged her so tightly from bust to hip that it might as well have been her own skin. There were no sleeves made of cloth, but rather it was of chainmail. The whole gown's overlay was chainmail starting from the top of Sarah's modest sweetheart corset to her knees. Her shoulders were bare but the metal clung to her upper arm thanks to a thick black leather belt and ended with a ring that sat on her middle fingers. And the finishing touch of the assembly was the goblin queen seal pendant that sat on the hallow of her neck, hanging in place on the elegance of a sheer black ribbon.
"Um, precious?" Jareth breathed when Sarah came up to him and looped her arms around his neck. Her magic soaked into him and gave his outfit a matching touch to hers. The shirt under his vest suddenly had a formfitting stained black chest plate over it.
"We are more or less going to war." Sarah commented then kissed him. "Don't you think we should look the part?"
Jareth blinked but then grinned darkly at her thinking. Grasping his queen's waist, he dove to consume her lips one last time before they transported to the ballroom.
When the grandfather clock chimed, he let her catch her breath.
"Is my queen ready?" He breathed. When she nodded, he kissed her one more time then magicked them to the receiving hall.
.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.
The ballroom was so finely decorated that Sarah breathed in awe when she and Jareth entered. Their announcement was a faint mumble in her mind as she took in the beauty of the room. Unlike the last ballroom she was in with Jareth, this one was old world elegance that breathed turn of the century to her. Accents on top of wood and plaster were of sharp gold and blue. The wood floor was laid out in so many designs it was hard to differ one from the other. And a single wall was nothing but beautiful glass cut doors that led to the balcony and to the gardens beyond.
'It's like something out of Anastasia.' Sarah inwardly giggled when she placed Briec's décor to the real world.
Together, Sarah and Jareth maneuvered through noble after noble that came to greet them and offer congratulations to Jareth for getting not just a heartmate but a son as well. The nobles' wives curtsied and huddled around Sarah before taking her to a corner of the room where the other women of court had gathered.
"I never would have guessed that the champion of the Labyrinth was this beautiful flower." One fae chimed the phrase that by the end of the night would cause Sarah to scream bloody murder.
.
Jareth was calm when he saw that Sarah was mingling. He had to chuckle at the irony of the situation for several who sung praises were once women who he had rejected.
When he spotted Ayden, a friend from his youth, he moved toward the fae but found a small hand on his shoulder. The magic signature of the elf who held him still made him sigh.
"Amena," he greeted then turned to look at the tall and lithe elf.
The queen's golden spiked green eyes looked at him and flickered to Sarah for a brief moment. She released his shoulder then curtsied, "Goblin King, one would hope your heartmate wouldn't mind if I asked you for a dance."
"Of course not," Jareth replied and offered Amena his arm.
Once the pair were in the throws of the dance steps, Amena glowered at him.
"You are risking my cousin's life." She scolded him.
"Sarah was the one to let her status be known and I'll never argue with my queen." Jareth responded.
Amena frowned, "Our shared enemy clamors at your kingdom's walls and you take a moment to endanger your family."
"If you truly knew Sarah you wouldn't consider her to be the pretty flower that the court is admiring." Jareth commented then shifted his gaze to Sarah. "They think she is under their spell but the reality is that she is looking for weaknesses. Things to comment on to take them down a notch or to gain sympathies so they approach their husbands to send aid."
"Then it is war." Amena concluded.
Jareth nodded, "Can I expect my neighbor's aid?"
Anema looked at Sarah and then nodded. When Jareth's lips curled into a smile the elf near crushed his hand, "If she ever gets a broken heart from you, I will make you regret this."
Jareth chuckled, "As you wish."
.*.*.*.*.*.*.
Sarah sighed in relief when she was able to sit down with a glass of punch. Out of the fae nobles she spoke to she could trust the word of five to pressure their husbands to make the alliance.
After several sips, a red clad noble slid into the seat next to her. Sarah blinked and looked at the king. He was not that much taller than Jareth and his reddish brown eyes sparkled at Sarah in amusement from behind black hair.
"Um…"
"Sorry, Ayden," he said to introduce himself. "Man, if not for having found my own heartmate I'd be jealous of Jareth. Do you mind letting me pull a prank on him? I owe him one after the carriage incident."
Sarah blinked again, "I suppose…"
Ayden grinned then promptly swept Sarah to the dance floor, just in time for Jareth to see his best friend steal away his "wife". Despite laughing, Ayden guided Sarah through the proper steps. Her expression made him laugh harder.
"Sorry," he coughed. "Couldn't resist. Jareth and I always had fun stealing away each other's dancing partners when we were princes."
Sarah's eyes sparkled with the promise of mischief, "Oh? Do tell me more."
.
Jareth glowered at Ayden when he returned Sarah to him. The grin in Sarah's eyes made him loath the reason. Ayden, acting innocent, grinned and hugged Jareth.
"This is war." Jareth said half-heartedly. He knew where to find Ayden's heartmate and could easily give her the ammunition to make his friend's immortal life hell or at least an embarrassing one.
Ayden laughed and side stepped a smack to the head, "Just making sure fatherhood and marriage isn't slowing you down, old friend."
Jareth bristled at hearing 'old' and just when he was about to wrestle with the fae the trumpets sounded to announce the arrival of another king.
"His majesty Rì Olc, Troll King." Was announced and the room went dead silent.
All eyes flew to the entryway. The man who descended the stairs was in deed fae, but not a pureblood. His face was all fae while his muscular form and lengthy hair was all troll. A too pale face was framed with brown crossed black hair. Brown and gold eyes stared out at the crowd emotionlessly, but locked on Jareth. As more and more saw his face up close, women hid their mortification behind both hands and men gritted their teeth with their hands itching to grab a sword that wasn't there.
.
Jareth went stiff next to Sarah and she looked up at him in worry, only to find his eyes filled with panic. Beyond him she saw Ayden growling like a wild dog, his eyes suddenly became wolf like as his lip curled in aggression.
"Jareth," Sarah felt the influence of his emotions affecting their shared pulse. Her heart hammered so fast against her chest she half thought it would break a rib. She was about to say more, but Rì stopped two feet from them.
The king's eyes sparkled with a chilling emotion. He didn't bow, didn't offer his hand in civility, he merely said, "Hello, cousin."
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A.N.
For those of you who don't have any idea of the translation of Irish Gaelic, yes I just named the villain "Evil King" (originally I wanted his name to translate into "bastard king" but my dictionary didn't have the right translation).
On a side note, I shamelessly added my original character from a forgotten original project to this as motivation to get the story going again. Also the sketch I have of Sarah's dress can be found here: post/77646325461/jareths-jaw-slackened-upon-seeing-sarahs-gown
And on a later date I'll attempt a sketch of Sarah in it.
In addition, apologies for the evil cliffy. However, this means shorter chapters and thus (I hope) weekly updates. So hopefully I'll have the remainder of the ballroom scene done when my finals are done this weekend.
