As always, the disclaimer applies
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"A long, long time ago I had a student." Allana laughed out loud at the looks on their faces. "Nobody ever told you that, did they? Well I did. She was a pretty little thing that looked a lot like your Sarah. She was doing very well in her studies, but she was lacking the discipline necessary to master some of my defensive magics. Being relatively young, I was quickly losing patience with what I thought was her reluctance." She sighed and looked down at her mostly-unlined hands. "I pushed her too hard, and one of the spells backfired on its caster." She nodded briefly when Jareth winced. "Exactly. So…I stopped taking students, I stopped trying to teach my forms of magic. And Jareth, just because I took myself out of all the politics doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention. I saw what happened with Anwen, I watched you fall in love with Sarah, and I do have the desire to help. I'm well aware that I'm the best with defensive magics and some of the more esoteric offensive magics. I'm also well aware that she needs them now." Smiling, she looked straight into the astonished King's eyes. "And I would like to personally instruct her."
"B…bu…but you don't take students."
She couldn't help but laugh. "Jareth, you obviously weren't paying attention. I haven't taken one in a long time, but I have done it before. You are all unfamiliar with my ways, so would make bad teachers for my magics. In the interest of avoiding another situation like my last student, I would like to personally instruct Sarah." She mockingly bowed to Jareth. "If you'll allow it, that is."
"You should not mock me, Allana. I realize you are much older than I, and that you are certainly more powerful magically…but I am the King, and I will at least have your respect. Besides which, you are asking me to let you instruct my future queen…after having admitted that your last student met her demise because of you." He sighed. "However much I'd like to say no, I'm afraid I cannot refuse your aid." He stood and looked down at the woman on the floor. Every inch the King; his voice was velvet over steel, the accent unusually pronounced. "Sarah is precious to me, and should she come to harm at your hands I will do the same thing to you that I did to D'jai." He held out his hand, obviously waiting for her to take it so he could transport them to the castle.
Rising fluidly from her seated position, Allana placed a steady hand in Jareth's and looked into his eyes. Her voice just as menacing as his, she spoke softly so only she and Jareth could hear. "I will accord you the respect your office deserves boy, but do not threaten me again. If I chose, I could flatten you with a thought." She chuckled darkly. "Remember that when you anger your young bride, my lord, as she'll be able to do the same thing."
Eyes widening slightly, he peered down at her with new respect, tinged with a little healthy fear. Choosing to ignore the less savory aspect of his respect, he looked up and smiled at Aindre. "Good night, Aindre, and thank you for your hospitality. I appreciate that you and the other council members are trying to keep Sarah safe."
"It is our pleasure and duty, Highness." He stood, a little stiffly, and bowed to the other two. "It is long past my bed time, and since it appears that you two are leaving, I will go to my rest. Good luck Majesty."
With a chuckle, Jareth and Allana vanished.
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"Relax now, Child. We're done for the day."
Sarah sighed and sank to the ground. Today's round of lessons had begun with creating minor storms and calling lightning…and it had only gotten harder from there. She'd gotten pretty used to the daily magical beatings, but was still working on the more subtle psychological aspect of all this magic.
Looking up, she sighed again to see that Allana appeared to be totally composed, despite having thrown about as much energy as she herself had. "I don't think this will ever be second nature for me. I still think like a mortal…I'm having trouble immediately thinking of magic when I have a problem I need solved."
"It will come in time, Dear." Gracefully gliding to the floor beside Sarah, Allana continued. "It doesn't really matter if you use magic for everything. The only things you need to use it for are defense and conception." She laughed at the other woman's sharp gasp. "Or the prevention of, if that's what you wish instead."
"Wait…" Once again, she began rubbing her temples. "I understand that I need to learn these magics to defend myself and my king. I even understand why we would need magic to prevent conception, since when I asked the healer about birth control he just laughed at me." Grinning wryly as she remembered the scene, she looked straight into Allana's eyes. "But you're saying I need magic to conceive?" At the fae's nod, Sarah sighed again. "O.K…how come nobody told me that, and why is it true?"
"You really are a remarkable woman. I see why Jareth loves you so." At Sarah's astonished look, she chuckled. "I was aware of you the first time you were here, and let me tell you…that phrase you were so fond of saying was detested by us all! But here you stand" she grinned "or sit, rather; calmly accepting so much that is unfamiliar to you."
Sarah merely shrugged. "I grew up."
"Yes. And that is one of the things that makes you remarkable. You don't even realize that most grownups would have run screaming a long time ago." She laughed again, evidently remembering someone who'd done just that. "As for your question: I cannot say why Jareth didn't tell you about the magic. But the reason it's true is simple enough. Humans and Fae are very similar, but there are a few differences. Most notably that our children require magic to strive, especially while they are developing. In order to avoid a situation where the mother doesn't have enough magic to support the growing child, they fae have adapted so that there needs to be a small spell cast before a woman can conceive." She held up her hand to stop Sarah's protest. "I realize that you are not fae…you could easily have a child with another mortal, but Jareth's body requires the spell." Frowning slightly, she inspected Sarah. "Also, I do not know that you will be human for much longer…already you are showing signs of becoming fae."
Carefully schooling her expression, Sarah nodded sharply. "I have noticed small changes. What does this mean for me?" She shook her head. "No, that's not really what I want to know. What is going to happen to me?"
The older woman looked astonished. "It's been three weeks since the magic was unleashed…hasn't your fiancé told you what's going to happen?"
"No. We haven't spoken of it since the night he invoked the necklace. I don't know which of us decided to leave it alone…but there it is."
"I am going to have to speak to that boy. He has left you in the dark entirely too much. And what does he expect you to do when the actual wedding takes place? It's only a week from now!" She reached out and took Sarah's hands. "Child, nothing is going to happen to you. Your body will continue to change as the magic seeps into everything; you will become physically like us. Mentally, emotionally…you will still be the exact same person you have always been." She let go and smiled slightly. "Well…as long as we can continue to keep the fae personalities in the background." In a lightning change of subject, which she was adept at, Allana changed the focus of Sarah's thoughts. "How are the wedding plans going?"
Laughing, Sarah relaxed. "I have no idea. Jareth said he wanted everything to be a surprise, and refuses to tell me anything. I haven't even seen my dress!" She was rather astonished to find that she liked the older woman. The combination of ancient and teacher was often disconcerting, but despite it all, she genuinely liked her.
"Well, I'm betting it is going to be spectacular." Suddenly, she laughed. "I have an idea…why don't we create a surprise for Jareth? This will blow his mind!"
Leaning forward eagerly, Sarah nodded. "That sounds like fun! What should we do?"
"Here's the thing…"