A/N: Thanks to the wonderful people that reviewed me! You guys rock! Here's your reward…Another chapter of this weird story…

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Chapter Fourteen

Jareth was walking around outside the castle, thinking. He heard something behind him, but when he looked, nothing was there. He turned back around and crossed his arms. He heard the noise again and sidestepped as the brunette lunged at him. He watched her roll out of her fall easily and glare at him.

"You're no fun!" she said, pouting.

"You're childish," Jareth shot back, looking down at her.

"But I'm cute," she argued. "You have to admit that."

Jareth rolled his eyes. "I don't have to admit anything Mai."

Mai sighed and crossed her arms. "Because you're the king and will not be ordered by anyone and all that jazz."

Jareth smirked and continued walking. Mai cocked an eyebrow and fell into step beside him.

"So I take it that you talked to Eve after you choked on that spider in your chicken breast," Mai muttered. "And I'm guessing that she didn't remember the mystery man's name."

"I'm going to kill Michael for that spider!" Jareth growled.

"Don't have to." Mai said with a small smile.

"And why is that?" Jareth asked.

"When he was trading his food with you, I traded mine with his newly acquired chicken breast," Mai stated. "But that's not all I did and you can laugh your tights off when you see him later." She glanced at him. "And no, I won't tell you what I did."

"You're a brat."

"I know you are, but what am I?"

Jareth rolled his eyes again and pushed her away. Mai giggled and continued walking next to him. They both heard a woof and saw a golden dog running towards them. It leapt at Mai and started licking her face when she landed on her back.

"Loki, get off of her!" someone called, walking over with easy steps.

The dog backed off of Mai, allowing her to sit up. She saw the black haired Elf from the High Council and backed away from him. She recognized his smile from beneath the mask of Eve's dance partner. She glanced at Jareth and hoped he'd get the silent message.

"Ares, what are you doing here?" Jareth asked, glaring at the Elf.

"Well, Omar told me about Rebecca's daughter being here, so I thought I'd check for myself," Ares explained, smiling slightly.

"Why?" Jareth questioned, eyes narrowing.

"Because I wanted to see what became of the child promised to me."

"Uh…promised as in how?" Mai asked, getting to her feet slowly.

"Promised as in betrothed to," Jareth said in a deadly whisper.

Mai gulped and looked at the Elf. "Um…yes, well…I do believe I have some work to do…yeah," she mumbled, walking away.

Ares watched her leave. Then he looked back at Jareth. "So, when did you plan on telling me that my fiancée was here?" he questioned.

"Never."

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Tobias looked up from his chess match with Michael when Mai walked into the library. She didn't even crack a smile at the bright shade of blue that Michael's hair had become. She simply threw herself onto the couch thing and stared at the ceiling.

"What's made you all moody?" Tobias asked, moving his bishop in for a check.

"Ares," Mai muttered. "He's talking with Jareth outside right now."

"I never liked that Elf." Michael declared, moving one of his knights and endangering his king even more.

"I hardly know him and I don't like him," Mai said, putting a hand over her eyes. "He says I…Rebecca's daughter was promised to him when I was a child."

"I really don't like that Elf!" Michael proclaimed.

"Checkmate." Tobias said, knocking Michael's king over.

"Tobias, how could I be promised to someone if my mother vanished from the Underground before I was born?" Mai asked. "And don't lie to me."

Tobias sighed. "Your mother sent a letter to her father announcing the birth of her daughter and as was his right, he promised you to one of his most trusted advisor's son. After that, contact with your mother was lost."

"I want to meet my grandfather and give him a piece of my mind for daring to betroth me to some Elf that I don't know or like!" Mai snapped, sitting up.

"Good luck with that," Michael muttered. "Your grandfather is nearly untouchable."

"Why?"

"Because your grandfather is the King of the Elves," Tobias informed her.

Mai was glad that she was sitting because her legs felt like they were made of water. "King?" she asked. "And that would make me…"

"A princess." Tobias finished for her.

Mai shook her head and got to her feet. "I am…going to have a word with Jareth."

The two men watched her leave. Michael shook his head sadly.

"You could have told her about that in a gentler fashion Tobias," he said.

"Shut up Old Blue." Tobias ordered, earning a sour look from Michael.

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Mai couldn't find Jareth or Ares outside when she looked for them. She did however find Katy and Kelly by the forest. There was no one around to keep an eye on them, so she skipped over to hang out with them. The twins immediately made Mai weave little blue flowers in their hair. As she did so, a song came to mind.

"You remind me of the babe," she sang with a small smile.

The twins giggled. "What babe?" they asked.

"The babe with the power," Mai replied.

"What power?"

"The power of voodoo."

"Who do?"

"You do."

"Do what?"

"Remind me of the babe," Mai sang, tickling Katy.

"That's one of our favorite songs that Uncle sings," Kelly declaring, weaving white flowers in Mai's long brown hair. "But my favorite is the one he sings in the Escher Room to Sarah."

"I love the one he sings in the bubble masquerade ball to Sarah," Katy said, getting to her feet because Mai was done with her hair. "What's your favorite Mai?"

Mai tapped a finger against her chin as she thought. "Hm…I like them all just the same." She shrugged. "Your uncle is so talented when it comes to singing that it's very hard to pick just one song as my favorite."

"I personally prefer the fire demons' song," Edward said, standing next to her suddenly.

Mai glanced up at him. "That song's okay I guess." She got to her feet. "What do you want anyway?"

"Mom needs to see the terrible two," Edward stated, crossing his arms. "Which means that they're in big trouble."

The twins pouted, but made no move towards their big brother. Mai looked down at them.

"You two better go with your brother or you might get in more trouble," Mai said, giving them a small smile.

The twins nodded and walked to their brother. He took one of their hands each and started walking towards the castle. Mai watched them go, but had a funny feeling that she was being watched. She started worrying about it when she felt the ground vibrate beneath her bare feet.

She turned slowly and saw an ice blue spiked head come out of the trees. A spiky ice blue body followed shortly. Mai saw the beast's massive claws and fangs and backed up. She couldn't take her eyes off of the glowing white eyes of the beast until she heard a giggle.

Edward…the twins, she thought, glancing over her shoulder.

"Edward run!!!" she shouted.

Edward looked back in her direction and his smile slipped off his face when he saw the large beast. Mai could see his magic coursing through his body and starting to concentrate in his hands as he released the hands of the twins.

"No Edward!" she shouted. "Get the twins out of here and get the Goblin King!"

Edward looked like was going to disobey, but he vanished taking the twins with him. Mai looked back at the beast and silently wished that she had learned how to use her Fae magic.

Her feet suddenly felt cold and she looked down to see a layer of ice. It was spreading with each step the beast took. She backed up a little and almost slipped and fell on her back. The beast let out a rumbling growl and took a swipe at her.

Mai dodged most of the attack, but one of its claws scraped her thigh. She cried out in pain, but refused to fall. Her palms started tingling and she suddenly felt warm. She smirked and looked at the beast.

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"She's not going with you and that's final!" Jareth snapped, glaring at Ares from across his desk.

"Jareth, she was promised to me by the King and therefore should be returned to her people," Ares said calmly. "We need our princess."

Jareth opened his mouth to say something, but he heard a scream outside the window. In the next second, Edward burst into the library.

"Mai…beast…needs help…" Edward panted, clutching a stitch in his side as he tried to breathe.

Jareth was on his feet in an instant and jumped out of the library window. He transformed into a white barn owl before he fell more than ten feet. He flew towards the forest as fast as his wings could propel him. He landed and he transformed back into his normal form seconds later, ready to use his magic to defend Mai. The sight before him surprised him.

The beast lay still on the ground, steaming slightly. Ice covered the ground of the forest clearing except for a five foot circle around Mai. She didn't seem aware that her leg was bleeding or that he was there. She was too busy staring at her hands. That's when he noticed the strong magical aura around her.

"Jareth, what the hell was that thing?" Mai questioned, her voice shaking slightly.

"An ancient ice beast that's supposed to be extinct," Jareth said, walking over to her. The thin layer of ice cracked under his boots.

"Yeah, well that one didn't get the memo," Mai muttered through chattering teeth. "So when did it get so cold out here?"

Jareth wrapped his arms around her and felt the cold seep through the cloth of his shirt and gloves. He could see how her lips were starting to turn blue.

"Mai, whatever you do, do not close your eyes," Jareth ordered quietly.

"I'll…t-t-try…" Mai chattered, looking up at him with her eyelid starting to droop. "B-b-but it's…r-r-real-l-ly c-c-cold…"

Jareth glanced at his right when he heard some more ice crack. Ares was standing there, staring at the ice beast. Mai suddenly went limp in his arms.

"Dispose of the carcass," Jareth ordered, shifting Mai so that he was holding her bridal style. "And then leave my kingdom."

Ares glared at Jareth, but Jareth didn't care as he vanished in a swirl of glitter. Ares sighed and looked at the ice beast, trying to think of how he could dispose of its carcass.

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Jareth appeared in Mai's bathroom and walked over to the already full tub. He deposited Mai into the steaming water, but made sure to keep her head above the surface.

He fidgeted one hand and a crystal appeared. He touched it against Mai's lips and the antidote started coursing through her veins. He guessed that one of the Artical's claws had grazed Mai's thigh, delivering a lethal amount of poison into Mai's system. (The same result would have happened if it had bit her or spilled some of its blood or saliva in one of her cuts.)

The color started coming back into Mai's face and Jareth sighed in relief. It was a sign that his antidote was working. He pulled her out when he saw that her skin was starting to blister. He took her back into her bedroom.

Without much thought, he sat on her bed and cradled her soaked body to his chest. All she had to do was open her eyes for a second and his worry would be gone.

"Wearing wet clothes will not help her," Mali said from the doorway.

Jareth flicked his wrist and Mai's clothes changed into short shorts and a white spaghetti strap shirt. Somehow, his clothes dried and his gloves vanished. He could feel the little warmth that was radiating from Mai.

Mali hobbled over and put a paw on the large scab covering the wound on Mai's leg. Her eyes seemed to glow for a second.

"I see you already took care of the poison," Mali commented, returning her hand to her side. "Why?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Jareth questioned, looking at Mali.

"You said that you hated her and that she was so much trouble," Mali pointed out. "This would have been an easy way to get rid of her."

Jareth looked down at Mai. Her breathing was still so shallow.

"Jareth, why do you care for her?" Mali inquired. "Because she's a friend of Sarah's? OR because she is the granddaughter of a foolish Elf threatening to start a war? Or could it be that you have feelings for the girl?"

Jareth glanced back at Mali, but didn't say anything. Mali seemed to smirk before turning her back on him and started to hobble towards the door.

"Why would I fall for a repulsive little half breed?" Jareth demanded in a flat voice.

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A/N: There you have it. Another weird chapter from this story. Don't you think that Jareth is a big jerk right now? Let me know what you think of him and Ares, the stupid Elf. Reviews are always welcome.