To Serve a King in Need
By: Tal J. Smith
I do not own the Labyrinth or its characters from the Jim Henson movie "Labyrinth" or the Manga!
Chapter 12: Love (and Jealousy) In The Air
Nidia had seen the anger Jareth barely kept hidden at there intrusion in his gardens, but also noticed his possessive glances and gestures to that mortal tart. She could not believe her Jareth could be swayed by someone who dressed that way. I mean really, she wasn't refined enough. That girl had no power, no presence, and had an innocence to her that she knew did not suit Jareth's taste. Jareth hungered for an equal, one who could rule, and one who could dominate, him, as well as his subjects.
As she and Jacent transported back to his lair, she went straight to her rooms to lament what had transpired. Jareth seems to have a fondness for his mortal, well let's see how he likes having his "little pet" removed from him. She uncovered a silver athemae or dagger she had taken from Jacent and hidden in an armoire drawer. "So he offers me his heart instead of the crown…..he took what I wanted, I'll take what he wants." She smiled. "Mortals are so prone to weakness, and the poor things aren't very long lived. And she had the audacity to laugh at me? She will pay with blood for what Jareth took from me."
Nidia hid the dagger in a concealed pocket in the folds of her skirt and summoned a servant. A blonde haired blue eyed young fae man came in and bowed, his face shown he was terrified of his mistress.
"I need to get a message to my father. I need his practice yards for a duel in two days. Tell him nothing else." The servant bowed again and left hastily.
Nidia went to her bathing room, took a long whip off the wall. It had the ends of the leather strips dipped in glass. She turned to stare hungrily at the 20 year old fae servant boy tied naked and bleeding in her roman style bathtub. He too was blonde haired and blue eyed. Not the mismatched eyes she'd like them to be, but close enough.
"Now…..where were we." She whispered into his ear. Tears were falling slowly down the young man's face. New and old scars marred his back. He'd long since given up trying to struggle.
Jacent paced his study. Things were falling into place. Jareth may have figured out how to restore his Labyrinth, and may have severed the spell Jacent had placed to leach his powers, but he'd not missed the fact that Jareth was as weak as a kitten, and leaned on the human girl for support. By this time tomorrow he'd have the combined powers of Oberon, Jareth and his own. No one would be a match for him. He surmised Jareth was honor bound to do what he could to keep the Labyrinth in tact, and would have to agree to the duel. His brother was so predictable. That will be his downfall. Jacent smiled.
The meeting had gone better than expected. He wondered though, why would a former runner be helping his brother? He knew of a legend of the one girl who beat the Labyrinth, but she went back aboveground with her prize. A human like that would not make the same mistake twice, and runner who lost would not stay around the Underground to do the king a favor, when they can leave and go back above?
Then where in the Underground did he get the enticing female? She would be his once he won. He would enjoy breaking her. Perhaps Jareth has thought twice about mother's deal? Jacent grinned again.
Mother would never accept a non-noble "human" breeding machine for our brother. Jacent looked at the scrying pool on a side table thoughtfully. Jareth may have agreed to this duel a little too quickly for his liking, what is he thinking? I also think our little human needs another gentle push to show her whom she should be allied with. He chuckled at the thought of what he would do to her this time. He continued to pace his study, planning his next nightly assault on Sarah.
Jacent then went to the armory to check on his "iron tipped" lance, and sword. He touched a pinky finger to the sword tip. He heard his skin sizzle from the contact with the iron. "Did you expect me to play fair my dear brother?"
Sarah listened to Jareth warn everyone not to let on his strength or powers had returned, and to, under no circumstances, let on that he and Sarah had bonded.
Sarah looked at her lover as he explained his plans, her chest got tight and she thought to herself. 'I am so terrified of how much I love him, I wonder if he knows how long I've wanted to call to him?'
Something broke her out of her reverie. Jareth had stopped talking to the others and was looking at her strangely. He smiled and she squeezed his hands. 'I do now my love.' Sarah's eyes widened and her eyebrows rose.
Sarah thought again, 'Are you actually hearing me?'
Jareth looked at her and cocked his head, 'Maybe.' He smiled. Mena looked confused at the sudden stop in conversation. Ms. Clodish only chuckled and shook her head. Hoggle looked down and shook his head as well.
'Oh this is so not fair!' Sarah's eyes narrowed in mock anger hiding a smile.
'Now I know I am most definitely hearing you' Jareth mentally chucked.
'This will take some getting used to.' Sarah frowned.
Jareth saw the scowl, 'We'll just have to learn how to give each other privacy, but I'll admit. I liked what I heard.'
Sarah glared at Jareth again, but with a slight smile.
"You two should get back to bed. It's getting late and I've got a full castle to feed." Ms. Clodish made a shooing motion and practically pushed the couple out the door.
Not before Sarah wished for Mena's bedroom to match her new wardrobe. Sarah winked at Mena before Jareth led her out of the kitchen with a gentle push to the small of her back and then wrapping his arm about her waist. She sighed at the pleasant feeling of the warmth of his arm.
Once they were out Clodish looked at the three others at the table. "Well, you all have your work cut out for ya. I suggest you all git to it." Hoggle rolled his eyes and waved his hand and ambled out an opposite door muttering something about rudeness. Ms. Clodish went to cleaning up from the group's midnight snack.
Mena nodded and went to stand. Umbar was suddenly there pulling her chair out for her. Mena was not used to such a long, heavy, and extravagant dress that Sarah had magically put her in, so it took her a minute to get from behind the chair.
"Um, thank you General." Mena said softly looking down with a slight blush.
"It's Nathan." Umbar said gently as if not to scare her.
Mena's breath caught in her throat and she swallowed. Umbar caught the rise and fall of her chest, the dress revealing a bit more cleavage than she normally did. "Nathan." She found the name felt wonderful on her tongue. She looked into the tall man's green eyes. She took in his short cut red hair falling in soft waves over his pointed ears, and wondered what it felt like. Would that beard tickle on her skin or would it feel rough. Not here, not now…I have my duty.
"I wonder Miss Mena, would you care to take a few self defense classes with me?" Umbar asked hesitantly, not wanting to scare her. He knew that most would be intimidated by this request and his size. "Since you will be in the presence of Lady Sarah, should you not be able to come to her defense in a time of need?"
Mena's breath caught once again. "I…I'm not sure it is proper. I will have to ask the Lady for permission." Nathan smiled gently knowing Sarah would think it a great idea.
"Yes please do ask Mena. I will look forward to teaching you how to move your body to your advantage." Umbar said slowly and a little bit seductively, and gestured with his arm, "Allow me to walk you to your room."
Mena did not trust herself to speak, so she nodded and took the arm he offered. Why had she not seen him this way before? They'd passed in the halls for years, and nodded to each other in recognition, but not once really spoke. Mena was lost in thought.
The musky scent of him mixed with the smell of his leather pants filled her nostrils. She felt herself breathe him in with a deep breath. Umbar noticed her brooding look as they walked and knew he needed to be clear with his intentions. She would not respond to subtlety.
At her door he stopped, turned to her, and took a breath. "I admire you your courage and sense of duty thus far to help Lady Sarah. She and our King are fortunate you were here. I am grateful to know so lovely a woman whom the King and future Queen trusts to be in their confidence. I ….I ah, wish to know you better Miss Mena." Umbar was not accomplished in the wooing of women, and he was positive flowers and gifts would not impress this small and lithe elf before him. He'd had women before, warrior women, and more experienced women, but he'd never actually courted one.
Mena looked at him thoughtfully, "General….um Nathan. I would be honored to know you better as well. But I think it best we wait until after the duel to…to….well, get better acquainted." She thought she sounded determined, but was not sure if she pulled it off. She was now more terrified of this strong man than she had ever been before, but not because of his station, or what he could do to her physically, but because of the effect he was having on her.
Umbar smiled. "Until then my Lady." He gently held her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers as he'd seen his other men do. He had not performed the gesture before, but the look of heat that went to Mena's face and her eyes as he kissed her hand was well worth it. Umbar purred silently to himself as Mena closed the door to her room.
Mena lay against the inside of her door to her room thanking the God's that he hadn't kissed her on the mouth. She would never have been able to close that door!
She took one step into her and gasped. "Oh Lady Sarah!"
"You're welcome." She heard in her head.
Sarah and Jareth held hands walking back to Jareth's bedchambers. Jareth still could not believe she was going with him willingly. This powerful headstrong girl was his!
"Jareth?" Sarah said softly.
"Yes precious." Jareth smiled and squeezed her hand.
"When this is all over, can we have a real wedding? My father would want to give me away. And Toby needs to know…." Sarah broke off her sentence.
"My darling, we are going to have the biggest wedding the Underground has ever seen. Assuming we can fit them in the ballroom." Her request made his heart leap.
He guided her into the bedroom and into the massive bed, shooing Oberon off of the covers.
"And I can visit every once in a while though right?" Sarah was suddenly aware that she couldn't just pick up the phone and call her family.
Jareth chuckled, "You could probably call a portal easier than I could, Sarah. But we can look in on them anytime." He smiled and produced a crystal showing a 15-year old Toby laughing playing video games. Her Step-mother Karen cleaned the kitchen while her husband Robert typed away on a computer in a nearby office.
"Hey its daylight there!" Sarah watched the scene, amused while she shrugged off her robe for bed.
"Time moves differently here Sarah. You've not been gone long." Jareth banished the crystal and removed his robe as well. He put a hand to her neck brushing his fingers against the crystal mark with a proud and intrigued look on his face. Sarah shivered and leaned into his warm muscled body as he enveloped her with his arms.
"Hummm I'll have to remember that." Sarah purred into his chest and they climbed into bed. Jareth wrapped himself around her in a cocoon. "Hey I still need to breathe ya know?" Jareth loosened his grip on her. They lay there silent for a moment.
"So tell me where that waterfall is? I think it may just be a nice honeymoon spot." Jareth smile knowingly in the dark.
"It's in my father's kingdom, outside the Labyrinth." He stroked her hair absently. "I had often dreamed of taking you there. Apparently I was projecting the dream without knowing it."
Sarah snuggled closer to him, "We project away, it was hot, and I'll hold you to that promise."
They fell to sleep with Jareth stroking her hair, and the weight of her head and arms on his chest. It was the end of a very long day.
Sarah opened her eyes to the dark room and the feeling of kisses being laid over her neck. She was naked. She smiled and put her hands to work as well; pulling the lithe man closer to her. His arms cupped her breast kneading and squeezing them with more violence then tenderness, but she didn't care. She was starting to get very aroused as she felt his teeth rake her collar bone on the unmarked side of her neck. She gasped and arched her back, pulling his mouth to hers in a violent kiss. His hands traveled down her body to part the folds of her legs. She was warm wet heat ready for him. His hands teased her folds until he had her gasping. His kisses grew more violent as he grabbed a fist full off her hair to dictate the angle of her head during the kiss. Sarah was surprise at the sudden pain, but a part of her purred in satisfaction at the violent need of her Jareth was displaying. Sarah moaned into his mouth.
He grabbed both of her arms and held them above her head with one of his hands, his grip impossibly strong. Something in the way he did this seemed to nag at Sarah. He grasped her throat with his other hand roughly and started to squeeze. Sarah was starting to get alarmed. He she wrongfully trusted a man she only knew for a few days. She had felt the "real" Jareth hadn't she? The king with honor and integrity, not this naked violence.
His knees came up Sarah's legs to pry them open to be ready for him. Sarah refused to budge, "Jareth….please stop. This doesn't feel right." She tried to break her hands free of his grip, he held her hands tighter, her wrists almost bruising, his knees more insistent in pushing her legs open for him. Sarah's mind froze in fear at what was about to happen. What had she done? What he she fallen in love with? Did she make a mistake? She closed her eyes tightly and prepared a wish in her head.
She stopped fighting and held her breath. Could she wish him away? Should she just wish him off her? He took her stillness as a sign of defeat and let out a triumphant guttural sound. Sarah froze. That sound did not come from Jareth. "I wish this room was bathed in light!"
Instantly the room was lit with torches and the fireplace burst to light. She gazed up at a naked Jacent. His shiny black hair falling over her body, his cruel icy blue eyes in a surprised smirk. "My bother chose well, you are delicious. Has he taught you some new tricks?" He bent to nip her neck, his erection still probing for entrance. "Perhaps I seduced the wrong lover." Sarah screamed. "Jareth!!!"
Something shimmered in the room and an enraged Jareth appeared at the bedside. He grabbed the image of Jacent by the neck, pulled him off Sarah, and said something in a language Sarah did not recognize. The image of Jacent in his hands disappeared. Jareth was breathing hard and trembling with icy hot rage, not moving until he controlled himself. Only years of being king told him to leave this fight for the duel, and to refrain from following his kin to his lair and slaying him on the spot. His brain finally told him that may be exactly was Jacent wanted; to get him in a weakened, rage induced, unthinking state losing his advantage of having the home ground.
He'd never been so close to losing his sanity. His Sarah was in danger. His Sarah was being threatened. Only through the marking had he been able to hear her scream in her dream. Jacent had not counted on that. Jareth stood shaking with fury trying to control his breathing so as not to scare Sarah furhter.
Sarah sat up and put her head in her hands and cried. Jareth seemed to have come out of his berserker state. He blinked and went to her. As soon as his hands touched her, the dream abruptly ended and Sarah was curled up back in his arms in Jareth's bedchambers.
"Oh Sarah my love, I should have known. I should have protected your dreams. After your nightmare last night I should have know Jacent was behind it." Sarah could feel Jareth's tremendous guilt through their mental link, she could also feel his unwavering love, and intense hatred for his brother. Sarah held onto him for dear life. She went from crying, to shaking, to relentless hatred. "Shusssshh, it was only a dream, he will never get his hands on you." Jareth muttered promises into her ear, but what she heard in her head was something she thought was not meant for her ears. 'For this I will kill him.'
Sarah finally cried herself to sleep with a wish on her mind. "Jacent will never have power over me again, mental or physical!" She tried to keep her thoughts off of what "might" have happened. Jareth kept telling her over and over that it was not real, but Sarah knew it might as well have been.
Jacent's mind awakened in his room, weakened by the sheer force it too to brake into her mind with his glamour. She was stronger than most mortals, which had him even more intrigued. How had she contacted Jareth? He'd spoken spells to keep her from moving or crying out in her sleep. His eyebrows centered in thought.
He frowned deeper when he remembered what Jareth had said. "You have broken the Fae Law of Escheat, and the "Right to Dream" as it is forbidden to give direct instruction or to infuse a human with raw Glamour. Heed my promise, you will be punished my brother."
He mused how Jareth seemed to have his full strength back, which was unfortunate. He planned on But, how can Jareth invoke that Law when he himself skirts the boundaries of it constantly? The council would never punish him, not when Jareth has a mortal living with him, and he knows Jareth has been in her dreams before. He felt the residual traces of Jareth's magic in them.
Jacent knew Sarah's distress from his dream would weaken Jareth, but he didn't count on his own body's response to hers. He'll rid himself of Nidia once Jareth is destroyed, and have himself a new toy. One who he will enjoy breaking in.
Jareth paced his room and went out onto the balcony, he leaped into the night air in his owl form; the first time since he met Sarah that he had been able to transform. Oh, how he missed the freedom of flight! He brooded over the fact that he had failed to protect his mate, his marked chosen. He'd be so complacent, thinking the threat was gone as long as he had her in his arms.
He would have to distance himself from her, at least until after the duel. No one could know his true feelings for her. He swung low in the night air, looking down at "his" gardens. He knew she would have to stay aloof from her in public, spreading the rumor she was to be used as a vassal for an heir. How would his proud Sarah react? Would she understand? She's understood so much thus far.
One thing was for sure. The fae laws were horribly broken; this was no longer about a feud between him and his brother. Charges should be brought against Jacent among the fae council. But should he put Sarah through fae court having to relive that dream in front of dozens of judges and a population of nobles? He could he shame her like that? He knew it was a glamour and not actually Jacent's body, but his consciousness. However the thought of even an iota of Jacent's being touching Sarah was turning his face read with hatred and fierce protectiveness.
The council would have to be notified, Sarah is strong enough, but would court be called in time for the duel? With the immortality of the fae, nothing is done with haste.
Dawn was approaching. It had been a long day, and an even longer night. One day until the duel. There was much to be done.
