Ch8. The Garden
Disclaimer: See chapter two.
Authors Note: How am I doing with the random magic so far? Any questions on anything?
There was an unfamiliar sound in the room when she awoke, "Jareth," she moaned tiredly. He stirred but didn't wake, "Jareth," she tried again pushing lightly on his chest to rouse him.
"What," he opened his eyes slowly.
"What's that noise," she whined against his chest.
"The birds are greeting the day my siren, as should we. The sun is risen. The day is young and you've gotten more than enough sleep to last you until night," he got out of bed pulling her with him.
She looked at the clock. It was half past thirteen. She groaned and turned to make the bed. She groaned again and wrapped her arms around Jareth, "Mm, not a morning person," she mumbled against his chest.
"You'll feel much better after some breakfast Genie," he started guiding her to the door.
She stopped and refused to leave the room, "I am not going anywhere in a nightgown."
He smirked. In this environment her rich girl behavior was returning. The other day she would have happily walked outside in the morning wearing only her underwear and a bathrobe just to get the mail. He changed direction and steered her towards the bathroom. She undressed herself as he drew her a warm bath. He averted his eyes respectfully as she stepped into the water.
"Don't go back to sleep. I would hate to have you drown in the tub," his tone was clearly joking and she smiled and promised she'd stay awake. Then he added more seriously, "I'll return in a minute with your clothes for the day before I go back to the royal suite for my own bath. Take your time. There is no rush today."
Regina relaxed and began washing away the dirt from the labyrinth. She heard when Jareth returned for a few seconds and left but didn't look up. She was grateful for the time alone to sort all this out in her head. She had wished away her sister, broke up with her abusive boyfriend, agreed to marry a man she had just met, and now she would be spending all eternity here as his wife and queen. Luckily he was still going to allow her to praise and worship God.
"Father," she began to pray, "I hope I'm still on the path you planned for me. I don't know what Jareth is or even if he is telling the truth about being your son and longing for your love. All I can do is ask for your guidance. Please help me to adjust to this and to do what I need to do here," she was crying now as she felt the essence of the Holy Spirit lift her prayers to Heaven, "Let everything I do honor and glorify you. I feel so lost right now but I know that by your grace alone I can find my place here as your loyal daughter. In your precious, pure, and holy name I pray. Amen," the prayer ended and she instantly felt peace as it's answer.
God had heard her and he would give her the guidance she needed. She finished her bath at a leisurely pace and dried herself off. She looked at the dress her fiancé had chosen for her and smiled. He clearly paid attention to her lineage. She had worn similar gowns to this green and white garment at Irish heritage festivals. Another tear shimmered in her blue eye as she recalled a thing her Mother used to tell her when she asked about leprechauns.
'I believe they are the guardian angels of the Irish. They keep God's love at the end of every rainbow. For the rainbow is God's promise that the earth shall never again be destroyed by flood. The 'gold' the angels keep at the end of the rainbow is a gift for those who let their Father, Master, and Friend guide them through the rain,' he Mother had said.
She had thought it silly then but now here she was begging to be led through the storm to the 'gold'. She knew it was already with her. It was just harder to see in the rain and the hand of Jesus that held hers would be more likely to slip out of her grasp if she kept trying to struggle along in the cold, wet darkness. She had to give in and let the Lord carry her. He would not drop her if she didn't struggle. She fell to her knees and wept dropping the bodice back onto the shelf on which she had found it.
"Mommy," she cried desperately, "I need you."
She needed to hear her Mother's voice. She needed to hear that it was okay from the one woman she had always looked up to. Her pleas were answered by silence and a sense of warmth as though her Mother could not fully reach her but was trying to help. She allowed the feeling to help settle her and imagined her Mother's voice telling her what she needed to hear. After a few minutes she finally stood up and put the dress on. The soft linens caressed her skin but even with the undergarments she still felt naked.
Reentering the bedroom she sat at the dressing table and looked at herself in the mirror. She brushed her hair, toweled it to remove some more of the moisture from the thin strands and repeated the process until her hair was almost completely dry.
"You look lovely in that gown my siren," she gasped and jumped a little as she saw in the mirror Jareth appear quite literally out of thin air.
"Could you stop doing that. Your habit of popping in out of nowhere is really freaking me out," she turned to look at him.
He smirked in amusement and gently began working on her hair, "I did not pop in out of nowhere. I simply teleported from my room to yours."
"Well being raised where that is physically impossible it is a rather startling sight to see," she held still as some hair at each of her temples was twisted against the side of her head, tied together at the back and the rest of the length braided.
"How about we compromise then. Next time I'll teleport outside of your room and knock," he kissed the top of her head when he finished.
"Thank you," she said relieved and turned to kiss him properly. Her stomach gave a loud grumble and he tittered against her lips.
"Perhaps we should go down for breakfast now," he started walking her to the door.
"I don't mind if you do it with me. It's when I have no warning that you're about to show up that annoys me," she protested wanting to use the fastest route to food she had access to.
A small peal of laughter escaped his throat as he pulled her into his arms and willingly obliged, "Your word is my command my siren," he whispered in her ear as she closed her eyes.
"You'll have to forgive me. It's been a long time since my last romantic relationship with anyone and I fear I'm a bit out of practice with gestures of love," Jareth said taking a bite of a peach.
She smiled barely suppressing a laugh, and leaned forward to kiss his jaw, lapping out with her tongue to clean up the juice that had drizzled down his chin. His eyes closed instantly at the sweet contact and an involuntary whine of longing worked it's way up his throat. From that sound she could tell where part of him wanted this to go. Luckily both of them were fully aware of the goblin servants in the room staring at them, undoubtedly wondering when their king would snap out of his reverie and yell at this woman for touching him without permission. They were thoroughly shocked when he swallowed the bite of peach and turned his mouth to meet hers.
"You know my Regalis, you're proving to be such a natural at it I might not have noticed of you had said nothing," she whispered when their lips broke then placed an gentle kiss on his cheek before returning to her meal.
He let out a small sigh of relief, "Thank you. Still I'd like to do something big for you. I just don't know what," he wanted to show her how much he loved her without crossing the line to inappropriate.
"Hmm," she mulled that over for a few minutes while she ate, "It would be nice to go on a date with you before we get married. You know? Outside of the castle grounds. Just the two of us."
He considered it and finally gave an approving nod, "How about a picnic in the labyrinth for dinner then? I know a place there you might like well enough."
She smiled and nodded, "That sounds nice."
"Perfect. It's a date," he was glad to see her happy, "I'll pick you up at nine," they finished the meal in silence giving each other meaningful looks. She hadn't expected to feel this close to him so fast. Then again some relationships did start fast and, as long as the couple could learn to cooperate and satisfy each other's needs, they went rather well.
"So, about that garden," she reminded him when both of them were done eating.
He smiled and stood, offering her his hand. She accepted it and let him pull her easily to his side, "You can take care of yourselves for a day. I intend to take some time to bond with my bride. Damage my kingdom and I'll drop you in an oubliette," he gave his servants a look that dared them to defy him.
Rhea had to practically run to keep up as Jareth led her to the gardens. Amazed at what she saw when she got there she nearly got dizzy turning in circles as she walked. The plants were magnificent. All of them existed in the aboveground and somehow thrived in the strange conditions. Many of the plants were easily recognizable as tropical plants that should need a much higher temperature than the provided environment to thrive as they did. She stopped spinning when she noticed a familiar scent. It took her a few minutes to locate it.
"La rosa de la sangre," she knelt at a careful distance from the Mexican rose bush.
"I had those planted after your senior trip to Mexico last month. Do you like them," he sat next to her and draped his arm over her shoulders.
"I love them. They're so beautiful yet so dangerous if you're not careful," she leaned her head on his shoulder, "Like you actually."
He smiled. He couldn't argue there. Anyone who had run his labyrinth and survived would agree that he was dangerous. As far as beautiful, his kind had that effect on humans. It was nice to hear one of them actually say it though. The fairies were too busy with the flowers to talk to him and most of the other creatures found him more frightening than beautiful. The nymphs keep to themselves accept when he chooses to visit. While they thought he was beautiful they were too narcissistic in nature to tell anyone what they really thought of their beauty. The only time they showed that they liked another's appearance was through jealousy. The would point out features they adored and call it ugly. As anyone could imagine, being called the most hideous creature they've ever seen is hard to take as a compliment. They only really complimented their mates.
"Thank you," he pressed his lips to her shoulder, " I agree with your description of me. I can't see how the plant is dangerous though."
"You can't," she sounded surprised and reached out to touch one of the thorns. She had barely touched it when her finger began bleeding freely from the point of contact, "How about now?"
He nodded and drew the finger to his lips, sucking lightly to stop the blood flow, "The thorns are sharp. You should be more careful," he summoned a crystal and turned it into a first aid kit which he then used to treat and bandage the wound.
"I'll keep that in mind. How does my blood taste vampire," she laughed lightheartedly.
"Very delicious my siren but I hope you weren't expecting one of the Cullens or you'll be very disappointed as I am not a vegetarian," he whispered in a teasing voice.
"No worries there. I'm team Jacob. At least when he goes into the sun he doesn't sparkle like a sugar plum fairy," she allowed herself to be pulled into his lap.
One of the small creatures that looked like a human-butterfly hybrid flew into her face and started angrily yelling at her in a high-pitched bell voice that Rhea couldn't understand.
"It would appear you've insulted her," Jareth whispered.
"Is she…" she cut off.
"A sugar plum fairy," he finished for her, "Yes, you can tell by the plum color of her wings and the sparkle of her skin from the sugar crystals her skin produces."
"Oh," she memorized the giveaway features on her mind and addressed the irritated fairy, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you."
The fairy crossed her arms and glared. Regina felt something round and soft being placed into her hand. She looked down quickly to see that Jareth had given her a plum, "It is customary to present a peace offering when apologizing to a fairy. If you don't they tend to hold grudges and take it out on the plants," he kissed her on the cheek and smelled her hair.
She held out the ripe fruit, being careful not to move too fast, "An offering of peace. Will you accept my apology?"
The fairy's expression softened. She accepted the gift and suddenly the plum was surrounded by a swarm of sugar plum fairies.
"They all share the same peace offering," Rhea watched as they all began eating the small gift.
"It's custom. They're a tribe. If you insult one you insult all of them," Jareth explained with a sigh of contentment.
"Does the library have any books on the various cultures of the Underground," she leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Of course. I'll show you the library after lunch," the reply was whispered sweetly in her ear.
"What time do you usually have lunch," she inquired.
"The equivalent to noon down here is six thirty. Sometime within the hour of six is about right," he nuzzled her neck.
She moaned and tilted her head to the side to allow him better access, "And what time is it now?"
Jareth summoned a clock, glanced at it, then let it fade into the air, "Two thirty."
"So are we just going to sit here for the next three to four hours or are there other things you wish to show me," she giggled as he licked the sensitive nape of her neck.
"Actually there is a crystal lake near the apple orchard you might like," he picked her up as he stood.
"Whoa," she clung to his neck as she realized she was no longer on the ground.
"Don't worry my siren. I am strong and I will not drop you," he assured her.
She settled and let him carry her in his capable arms. She rested her temple on his shoulder and smiled lightly as his soft hair caressed her face.
"Open your eyes darling. We're here," he set her on her feet.
She looked and beheld a sparkling lake. The water was clear and had a few rocks popping through the surface. What was most lovely about it was the creatures using some of the rocks as resting places or even just swimming around them. Some were male and some were female. All looked human from the waist up with a scaly shimmering tail from the waist down. Mortality was clear as some were only infants and some were elderly and all ages in between could be spotted playing joyously in the water as well.
"Mermaids," she whispered in awe.
"Merpeople, some are clearly not of the maiden variety," he corrected calmly.
One of the mermaids looked towards the shore. She let out a cry of happiness and flipped off her rock to swim to them. Rhea took a quick step back as the other merpeople noticed her outburst and swam after her. Jareth placed an encouraging hand on her back.
"Your Majesty, what brings you here?"
"Yes, your Majesty, we want to serve you."
"Who is this girl, your Majesty?"
"Is she a friend of yours, King Jareth?"
"She's very pretty, your Majesty."
"Of what culture is she, your Majesty?"
"What purpose does she serve here, King Jareth?"
The questions and comments continued. The mermen didn't speak as much but enough for Rhea to notice the difference in form of respect. The females used the title 'your Majesty' in a submissive and adoring way. It was clear that is he had wanted to the king could easily have had his pick of a bride from these girls. The males on the other hand used the title 'King Jareth' as a sign of loyal companionship rather than pure desire to please. Finally Jareth held up a hand to silence them. Almost immediately they stopped talking.
"My loyal merpeople, settle yourselves. All will be revealed in a moment," he began stripping his clothes off an motioned for Regina to do the same.
She shook her head and looked away when he began removing his trousers. It was only when he pressed against her back and whispered promises that his subjects would not hurt anyone under his protection and that she would not be touched in a sexual way by anyone but him that she allowed herself to be stripped naked.
"The human girl you see before you is my bride, Regina, the future queen of the Underground," he took her hand and led her to the edge of the water.
For a moment she was afraid the girls would respond negatively to this but they along with the males smiled and rained many versions of congratulations on the happy couple. She allowed him to lead her into the water. Magic pulsed through the liquid and made her feel warm all over.
"Do you trust me m siren," he asked. She nodded. He smiled and pulled her to the deep center of the lake, "Then it's time," he stated pulling her close.
TBC…
