Jareth showed her two more sections of the Labyrinth that day; a part of the forest with dryads and kelpies, and finally the massive shortcut that had been poking her curiosity since that morning. She had to admit it was one hell of a shortcut, emphasis on the word hell; there were so many traps and false hints that she wasn't sure the path was worth taking even if it did save time, which she also doubted. The dryads and kelpies had fascinated her, but while the dryads were safe to approach the kelpies had to be admired from a distance. Jareth had smiled at her hesitant reaction to being anywhere near a kelpie, knowing she must be aware of their perilous nature, but assured her that he could judge the closest possible safe distance. Besides, he wanted her to be able to get good look at them and she trusted him to have her safety as first priority. Having taken 'the main street through hell', as she now referred to it, Raeya was clinging to Jareth for dear life by the time they got back to the castle. At first this hadn't bothered him in the least, in fact he rather enjoyed it, but the more she plastered herself to his side the more difficult walking had become. About halfway to the castle he had decided that enough was enough, and had continued the rest of the way carrying her on his back. When they reached the front doors he slowly let go of her, but she didn't move an inch or loosen the vice grip her arms and legs had on him.
"Precious, I love you dearly and normally I wouldn't have a problem with you clinging to me like this, but if you don't let go soon I believe you're either going to break a few ribs or make breathing extremely difficult." he commented, feeling a bit short of breath already.
Raeya unclasped her arms from around his neck first, placing her hands on his shoulders, and then unwrapped her legs from around his waist to stand. Jareth took a few deep breaths and then turned to face her.
"Sorry, that path was terrifying, survival instinct and all." she muttered in a low voice, not making eye contact.
"What did you fear, Raeya mine? You knew I wasn't going to let anything harm you." he responded, gently taking hold of her face and tilting it up.
"I didn't fear for my safety. That's why I was holding onto you so tight; I knew the closer I was to you the safer I would be. I was afraid because I didn't know where and when the next trap was going to spring up or even what kind of trap it would be. Usually fear of the unknown doesn't affect me, but when that unknown is possibly or definitely a threat I'm not so immune." she explained, fighting tears of embarrassment.
"I wish I could accurately articulate how incredibly happy I am to know you feel so safe with me. On the other hand, my precious love, I would never fault you for your weaknesses any more than you would fault me for mine." he told her softly.
"I know, I'm just not any better at admitting my weaknesses than you are." she replied, with a small smile.
"Good, that means we can work on it together." he said, smiling gently.
"Deal. How did you know I love gryffins?" she asked.
"I didn't, it was more of an educated guess." he answered.
"You know me well, Jareth." she commented.
"Yes, and you know me well too." he replied, leading her into the castle.
Later that evening, the two of them were indulging in a little of the snuggling that had sounded so good earlier on Raeya's bed and talking. Jareth was on his back with one arm behind his head and the other wrapped around Raeya, who was lying with her head resting on one side of his chest and a hand on the other side over his heart.
"So you mentioned that iron drains Fae magic, but isn't it also poisonous to you?" she questioned.
"Yes, but it has to get into the blood stream to do lethal damage. If it comes into contact with flesh, it creates a nasty burn until it is removed. The effect is very similar to what would happen if you splashed an extremely volatile acid on a human." he explained.
"Oh that sounds awful! Again, don't ever touch my blood." she replied, wincing at the thought.
"There shouldn't be a reason for you to be bleeding significantly as long as I'm around." he stated, tightening his grip protectively.
"I know; I just don't want you to get hurt trying to help me, even if it's only a little." she responded.
"Not to worry precious, I would only intervene if you were incapable of treating yourself." he promised.
"Good." she said, yawning.
"Should I let you get to sleep?" he asked.
"I guess so, but don't leave yet. How well can you sing?" she replied.
Jareth paused for a moment, feeling a wave of uneasiness, before answering. Apparently the book hadn't mentioned him singing on three separate occasions.
"I've been told I'm quite talented." he told her.
"Will you sing to me until I fall asleep?" she requested.
"If that is what you wish." he agreed.
This was completely different; Raeya already loved him, he wasn't trying to win her over, and they were not in a ballroom inside a dream. He was free now, free to sing to his love. She had asked him to do so, and he could not deny her. Taking a deep breath, he shifted them so her head was on her pillow and he was lying on his side propped up on his elbow next to her. He began gently stroking her hair as he starting singing 'the song'. At first he wasn't sure he would remember all of it, since he hadn't dared to allow it so much as a play through his head after that night, but the lyrics and melody flowed back as easily as if he'd recited them every day. Raeya's eyes were closed, but the soft smile on her face was evidence that she enjoyed the music. When he finished the song she finally drifted into sleep with her hand around her necklace. Jareth sighed happily before kissing her forehead.
"Sweet dreams, my precious thing. I love you so." he whispered, disappearing to his room.
Not quite tired yet himself, he decided to have a look at her dreams again. Immediately after being summoned the crystal's interior began to swirl, as though filled with an opaque mist, before clearing to reveal what he wished to see. He saw himself and her together, but she had changed. Her ears were pointed, the outer corners of her eyes bore the same markings as his, and her smile revealed inhumanly sharpened canines; she was a Fae, and not just any Fae. A beautifully fashioned silver circlet rested on her head, and a smaller rendition of his royal amulet hung around her neck just below the owl pendant. She was a queen, his Goblin Queen. The images the crystal showed him further melted the remaining ice around his heart. Raeya still truly desired to be with him forever, and he desperately hoped that nothing could change her mind; not now, not later, and not for the rest of eternity.
"Oh Raeya my dearest love, what could I have possibly done to deserve you?" he wondered, staring into the crystal with pure adoration.
The following morning, when Jareth awoke, he got up and went straight to her room. This time he didn't even bother trying to wake her; he simply climbed onto the bed and laid down beside her, draping one arm across her and pulling her close. Raeya sighed heavily and turned to face him, instinctively moving toward the heat source, but she remained asleep. Jareth smiled lovingly as he watched her, and happily noticed the complete serenity that her expression and figure were currently displaying. She was good at faking emotions from the neck up, but her body language always told the truth. For the two of them to be in agreement meant that she was comfortable with others knowing whatever she happened to be feeling at the time. This, coupled with the fact that she had gone to sleep knowing where she was with no objection to that location, solidly proved the sincerity of her peaceful demeanor. To put it simply, she was honestly and totally relaxed; which was quite the rare occurrence, considering that she almost always had her guard up. He couldn't help sighing contentedly at this reassurance of her feeling of security with him. Never before, in his long life, had any other entity willingly or completely trusted him and yet she did so with no reservations. He may have had little experience with being trusted, but he knew it was a huge responsibility. Especially with Raeya, who was extremely cautious about offering even half the level of trust she'd given him. Again he swore to himself that he would do whatever it took to keep her by his side of her own free will. She was far too precious a gift to let go.
"Are you going to make a habit of being shirtless when you wake me up, or did I do something yesterday to merit this reward a second time?" she asked softly.
Lost in his musings, Jareth had failed to notice her slowly regaining consciousness. As a result, the sudden sound of her voice caused a very noticeable full body spasm along with a startled gasp. Raeya tried but mostly failed to suppress a giggle. Oh she was in for it now. An unintentional shock to his royal system was one thing, but daring to find his reaction funny afterward was not going to go unpunished. He grinned inwardly as he realized her question had given him the perfect setup for some payback.
"Considering that I don't usually sleep with a shirt on, I see no point in donning one before changing out of my night clothes. Not to mention you're going to have to get used to it sooner or later anyway, so think of it as desensitization. Although I'd prefer we only broke those nasty tendencies of shyness and embarrassment you have; any other reactions my shirtless self happens to spark are quite appreciated." he purred, wearing his beloved sexy smirk.
"I don't suppose you ever considered getting dressed first instead of magically transporting in here half naked?" she retorted, blushing fiercely.
Oh it was almost too perfect. She really needed to learn how to choose her words more carefully to avoid setting herself up like this. Then again, he couldn't exactly blame her if the entirety of her extensive vocabulary wasn't functional when she was flustered.
"There wouldn't be any fun in that. Besides, if you think this is bad, you clearly haven't thought about the eventuality of waking up in my arms with both of us completely naked. So you're lucky there are several very important factors in the way of me getting you accustomed to that." he stated boldly, the smirk becoming a grin.
He was teasing, she knew he was teasing, but even though he was grinning and his eyes held a playful sparkle, there was a feral edge to that smile and his gaze held the intensity of seriousness that meant he wasn't kidding about the aforementioned scenario happening someday. Raeya was quite sure she'd never blushed a deeper red, as she decided not to contemplate this right now and tossed it into her mental closet of nervous breakdown material. Still slightly shaken from the brief presence of such an idea on the center stage of her thoughts, she found herself unable to fabricate a decent comeback.
Taking her silence as something worse than it actually was, Jareth began shifting into panic mode. Bog dammit, he'd gone too far with that last comment! How was he going to fix this? Given the circumstances, would it be better to get closer or back off a little? Bloody hell, if he didn't lose a good three months worth of trust building for this it would be a miracle!
"I'm sorry precious, I crossed the line with that. Forgive me, please?" he said gently, as he started moving his arm from around her.
"Wait." she paused, taking hold of his arm and returning it to its previous position. "It's ok; I shock you, you shock me back. Fair's fair, and now we're even."
"I would say no, because I believe I gave you a bigger shock than you gave me, but your silence nearly triggered a panic attack. So yes, the score is settled. Still, I went further than I should have and therefore do not rescind my request for forgiveness." he replied.
"Wish granted. I'm sorry too. I know I have some psychological issues to work out regarding…that, and it must be frustrating for you. I'd understand if you told me you felt like you were dealing with a child in more ways than one." she responded, inwardly cursing the tears that formed out of being upset with herself.
"I promised you I would not fault you for your weaknesses, and I will not break that vow. We solved the issue of trust, and we will figure out and solve whatever issues remain together. Yes, it is frustrating sometimes, but only because I see you waging mental war against yourself in your eyes and I do not know how to help you end the battle. These issues do not make you childish, and the juvenile qualities you do possess I find endearing." he told her, taking her hand in his free one.
"I'm starting to think we'll never be able to convince each other that neither one of us is going to leave for some petty or stupid reason. You'll always be paranoid that somehow you're going to invoke unspeakable wrath in me for which I wouldn't forgive you, and I'll always be paranoid that someday I'll reveal a flaw you can't accept." she commented, smiling sadly.
"We have forever, Raeya love. Eventually both of us will get it through our thick skulls." he said, kissing her hand.
"I really hope so, because I'm getting tired of being paranoid. It's not exactly a pleasant feeling to live with." she replied.
"Agreed, precious thing. I'm not even completely sure why I fear your wrath, considering I've never actually seen you angry. My best guess is that we are both susceptible to fear of the possibly threatening unknown." he stated.
"Well, this time it's my turn to pray most ardently that you never have to see me like that. I have an incredibly long fuse attached to the atomic bomb that is my temper, so it takes an awful lot of stuff for it to blow, but god help you if it goes off. Even if you don't get caught in the explosion, the long lingering radiation will make you suffer; and the worst part about that is knowing I can aim and control the initial blast but the radiation affects everyone around me whether I want it to or not." she explained.
"Sweet Danu that does sound horrific. I take it the explosion is you yelling and screaming curses, obscenities, and insults with the possible inclusion of physical violence, and the radiation is your lingering foul mood afterwards?" he asked.
"I love it that I never have to translate my metaphors for you. Yeah that's about it, but as you know I've learned to control my emotions and deal with them rationally so such utter mass destruction almost never happens." she answered.
"Even so, don't let me forget that your wrath is indeed unspeakable and help me make sure I never even come close to upsetting you enough to spark it." he told her, quite honestly a little spooked.
"Will do; I hate unleashing that thing anyway." she responded.
"I can imagine. You take such great pride in your self control." he said gently.
"That's because I have yet to find a situation in which losing it is a good thing." she explained.
"Perhaps we shall seek one out someday. I believe I would find it most intriguing to witness your behavior sans its usual boundaries." he commented, grinning but being careful to keep it innocent.
"Maybe, after all if there was one other I would trust with my unrestrained self it would be you." she replied, smiling back.
Jareth's gaze softened before he kissed her lovingly, overjoyed anew that this amazing creature was his. Raeya kissed him back, running her fingers through the longer layers of his silky hair. When they pulled away he stared at her in wonder, caressing her cheek with his opposable digit.
"You make me stronger and weaker at the same time, my precious love, and it baffles me that I do not mind it in the least." he told her.
"Good, I get the most satisfying little thrill when someone says I defy explanation." she responded, smiling happily.
"Then the feeling is mutual, because I get a thrill out of thrilling you." he said, smiling as well. "I suppose you want to know what we're getting into today now."
"It's not like I can pick out an outfit without that information." she stated cheekily.
"Oh, well in that case, I'll have you know I'm making up for yesterday by telling you that a dress is mandatory attire for today's activity." he replied, raising an eyebrow and playing along.
"Of course it is! I should've guessed." she said sarcastically.
"Come now, Raeya mine, don't be like that. Even though it is your own fault for giving me the idea." he told her, grinning slyly.
"No you're joking, right? You're not seriously hinting at what I think you are." she moaned, before burying her face in the pillow.
"As a matter of fact love, I am perfectly serious. Today is your first ballroom dancing lesson." he confirmed.
"Just kill me now, and save me the mortification." she whined dramatically.
"Really precious, that's no way to react for a lady." he said, smiling at her theatrics.
"I never claimed to be a lady! That was all your misconception!" she retorted.
"Oh but you see, that's where you're wrong. I have a trained eye and can spot a true lady anywhere, whether she thinks of herself as such or not." he argued playfully.
"Fine, but I never claimed to act like a lady either and I'll be damned if I decide I want to start now! Nineteen years of the glorious freedom that is improper behavior will not be tossed aside so easily!" she exclaimed, still keeping her dramatic voice.
"I know precious thing, and I'd never ask you to sacrifice who you are. I'm simply asking you to create a new persona; you need only act like a lady in the company of Fae nobility. Any other time I absolutely insist that you continue to be your endearingly lovely improper self." he told her seriously.
She paused for moment, thinking it over, before sighing.
"Alright, but I'm only doing it for you and your reputation. I refuse to behave in such a way to impress them and earn their acceptance." she agreed reluctantly.
"Of course love, I'd be disappointed if you stated otherwise." he said, smiling and kissing her forehead affectionately.
"So exactly how formal does this dress have to be? Are the fancy dresses here any harder to move in than the casual ones?" she asked.
"From what I know based on observation and testimony, the only difference is that the formal dresses are much more decorated and ornate. Therefore you may feel free to wear any dress you like." he answered.
"Great! The most comfortable dress in the wardrobe it is!" she announced.
"I'll be waiting in the hallway, and I look forward to seeing you in a skirt." he teased, smiling as he disappeared.