Chapter 21

Robert cradled his granddaughter carefully, it was a weird sensation to hold your grandchild when your son was just a year and half old.

Her hair was dark like Sarah's, but mostly she favoured her father, her nose and eyes were all Jareth, even her slightly upturned eyebrows and pointed ears were from him.

"She's beautiful Sarah." Robert looked over at his daughter was lying in bed passing the infant over to his wife.

"She's a perfect little princess," Sarah smiled. "Then again she is only nine hours old, I'm sure she'll show off her attitude sooner or later considering who her father is."

Irene laughed while cooing at the baby.

"I heard that Precious," Jareth called from the bathing room.

Sarah rolled her eyes at her husband.

Irene smiled at them and went to tuck in the tiny princesses foot that was kicked free from the blanket. "Aww, she has a birthmark!"

Jareth raced out of the other room, his shirt barely on. "Where? where did you see it?" he asked rather harshly in a fit of panic.

"It's on the top of her foot." Irene looked at him strangely as his panic, showing him the tiny crescent-shaped mark of darker skin.

Sarah looked at her husband and then her step-mother. "Birthmarks are considered a faux pau in the underground, Jareth has his because of his mother insistence, but it is all so why he wears gloves unless in the company of family. They generally involve some sort of magical connection." Sarah explained and looked at Jareth. "It's up to you, dearest. If you think she's better off without it, then remove it but I think it would be easy to hide should you want to keep it."

"I will consult my father about it, I know marks work differently on males and females," Jareth told her. In truth, he didn't want to have his daughter feel like she had to hide her true self like he did for all his life, but Sarah was right it was easily hidden by shoes and socks.

"They will be back soon?" Sarah asked him.

"Yes, they will be here within the hour," Jareth told her, they quickly saw the baby last night, but as Sarah was fading fast it was apparent the new parents needed rest and they went home promising to return the next morning.

Sarah nodded. "As much as I enjoy the look your going for, you may want to finish dressing." Sarah teased him. Jareth looked down and realized his shirt was wide open. "I will be right back," he said giving her a quick kiss before returning his own room to dress.

Sarah who was getting tired of sitting bed and having decided she needed to use the ladies room pushed back the covers.

"Dad, can you pass me that robe?" Sarah asked him.

"Do you need any help?"

"No, I think I'll be fine," Sarah told him as she shrugged on the robe and moved her legs to the side of the bed and stood up gingerly testing out her lower half that felt like it had been hit by a bus. Not an eight pound, twenty-one-inch baby.

Irene placed Rosalea back in her cradle and went over to Sarah. "Just relax, don't force it." She whispered to her stepdaughter knowing the first time relieving yourself after childbirth could be quite an experience in itself. "Oh! and here." Irene told her grabbing a blue rubber bottle from her purse still in its package.

Sarah read the package, blushing as she got the hint of what it was for, and she was thankful and Irene's thoughtfulness. The thought of toilet paper just made her cringe. She quickly padded over where she was going and closed the door.

'I'll go check on Toby." Robert told his wife. " I'm sure he'll be up by now."

Irene nodded and gave his a kiss goodbye as he left to collect their son.

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Deidre fawned over her granddaughter gushing over everything aspect that she could gush about.

"She looks so much like you Jareth, just with Sarah's coloring." She told her son who sat back on next to his mother in his full regal attire.

"So everyone says, but I just see Sarah when I look at her," Jareth spoke leaning forward and looking at his daughter. "I meant the eyebrows are clearly mine, I'm sure everything will become more pronounced over time."

"They will for sure," Deirdre smiled at him.

"I do have one thing that to should be addressed," Jareth told his parents as Rosalea was passed to her grandfather.

Eldron took the child and settled her in his arms as she looked up with her big eyes at him. "Well aren't you an alert little one," he spoke huskily letting his voice rumble in his chest, something he learned with his children as they had been young, and it seemed Rosalea enjoyed it as well as she cuddled into him.

"What needs to be addressed?" Eldron asked his son.

Jareth leaned over and untucked the blanket to show off the tiny feet, "the right one." he said as his parents both investigated.

"She is marked!" Deirdre gasped. "Oh, it is so adorable," tracking the tiny moon.

"What does Sarah think?" Eldron asked him.

"She knows what Fae consider them as, but says it's easily hidden by shoes and socks," Jareth told him. "I know through study, and from what you told me about mine, and how it connects to my children as a male, but what of females?"

Eldron thought for a moment. "I don't recall much about females that were marked having any physical connection, obviously carrying the children means they would not need the connection. It's hard to say really it's been many centuries since they were common."

Jareth nodded. "It does suit her, I just don't want her to feel like she has to hide."

Deidre looked her son. "Is that how you feel?"

"At times," Jareth answered truthfully. "I was always told I had to wear gloves, now it seems strange not to wear them, the only time I feel comfortable without them is with Sarah. She grew up in a world where imperfections are normal, and sometimes they are more important than perfection."

"I never meant to cause you anguish," his mother laid her hand on his arm. "I just couldn't bear the thought of changing you, you were always perfect in my eyes, the gloves were just a way to protect you."

"And Amira?"

"Amira never had any," Eldron told him. "Neither did your other sister," he said after a moment.

Jareth nodded and decided to continue on another thing he wished to let his parents know about.

"I know were not suppose to announce her full name, till the christening but I want you guys to know before hand." Jareth started. "Sarah had Rosalea pick out already but I asked for her middle name to be Emmerette."

"Your sister would be honoured," Deidre spoke softly and looked at her granddaughter, she had thought before how Rosalea reminded her of her first daughter, those dark curls, the dark upturned eyebrows, but hearing her daughter's name for the first time out loud in hundreds of years brought it all back to her, as a few tears fell down her face.

'Mother-" Jareth started

"It's fine Jareth, I'm ok, When I first saw her I was reminded of your sister, hearing her name, and being named after her. It brings back a lot of memories, happy memories, though." Deirdre told him. "I'm glad she has a chance to live on through her namesake."

Rosalea seemed to have enough of all the talk around her as she started to cry. Jareth took her gentle back from his father "Well you are not wet, so you must be hungry," Jareth said checking the cloth around her waist. "Time to find your mother."

"We must get back to the Palace." Eldron stood up and squeezed his son's shoulder as a sign of affection.

"Let us know if you need help planning the christening," Deirdre told him kissing his cheek and patting his blonde hair lovingly.

"Of course," Jareth told her nodded and kissed his mother cheek. "See you father," he said with a curt nod as he tried to soothe his daughter who was getting impatient with her cries getting louder.

Jareth transported himself up to Sarah's chambers finding her sitting at her vanity brushing her hair. "I think she's hungry." Jareth said as she jumped slightly at the sudden appearance. "apologies I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Its okay, just let me get situated," Sarah told him moving over to the bed and undoing her nightshirt. "Let us try this again little one, and please don't hurt mommy."

"It hurts?" Jareth asked shocked.

"Yes and no," Sarah told him as she tried to get Rosalea to latch properly as she was taught. "It's not something I'm used to doing so my nipples are quite tender, especially if she's not latched properly. But it mostly just feels odd that's all." Sarah tried to explain to him.

"We can always get a wet-nurse if wanted." Jareth reminded her, from previous conversations which she rejected.

"I am not having a stranger feed my daughter, I have pumps and bottles as back up," Sarah told him as she managed to shove as much of her breast as she could into her daughter's mouth, she gave a small hiss at one point but kept going.

"My parents went back to the High Palace, they say if we need help with the Christening to let them know," Jareth told her and sat on the bed watching her.

Sarah nodded to him. "I'm sure I'll need the help since I have no idea what a christening here even involves." she let out a small laugh and looked at him. "Must you watch me?"

"I'm just admiring my beautiful wife." Jareth retorted with a small smirk. "Is that not allowed."

Sarah gave him a look, she didn't feel beautiful. She still felt large and very sore, but she saw the look of adoration in his eyes as he looked her, and it made her heart melt.

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Rosalea learned early on how to get her parents attention and once she learned that cries brought her food, or clean nappies or just the voice that sang to her, it seemed that all she ever did.

She was barely two weeks old and it seemed to both Sarah and Jareth that sleep was something of the past. Between the feedings every two hours, and having it found out that Rosa hating sleeping in her cradle and only wanted to sleep even a little if she was with them in their bed. If not she would scream bloody murder it seemed if they tried to place her in her cradle.

She only slept in small stretches. Jareth usually telling Sarah to sleep whenever the baby slept as she was still recovering from the birth. Both parents looked like zombies, or whatever Sarah compared herself to as she looked in the mirror one morning noticing the dark cycles and lank hair.

Amira and Dmitri who recently went through the first trying and draining weeks, stayed trying to help out the new parents, with Amira looking official duties and Dmitri acting as regent when needed, Ciaran was a chubby cherub with his reddish hair and bright blue eyes of his mother, accompanied his parents everywhere they went. While they had a nanny to watch him during dinners or other royal functions otherwise he was cared for by his parents

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Sarah paced the floor with her daughter in her arms who wouldn't stop crying, Jareth was dealing with an issue that required him so she was pacing the floor of the conservatory finally mobile enough to venture down the stairs and out the royal suite.

"Oh please sweet little girl, let mommy have a break." She pleaded to the baby who was cuddled into her shoulder who was red faced and teary eyed as she paced the room. She never remembered Toby being this way.

"You're fed, you're burped, and you are dry, so why I can't figure out what you want my baby girl." Sarah ran off the list. "Your cuddled and upright," she rattled through everything she could think of.

Finally, she just sat down with tears falling down her face, was she already failing as a parent? She couldn't even figure out what her daughter wanted or needed. She moved some cushions around and laid Rosalea in the fort of pillows just in case she wiggled off the couch. She stopped crying for a moment, hiccupping as mother and daughter just stared at each other with silent tears running down their faces.

That was the scene the Jareth walked into, seeing his wife and daughter just stare at each other with tears running down their faces, the silence didn't last long though as Rosalea had enough and let out a high-pitched cry.

"I can't do this," Sarah said looking up. "Nothing works, she just keeps crying and screaming."

Jareth walked over and picked up his daughter placing her near his heart…"Shh.." he said trying to soothe her. "Please little one, I promise you anything you want, All the pretty jewels, just close your eyes, I'll place the moon in your heart," his voice low as he spoke, the sound resonating in his chest and sat down at the piano, with one arm supporting her and holding her up, as he used his other free hand to play simple melody from the lyrics that had come to mind. Playing his and Sarah's song for her as well as he could with one hand.

They watched Rosalea relax and calm down as he played through melodies with his one hand, singing the lyrics in a deep low voice.

Both Sarah and Jareth looked at each other afraid what would happen next. Sarah sat up and took Rosa from Jareth sitting next to him. Rosalea scrunched up her face but settled as Jareth continued to play, adding the lower notes now with his free hand.

They stayed at the piano, mostly since it was the first time she had been quiet all afternoon. Even when she demanded to by fed by nuzzling her mother's chest, Jareth kept up the playing, he hadn't played for hundreds of years, but it wasn't something you truly ever forgot.

As she fell asleep against her mother's chest after letting out quite a large burp the surprised them both for one so small.
Sarah finally spoke up. "If this is parenting, we are never having another one."

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It took another two weeks, of constant pacing and music before their daughter decided one day that crying for what seemed like ten hours a day was exhausting and that sleep was actually an amazing thing to do.

The first night she slept through the night or most of the night. They had Rosalea between them in their bed. They just watched her sleep, afraid the moment they slept that she would wake up or stop breathing.

Finally, as the sun was just about to rise they succumbed to a few hours sleep themselves holding hands as they slept.

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Alrighty, so mostly filler. But I should be getting up to some more planned plot bunnies coming up soon, like who gave Sarah the book, and Sarah running to her friends when visiting the above ground. etc.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I based a lot of stuff on my friend who just had her baby June 27 Little Jemma was quite a nonsleeper, she hated lying flat. and my friend who wanted to breastfeed so bad, her body just wouldn't produce milk so she switched to formula. As I told her, who cares what people think or say, they don't know you tried, and cried for days over it because you felt guilty you couldn't do it and felt the pressure of keep trying it best for the baby. All the matters is your little girl is fed. Fed is best.

Anyways have a good night!

Tina