Gerard sat watching his silent mistress. She hadn't said a word since her return. He'd seen her temper before, watched her destroy things, witnessed her violence against other creatures, but seeing her calm, still and completely unresponsive was terrifying.
Jareth had cheated her out of the Labyrinth, and now he was High King. His mistress's fury had reached a point that she had internalized it. He'd never seen her like this before and the fear of what she would do now was taking over him. After half an hour of trying to coax her out of her silence he'd given up and started pacing. After an hour of that he'd gone back to talking to her, asking what she was thinking, trying to reason with her, talk her out of whatever it was she was planning. Eventually he starting talking about anything that came into his head, desperate to try and distract her from her thoughts, but she was entirely unresponsive. He wasn't even sure if she was aware he was even in the room.
Now, hours later, he was sat by her side, sharing her silence, as minute by minute his dread grew. He was no longer in control, he knew that now, maybe he never had been, all that was certain was that he was simply her puppet to get what she wanted, and as he looked at her vacant stare he wasn't sure what that was anymore. What he'd started years ago when he'd taken Jareth as a slave now threatened to destroy him. As High King Jareth could command the Fae army, and Gerard knew that if the full army mobalised, he and his people would be wiped out. However, Jareth could not command the Fae to join his army, he could not force them to go to a war that might mean their death. Jareth's army would be made up only of those that were loyal to him, those that wished to fight. Had it been Parthenon leading them, Gerard was sure almost every Fae of the Underground would have mobilized against him, but it wasn't Parthenon at the head, it was Jareth, the Goblin King. He was an ex-mortal, the war was over a mortal, Gerard knew there would be many Fae that would not follow him for that reason alone. Of course those would not be their official reasons, they would use flowery language, flatter the King, give reasons of family etcetera, but everyone would know the real cause of their disloyalty.
Gerard's mood began to lift slightly. With so many absent, the army that did assemble would surely be low on moral, that they were ruled by a new King wouldn't help either. Gerard began to feel hope and he turned to his mistress to attempt to explain his reasoning and thereby draw her out of her silence, but what he saw lodged the words in his throat with fear. No longer was her face blank. Her mouth now curved up into a tight smile, her eyes gleamed with the madness of her thoughts. She had gone past ranting, gone past hating, this woman was mad, and she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Gerard just prayed she didn't destroy everything and everyone in her quest to get it.
A/N Once again, huge thanks to my readers and especially those who review, they're seriously beginning to put my mind at rest. Hope you continue to enjoy it!
