A/N to anonyn - since you didn't log in I could not send you a PM - Jareth is not human, he doesn't understand 'personal space' or intrusion of privacy. He didn't read Alia's mind or he would have known her story immediately - he only pulled out her address to deal with her father. He is a king and used to getting his own way. Whether we like it or not, that's just the way it is...and he isn't going to change just to please us. He also hasn't read Sarah's mind - he can only feel her emotions - he can't read her thoughts. If he could, a lot of misunderstandings could have been prevented but I wouldn't have much of a story to tell...
Sarah sat in the Queen's gardens weeding and relaxing. Being around plants had always calmed her the way nothing else had been able to after her mother left. It was the one thing they had shared and in a way, it kept Linda Williams near her daughter, if only in memory. But right now she wasn't thinking of her mother. She found her thoughts going back to Devlin, wondering what was going on in the man's mind. Seline had told her that Lordos didn't harm with their allure, but Sarah had felt a bit - exposed. She wasn't sure she liked the feeling.
She compared that to how she felt when Jareth was around. She hated to admit it, but the Goblin King always made her feel like his arms were around her. She really didn't want to admit she liked it, but she did. Maybe being here was making her believe in fairy tales. Goblin Kings did not choose mortal girls for their queen. But she was really beginning to wish that they did.
"Now Sarah," Seline was saying, "every flower here has a story. Morning lilies as you know, are my favorite because they greet every morning with reverence, unfurling blooms to the awakening sky. Every day becomes filled with possibilities. It is a good lesson to learn."
"And they smell like rich milk chocolate," Sarah added, breathing in the scent. The High Queen laughed and nodded happily.
You need a flower that smells like Jareth, the little voice in her head purred. MMMMMMMM
"Now then, here is a Rhodium Sterling flower, note the bright red streaks on the deep blue petals. Normal Sterlings are pale blue with pink streaks," Seline continued, ignoring Sarah's deep blush. "This variety is very rare and can only be grown where there is strong magic. Jareth obtained this in the land of Giants after rescuing the High King's son from Ogres."
Sarah let her fingers dig deep into the soil, feeling the stirrings of life beneath her hands. She transplanted a Sterling from a nearby pot into the ground, sighing as the flower sang to her. Even here on Avian, plants were uncomplicated. You planted them, you watered them, you gave them enough light and attention that they bloomed. You never had to worry that they were plotting things behind your back or lying about their intentions. You cared for them, they grew, everything was in order. Now if only her feelings about Jareth could be so cut and dried.
She wondered what Jareth was doing just then - if he was safe, if he was missing her at all. She hadn't really thought of his Goblin King duties other than tormenting runners in his Labyrinth. But apparently he could punish people who hurt children, if the child believed in him. And of course, Alia would believe in Jareth. Sarah was beginning to think that maybe, she could believe in him too - just a little. Anyone who loved children so much couldn't be all bad.
Sarah had learned so much about him in such a little time, she wondered if he had been disappointed in anything he'd learned about her. She felt his unease, something was troubling him and she felt helpless that she could do nothing to aid him. She was getting the distinct impression that some of his strange emotion was because of his mistrust of her and she bit her lower lip in frustration. She couldn't believe that she actually wanted to talk to him and tell him that she was really ready to give this relationship a chance. Her pin glowed slightly and she frowned at it, as if it was hiding something from her.
"Your majesty, the nymphs this morning seemed angry I had this pin. And it seems warm to me sometimes. Is there a spell on it? Is Jareth spying on me?"
"No, he is not. The pin is not meant for that purpose. It is a link of emotion only given to someone deemed very special and beloved by the giver. Whatever you are feeling, Jareth is aware. And if the bond is strong, you should feel his emotions as well." She paused in her weeding to regard Sarah thoughtfully. "Do you feel anything of my son's emotion right now?"
"I feel that he was thinking about me and he wasn't happy. Maybe I'm not as special as he pretended I was." Sarah didn't know why she said it, but she was getting upset at the thought Jareth was feeling distant from her and she had no idea what she'd done to get him thinking less of her.
"You control the pin's effects in a way. If you think of him strongly enough, you can affect his mood. He would know if you felt - lovingly toward him, or if you were being flirted with by another. It's powerful magic."
"So when Devlin flirted with me - I thought I heard a growl in my head. Was that Jareth?"
"Jareth cares deeply for you Sarah, never doubt that. There is also a protection spell upon your pin. While you are here, you are safe from anyone who would dare think to harm you. Fae are jealous and there is much temptation to steal a betrothed from such a powerful king as my son."
"Betrothed? I thought we were just courting?" Sarah asked, suddenly nervous. You know what courting is, don't you? the little voice in her head taunted.
"As long as you are courting, you are considered betrothed. It is to ward off unwanted attentions of possible suitors. It is custom. However, if you deny my son's suit, you of course would be free to be courted by another. I did notice Devlin seems rather taken with you." The words were spoken lightly, but Sarah could hear a hint of worry in them.
"I don't think I'd like to be courted by a vampire," Sarah shuddered. "No matter how charming. But this pin seems to let me feel Jareth somehow. Can Jareth control my mind?"
"Sarah, your will is your own. Jareth can not control minds. He can however, sense your emotions through the pin just as you can sense his. It is part of the courtship ritual, and is not meant to offend you. Jareth has no power over you, you have said so yourself." Sarah was about to answer when there was a commotion at the garden gate.
"Grandmother! Let me help you with the flowers," a little girl shouted as she ran into the gardens and hugged the High Queen. Seline laughed and hugged the child as Sarah tried to get her chaotic thoughts under control.
"Jenata, my angel - this is the Lady Sarah. She's visiting this week. Say hello and mind your manners."
The little dark haired girl smiled shyly at Sarah and curtsied. "It is good to meet you, my Lady."
"Just call me Sarah, okay?" The girl glanced at Seline, who nodded. "Do you like helping in the garden?"
"Yes, I love flowers, they always smell so pretty and Uncle Jareth brings me home the prettiest ones he can find when he travels. Then he helps me plant them in my garden. The goblins help out too sometimes, but you really have to watch them or they'll try to eat the plants. Ugh."
"Does your uncle spend a lot of time with you?" Sarah asked, giggling at the thought of goblins eating flowers. The little girl nodded, her blue eyes shining.
"Yes, sometimes I play hide and go seek with the goblins and Uncle Jareth will let me go with him when he talks to runners - if he thinks it's safe." She twisted up her face. "I'm a big girl, I keep telling him that but he says it's his sponsibly to watch me." She stumbled over the large word and Sarah smiled.
"You mean responsibility?"
"That's what I said!" Jenata said, hands on her hips. She looked a bit like Jareth then and Sarah smiled even more.
Sarah laughed with the little girl, but her heart ached a bit knowing that she had no parents to love her. But she had Jareth. Sarah considered that; every time Jareth had a reason to help a child, he took it. He was cruel, inconsiderate and immoral to a casual observer, but Jareth's heart was as big as his ego. Sarah smiled. His heart is almost as big as something else, the little voice said lustily and Sarah blushed. Stupid tight pants.
JSJSJS
A cool soothing mist covered Robert's vision and he found himself looking down at a little girl with bandages up her arms. The girl moaned in her sleep, in pain and he felt his heart ache a bit.
"You can't be thinking of stealing this child," Robert said with a hint of anger in his voice. "I won't let her be taken?"
"And what could you do about it, human?" Jareth asked, slightly amused at Robert's attempt at bravery. "What are you against the Goblin King?"
"I'm a father and I won't let you steal someone's little girl the way you're trying to steal mine." Robert's anger grew and Jareth steeled himself.
"One can hardly steal what one has been offered. Or have you forgotten Sarah agreed to be courted?" Jareth folded his arms over his chest and glared, feeling very old and tired. Soon this would all be in the past and Sarah could start over with someone she truly could love. The thought pained him even as he knew he must let her go. "Not that you have been supportive of that decision in the least. I wonder where Sarah gets her compassion."
"Sarah is a sweet kid, she has no idea what you want from her. You are a child stealer and a bully. And if you were faced with this child's father you would find that he'd protect her the same way I protect Sarah. I have compassion for that man - a man who doesn't even know you are planning to harm his child."
"Such bold talk from such a narrow minded man. Tell me, friend Robert - what would you say of a man who kills a child's mother in front of them and lets the child burn trying to save her? Would he be deserving of your compassion?" He grabbed Robert's arm and let the memories from his crystal enter the man's mind.
Robert stood there, frozen in shock, seeing what had happened to Alia's mother and the little girl's trauma. Images blazed through his mind, one after the other. So much death and flames for such a young child to bear. Robert moaned with the agony he felt, as if he was near the blaze as it happened. He looked down at his arms and could not believe he was not burned, the pain had been so intense.
"That can't be real - no man would do that to their own child," Robert stammered. Jareth looked at him with a measure of pity.
"Parents destroy their children in many ways, friend Robert. Not all of them with violence." His voice sounded weary. "Sarah is indeed fortunate that her father loves her to the point of foolishness."
Alia woke up slowly, surprised to see Robert but she smiled at Jareth as if she'd known he'd be there.
"You said you couldn't heal me," the girl reminded him. She put a trusting hand in Jareth's and Robert was amazed to see the beginnings of tears in the king's eyes.
"But I can take you home, child - if you wish to go. Your family misses you terribly and they can help you heal."
"Let me see Papa one last time, and then okay," Allie said solemnly. The king bowed and as Robert tried to wrap his head around the exchange, the three were gone from the hospital as if they'd never been there.
JSJSJS
Robert blinked his eyes. All he could see was the blinding white snow that covered the landscape. He was in his usual clothes, but was not cold. Jareth stood beside him, hand on his sword, watching the small cottage deep in the white storm. There was no sign of Allie.
"Where are we? Where is the little girl?" Robert demanded. Jareth turned to give him a sardonic smirk.
"We are in what your people call Russia. It is where I have my appointment. Stay close and don't touch anything. You humans have a tendency to muddy the waters a bit with your confusion."
A wave of the hand and Robert found himself standing next to a large oak table with a single well used candle flickering in the center. A drunken man staggered around the room, chanting old spells from the ancient book he held. Jareth was nowhere to be seen. The man seemed to look at Robert but walked past him to grab a bottle of cheap vodka. Taking a huge gulp, the man peered down at the book and then at an old woman who was sitting by the fire, watching him.
"You said these spells would call the vampire demons to my side, old woman," he slurred. "You told me I could be changed. Then I can go back and kill that ungrateful spawn of mine and start again."
"You wish for a demon?" Jareth's voice had a cold hard edge to it as it filled the room. The old woman's eyes widened and a wind began to pick up in the fireplace. Flames darted into the cabin, landing on furniture. The woman jumped up, brushing sparks from her tattered dress. "Then a demon you shall have."
"Who is there?" the man slurred. He turned to the old woman who was edging toward the door. "More of your trickery old woman? One of your worthless sons come to frighten me out of more money?"
Wolves howled at each window, their yellow eyes glaring into the room. Upstairs, a window shattered, and the man could hear heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. Yuri sput towards the sound, grabbing the vodka bottle and smashing it against the table. He ran to the bottom of the stairs, confused when he saw nothing. But still the footsteps came closer.
"Papa," Alia's voice floated into the room. "I forgive you." The little girl faded into view like an angel, a soft white glow behind her. Yuri went to grab at her but his hands went through her.
"While your child stands there in pain and forgives you, you still think to harm her?" Jareth's voice sounded incredulous. "Relive your family's pain, mortal."
Yuri found himself holding Alia, running. A sharp stinging pain hit his back and the child was ripped from his arms. Agonizing, slow pain burned through his body as it was dumped into a car. Within moments, the car burst into flames and he felt his flesh burn off of his body while he was still slightly awake. He could hear Alia's screams. The pain, the heat - it was too much, he was fading, fading. And then a burst of pain so great that his own scream filled the air around him like a net of torture.
His eyes flew open to stare into Jareth's. The Goblin King smiled at him kindly.
"Did you enjoy that trip down memory lane?" Yuri just stared at him, not believing his eyes. Alia appeared next to him and shook her head.
"Good bye Papa," she said sadly. Two men in blue appeared and each took one of Yuri's arms. With a short nod at Jareth, they disappeared with the drunken man. Jareth turned to the little girl.
"I will take you home and your grandfather and uncle shall be there once they finish chatting with your papa."
Alia hugged him tightly. "Thank you Goblin King. I love you."
Jareth returned the hug and Robert was stunned to hear a small sob escape the great king.
"I love you as well, dear Alia."
When Robert opened his eyes again, he was safely at home. Jareth was not there and he was almost ready to believe it was only a dream.
The smell of burnt flesh remained in his nose, however, and Robert found himself sick in the bathroom for quite a while.