"Jareth, you can go Underground. It's fine, you don't need to sit here and watch me all day. Those Goblins of yours have probably destroyed the place by now. " Sarah was lying on the couch under a blanket. She'd been off work for three days, and was feeling much better though still drained from her sickness bug. She was watching terrible daytime TV and was getting irritated because Jareth kept talking through This Morning. "Just leave me with Richard and Judy in peace."
"I don't know how you can stand to watch such drivel. I hope when we're married we don't become like them." He watched in distaste as the couple bickered over something or other.
"Speaking of marriage," Sarah said, sitting up slightly, "Should we set a date? For up here I mean. I know we can't for our real wedding, not yet."
"If you want to." Jareth shrugged. "I see no point in waiting. When were you thinking?"
"I thought a winter wedding might be nice." Sarah mused. "I don't know how long I can wait do be your ball and chain." She laughed, and he smiled at her. "I always liked the idea of an English wedding in winter."
"You want to get married here? I thought you'd want to go home." Jareth had assumed they would get married in America, and hadn't really given much thought as to when the wedding would be.
"This is my home, for now anyway." She said, and he thought once again that she really was giving up everything for him. "All of our friends are here, our life is here. This is where we fell in love. Well, kind of." She thought once again of the Labyrinth, and how she had been terrified of him. Funny how things could change; she could never have imagined that seven years later she'd be sitting in their house while he took care of her.
"I know where I fell in love with you, precious, and we will marry there when the time comes. But yes, I would like our Above wedding to be here. You'll be Mrs King."
"I'd prefer a real name rather than one you made up." She said lightly, stretching her legs out. "But I'll settle for being Mrs King for now. Will your family come?"
"No." He said firmly, and Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Juturna will certainly not be invited, and my parents would stick out like sore thumbs. They are not accustomed to Above and I would rather they didn't mix with mortals. My side will look rather empty, I'm sure."
"You have your Fae friends." She said. The Fae that lived Above were Jareth's closest friends, though she didn't see them very often and neither did he. He had pointed out that when you lived for thousands of years, you didn't need to spend as much time together. Sarah had gotten the impression that their social life was rather debauched, and Jareth had never really told her what they used to do for fun.
"Yes, they'll come. I'll tell them to leave your female friends alone." Jareth joked and Sarah sighed.
"Thanks. If we could avoid an orgy at the reception that would be fantastic."
"You joke, but actually that's not unheard of." Jareth said lightly, and Sarah made a face of disgust.
"Give me strength." Sarah flopped back onto her pillows. "So, orgy aside, it should be a lovely wedding." She joked. "A bunch of horny Fae trying to sleep with all the guests, and my mother and father in the same room. I can't wait."
"It'll be fine. If needs must, I can put a lovely calming spell on everyone there." Jareth suggested, and Sarah firmly shook her head.
"I'd prefer if you didn't drug our wedding guests, Jareth. It's not considered polite. No peaches in the wedding breakfast." She said faux sternly, and he shrugged.
"Of course. So where should we do it?"
"I don't know." She felt tired again. "A church I guess. Or at least somewhere nice. Candles would be cool."
"Candles. I think I can arrange candles."
A few weeks later, Sarah was walking home from work. Jareth had had to stay late Underground, and she was glad she had keys on her. It was the end of summer now, the warm hazy days giving way to autumn breezes. The leaves were turning brown and starting to drift off the trees. Sarah loved autumn, the sound of leaves crunching underfoot, the nights drawing in. It would be her birthday next week, and the first anniversary of when she and Jareth had become lovers.
She approached her house to see her mother sitting on the stoop. When she saw her approach, Linda jumped up. She was surrounded by bags, and Sarah rolled her eyes. Linda did love spending money.
"Hi Mom. What are you doing here?" She asked, looking in her purse for her keys. "I haven't heard from you in a few weeks."
"I came to give you these." She rummaged in the bags, and handed Sarah a stack of bridal magazines. "Now that you've set your date, you better start planning!"
They had settled upon the 13th December, a Sunday. It was only a few months away, and Sarah hadn't really done anything for it. They hadn't even found a venue yet.
"I guess. It'll be fine, Mom. We're not that into having a big fancy wedding. We just want to be married." Sarah opened the front door and Linda followed her in. "We might just do it at a registry office then go to a pub. Who knows."
"Oh darling, you have to have a bit of glamour! It's the only wedding day you'll have, touch wood."
Sarah knew that she would, in fact, have another wedding that would be more elaborate than Linda could imagine. Jareth had told her that the formal Fae ceremony lasted two hours, and for a royal wedding thousands of guests could be expected. Sarah felt a little anxious about the whole thing, but it was far enough away that she tried to put it out of her mind.
"I'll wear a nice dress. Should I wear white?" Sarah asked, frowning. "I mean, we live together. And Jareth is possibly the most alluring man on the planet. Is anyone under the illusion that I'm a virgin?"
"Maybe wear white just so your father doesn't have a heart attack, sweetie. He probably thinks you sleep in separate beds."
"How are rehearsals going?" She asked, changing the subject. Linda was about to open a new show on the West End, and Sarah hadn't seen her for weeks.
"Wonderfully! I think it's gonna be a real hit! Are you coming to the opening night?"
"Yes, of course. Jareth sends his apologies but he says he won't be able to come." Sarah hadn't quite believed his excuse that he had to go and mediate a goblin boxing match, but she had accepted it none the less.
"What a shame! Well, you'll be there, Judith will be there, and Jeremy of course."
"So that's back on?" Sarah asked with a raised eyebrow. Her mother's love life was so complicated it could be a soap opera.
"Yes. It turns out it was all a misunderstanding and that his hand was actually.." The sound of the front door slamming stopped her mid story. Sarah would have to thank Jareth for that later.
"Hello ladies." He walked into the kitchen, kissed Sarah lightly on the lips and pecked Linda on the cheek. "How are we today?"
"Fine thanks. I was just telling Sarah about my play. What a shame you won't be able to come to the opening night." Linda pouted, and Jareth did his best to look forlorn.
"I'm terribly sorry Linda but I have a pressing work engagement that evening. I've already bought tickets for the following week." He said, and Linda broke into a smile.
"Well, that's something. What about the party after? Could you come after work? You're such a charmer, everyone loves you."
Yeah, Sarah thought begrudgingly, don't I know it. Whenever she and Jareth attended parties thrown by her mother, Jareth would inevitably end up surrounded by hoardes of beautiful women. He insisted that he only had eyes for Sarah, which she knew was true, but it still irritated her.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to come to that either. What a pity." Jareth said lightly.
"I was just telling Sarah I'll miss you. She'll be there of course, and Jeremy and Judith."
"I've still to meet this Judith. I would so love to." Jareth said, his voice dripping with charm. Sarah looked at him oddly; he knew how much she hated Judith, why would he want to meet her?
"We'll all have to have dinner sometime!" Linda exclaimed, and Jareth nodded enthusiastically. Sarah stared at him with an eyebrow raised.
"That would be marvelous. Perhaps after your play has opened."
Jareth knew Juturna would never turn up to an event where she knew he would be. He was going to have to trust that she could not resist an opportunity to get close to Sarah and that she would attend the play thinking that he wouldn't be there. He had been waiting weeks, and there was no sign of her. Sarah was healthy again, so the slightly hysterical need to catch her he had felt on the night he had spoken to Yeg had eased a little.
"I know so many J's in my life!" Linda exclaimed, sitting down at the kitchen table. "Jeremy, Judith, Jareth.."
"Jareth's sister has a 'J' name too." Sarah said casually, and Jareth stiffened at the mention of his sister.
"Oh! I didn't know you had a sister Jareth."
"A twin." He said uncomfortably. "We aren't close."
"If you're a twin, doesn't that increase your chances of having twins Sarah?"
"I have no idea, but I think it's a little soon to be talking about kids Mom. Especially twins." Sarah said, wishing she'd never brought the topic of Jareth's sister up.
"You will have them though, right?" Linda asked, and Sarah rolled her eyes. They weren't even married yet and all her mother could ask about was babies.
"We've discussed it." Jareth said; he wasn't used to discussing private plans with other people. "And there will be children eventually."
"Good!" Linda said, flipping through a magazine. "This dress would look great on you Sarah." Linda pointed at a dress that was essentially a huge marshmallow. It looked rather familiar, and Sarah shook her head.
"I don't really want anything that puffy." Jareth looked at the dress with interest, and shot Sarah a sly look.
"I think you'd look rather beautiful in that. Like a kind of pale jewel." He said innocently, though she saw he was smirking at his own joke. Sarah glared at him, turning the page violently.
"No huge dresses. I don't want to feel like I'm wearing a tent on the happiest day of my life."
"You'll look divine what ever you wear. You could wear rags and still look like a Queen, precious." He said slyly, and Linda began to coo over his sweetness. Sarah knew he was teasing her, and she smiled despite herself.
"When did this turn into a wedding planning session?" Sarah grumbled. "I just want to keep it small. Close friends and family having a nice day together. That's it."
"Will your family be coming Jareth? Your sister, and are your parents still.." the word 'alive' hung unspoken in the air, and Jareth frowned; he didn't look that old did he?
"My parents will be unable to attend, they travel a great deal. My sister and I are not close, as I said, so I have no desire for her to be there." Jareth shrugged. "A small wedding suits me."
"God, look at this woman." Sarah held up a page featuring a stern looking brunette wearing the most enormous dress Sarah had ever seen. "I don't want to look like that."
"You could never look like that, precious. You are far too beautiful to look so cross on your wedding day."
"Isn't he just the sweetest? I remember being young and in love." Linda sighed, and Sarah braced herself for an uncomfortable conversation about her father. "Of course, it doesn't always last long. You should enjoy it whilst you can before life gets in the way."
"Inconvenient things like daughters?" Sarah asked, feeling defensive. Linda always managed to say the wrong thing. Jareth looked between them, surprised at the sudden tension that had developed. He always tried to stay out of Sarah's relationship with her mother, believing it wasn't his place to try and "fix" them.
"Sarah, I didn't mean that."
"I was though, wasn't I? An inconvenience." This had come from nowhere, and Jareth watched her carefully. Why was she suddenly being so aggressive?
"Sarah, we've talked about what happened in the past and I thought you understood. I think I better go." Jareth showed Linda out, wondering what had gotten into Sarah. She could be a little snappy, but that attack on her mother was unprovoked.
When he got back to the kitchen, she was gone.
"Sarah?" He called irritably, wondering how she could have vanished from the kitchen without walking past him at the front door.
"Jareth? Jareth?!" Her voice called him in the distance. "I'm in the bedroom. Get up here!" He did as he was asked, and found her panting heavily standing against the wall.
"What's wrong?" He asked, checking her over. He stroked her face gently, and she looked up at him frowning.
"Um, so I was just in the kitchen. And now I'm here." His eyes widened as he realized what had happened.
"You transported yourself." He said breathlessly, amazed that it had happened without him feeling it. "Oh, precious."
"How?!" Sarah asked, and Jareth noticed she was shaking. "I didn't try or anything, I just thought that I was a little tired."
"That's how you did it. You thought you were tired, so you took yourself to the bedroom. This is amazing." He wrapped his arms around her reassuringly. He held her close, the feeling of her in his arms still something he was getting used to. He loved her so much, was so proud of her. "You're making so much progress, precious. You are truly incredible."
"I don't feel incredible. I feel like I don't have any control." She got out of his embrace and walked into the bathroom. She started wiping off the makeup she used to cover her markings. Jareth loved seeing her markings; they reminded him that she was truly his.
"It will come. We can practice it. You'll learn. You have powers now, Sarah. It's wonderful."
"What do I do if I end up somewhere scary?! If I hear about a war zone on the news and start thinking about it and poof I'm there?" Sarah asked, taking her clothes off and changing into pyjamas. Jareth watched as she changed, and she caught him looking. "Jareth! Stop staring at my ass and answer the question."
"Sorry love." He said sheepishly. "You won't. The amulet will stop you from making any impulsive decisions, it will serve almost as a guide for your magic. It's a clever little thing. You're probably limited to within the house at the moment."
"So I won't go flying off somewhere dangerous?"
"No, not quite. We all have to learn how to control our powers. Once we're Underground, you'll need lessons from a proper instructor. I know how to do these things but I don't know how to teach them."
"How will you know when I'm properly Fae?" Sarah asked. "If I have the markings and can do some tricks, is that enough?"
"Tricks? Sarah, you're becoming a near immortal being, not sawing someone in half."
"Well, is it enough?" Sarah pressed, and Jareth shook his head.
"No. You're not complete yet. I hope I can take you Underground after our human wedding though. I think you should be strong enough by then, at the rate you're going anyway." Sarah beamed at him; she had been anxious to go Underground for a while, feeling disconnected from Jareth the Goblin King. She would be Queen, and really she had little idea of what that would entail.
"I'd like that."
"And you still need to meet my parents." Jareth pointed out, though he was wary of letting his Father meet her. There was the smallest chance that if he didn't like her, he could order Jareth to call off the wedding. Sarah was wonderful, charming and smart, and Jareth hoped to the Heavens that that would be enough for his father.
"Father, I refuse to see how you can allow him this frivolity. He is neglecting his Kingdom, his subjects and his people." Juturna stood in front of her father, who sat on an elaborate golden throne. The High Court was entirely different to either the Goblin or Elf court; extravagance and excess surrounded them. She had traveled to the High City, the centre of the Underground. This was the land of Fae, the place where their kind had begun untold years before.
"Juturna, your brother has raised concerns to me that you are interfering with his life, and he fears by doing so you are questioning his position as King. Need I remind you that we had a discussion several hundred years ago regarding your actions? I shall not be so forgiving should you deign to act irrationally again. We are a family; other royalty may be at each others throats but we shall not be like them. To try and destroy one another is madness."
"Madness? Madness is allowing Jareth to marry a human! I have heard you have allowed the betrothal."
"I am curious how you know this, given that it has not yet been announced." The High King eyed his daughter, his face stern. "This has to stop, daughter. Jealousy is an unattractive trait in a woman. Your husband would do well to control you."
"I am not an animal for Aelfric to control! You may have married me off into a place where I am reviled, but I will not stop fighting. I will not stop until I have what is mine! I was the older twin, that thing between his legs that does all his thinking is the only reason that I am not ruler."
"Jareth may be a little promiscuous, but he has countless other qualities that make him fit to be ruler. He is level headed, logical. You are such a spiteful creature that you lack the skills needed to run the Labyrinth."
"I am ill equipped to run a hedge maze?" Juturna sneered at him.
"Thinking that the Labyrinth is a hedge maze is your first error. It is the source of our family's power, the lifeblood of our line. To belittle it is to belittle the High King. Jareth understands the Labyrinth, and the connection he has formed with it has made him more powerful than you could imagine. I tire of the same conversation year after year."
"I will take what is mine, Father." Juturna said firmly. "I will take what is mine."
And she was gone.
A/N: I'm not going to lie, I'm struggling a bit at the moment. Is there anything in particular you would like to see or think is missing? I want to do the best job for you guys.
Updates will be a bit slow this week as I am doing something super super exciting that means I won't have much time to write. Hoping it'll all be back to normal by Wednesday.
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