Beta by The Art of Suicide

X

Sarah watched the moon outside her little window in her room, an eerie grey color against the black of night. All around her were things that were hers, but for all the attention she paid them you would think she had never seen them before. Everything from her favorite childhood books to her stuffed animals, to her modest makeup stand… even her bear Lancelot just sat around her in the room she had grown up in, utterly unimportant to her. Her room, which she had grown up in all her life, was also unimportant to her. She had learned this lesson once before, that what mattered was her family and the ones she truly loved. But right now, her family was out of the house. She wasn't sure where they had gone, but somehow, she just knew that they were out at the store or picking Toby up from daycare or ordering takeout for dinner. Something mundane like that.

The sound of her door opening behind her had her eyes going wide and her heart leapt at the idea that they were home at last!

Sarah turned around to greet whoever it was, be it her daddy or Karen or Toby. So, when she turned around to see herself looking back at her, she was stunned, to say the least. It wasn't possible, but sure enough, she wasn't mistaken. The girl that stood in the doorway looked just like her, from her long brown hair to her… were those her panda slippers on that girl's feet?!

"What are you doing in my room?" the other Sarah asked, a scowl already on her face.

"This is my r-room," Sarah rebutted, noticing when uncertainty caused her voice to waver. But this was her room, wasn't it? But if so then who was the other girl that looked just like her?

"Oh yeah, and I suppose that's your father that will be coming back from the store at any minute, is it? Leave, get out of my room right now!" the other Sarah shouted, using the same whine in her tone as she did so that Sarah herself had used so often once upon a time.

"This is my room!" Sarah shouted back.

The other Sarah glared hard at her, her eyes no longer green, but the color of melted gold with only small black pupils for eyes. The strange girl came at her, faster than she could see because one moment the other Sarah was against the wall, and the next she was right there in front of her, mere inches from Sarah's face. But the girl didn't look like her any longer. She looked nothing close to human, her eyes pools of gold and her hair nothing more than a few thin black strands barely held on her head by the thin membrane that barely passed for skin. Her face was more pointed than a humans would be and her mouth was much larger and full of sharp teeth.

"GET OUT!"

X

Sarah awoke with a start, sitting up and looking around for what had scared her so. She was in her room though, not her childhood room, but the one that Jareth had given her. There was no moon here to speak of, but outside her window, the sky was just starting to turn from grey to a light yellow as the day approached. She was alone in her room, nothing was here to hurt her.

She had dreamed… she remembered that much, but not what she had dreamed about per se. Even now as she placed her hand on her chest she could feel her heart fluttering through her nightgown. What had scared her so much?

Sarah leaned back against her covers trying to remember, but the harder she tried the further back into the recesses of her mind it seemed to slip till she knew there was just no getting it back.

She could remember last night though, those memories seemed to plague her. She remembered how Jareth had pinned to her the floor with his body, explaining to her that she had nowhere to run to now, that she needed to be a proper mother and wife if she didn't want to live in a severe form of slavery for the rest of her life. She remembered being tired and hungry and emotionally unstable, but most of all she remembered how it had bit at her pride to know that he was right about her running away, how it had hacked at her ego to hear how easily he had outmaneuvered her, and how it had burned her tongue to agree to stop fighting him so fiercely on the matters.

Her pride had taken a far worse beating than her flesh ever could of and would likely take even longer to fully heal.

Now that she was rested though, she still knew that the truth of his words last night, although still painful, were indeed no less than the truth. She was stuck here. That much was certain. She couldn't go back home, not without sending her father into insanity now that he had finally received some happiness. She wouldn't even be able to stay in the town she grew up in, the only one she had ever really known for the chance of running into her father and the same problem happening. It wasn't fair. There was something else living her life as though it always had. That was just the way it was and no matter how her heart ached at the thought, she could think of nothing she could do about it. She was only seventeen, too young to be on her own in Aboveground, especially when she knew nothing about being on her own. She would be on her own in a world that was just as unfamiliar to her as this one with no friends nor family nor job skills nor a cent to her name. It wasn't an option.

And if she ran away down here… same thing.

She couldn't even take her own life.

She had never had even passing thoughts of killing herself in her whole life and never understood how some could think that life wasn't worth living. No matter what religion or creed or place someone came from, the idea that life is a gift was universal as far as she knew. In her family, she had been raised to believe that no matter how bad things got, there would always be some joys in your future. Back Aboveground, her friend Mandy once became a Buddhist for a couple months, and while she had been heavy into it she had told Sarah once that life was suffering, and so we live for the small joys whenever and where ever we can find them.

Here in the castle, she might be stuck with Jareth, but she was also with Toby, and that did count for a great deal. He was her family as far as she was concerned, no matter what his relation or blood was to her that much hung just as true as ever. If she left him, leaving him to Jareth alone to raise… Sarah couldn't bear the thought of him growing up to be like Jareth and Mavid, another male just like them. She couldn't let that happen to him. Suppose he got older and thought it ok to force someone into being his wife? Sarah couldn't live with the thought of such a fate happening to someone else, being caused by Toby, who was still so sweet and innocent. He was at the very least one of those joys worth living for that Mandy had talked about.

Last night, after Jareth had indeed humbled her, he unlocked the door to the breaking room, helping her from the sand and bringing her back to his private bath. She tensed when he ordered her to undress, but complied at the sharp look he gave her as he poured a sweet-smelling soap into the large tub. Her body cried out to be clean again, so she ultimately complied removing the torn and dirty clothes that had once been Jareth's from herself and slipping quickly into the warm water of the bath. She hadn't realized how much sand had clung to her till she had heard it fall from her onto the tile as she had undressed, sounding like soft rain against a windowpane as the grains dropped. Still more had clung to her skin though, particularly in her hair and against her scalp and ears.

Jareth removed his own clothes then, the same noise being made as more sand made to join hers, and he climbed into the tub with her, washing the remainder from his own body as she did the same. Once she was satisfied that she had gotten all the sand from her scalp and the rest of her body and hair washed, Jareth had asked her if she was still on her period. Saying yes would have been a hard lie to swallow at this point, so she had simply shaken her head no and had braced herself like she expected him to launch himself onto her. He had not done so, however, and in fact hadn't touched her at all since he had kissed her in the breaking room. He had simply nodded his head in understanding and had handed her a towel to dry off with.

Once she had been clean and dried he had simply instructed her to go to her room and go to bed, saying she would need all the sleep she could get for tomorrow.

She hadn't complained.

Sarah hadn't spoken almost a single word to him, but she didn't have to ask to know that his mind was elsewhere at best and scattered about at worst. She thought she would fall asleep the moment she hit the pillow but instead found herself lying awake for quite some time, staring at the door connecting their rooms and wondering what Jareth was doing. It seemed like anytime he wasn't right in front of her he was up to something that would mean trouble for her, like when he had spent an entire day exploiting her plans of escape without her even suspecting it.

She heard nothing on his side of the door though, hoping that he had simply fallen asleep and nodded off herself eventually.

Sarah was still exhausted though, the little sleep she did get being interrupted by her bad dreams. She turned over with the intent of going back to sleep, only to turn back over again when her door to the hall swung open and suddenly Jareth, Ishapell, Clora, and Rally all spilled into her room, all talking over each other as they came in.

Jareth ordered Rally and Clora to start packing up what Sarah would need from her closets and told Ishapell to see to it that Sarah had something suitable to wear for the day and something was shouted belatedly at Clora to make sure to pack some purple dress for dinner tonight.

Sarah sat up in bed as Jareth made his way over to her next. After last night, she wasn't sure what to expect from him, and so tried to keep her face expressionless as he sat down on the side of her bed as the females all ran about her room and closet getting things together.

Jareth's manner was rather business-like as he addressed her. "I hope you slept well. I allowed you to sleep in a little longer this morning so you would be more alert tonight but there's no more time to waste. You need to get up and get dressed right away so that we can leave."

"Leave?" she asked, still dazed as she tried to rouse herself from sleep.

Jareth spared her an annoyed glance as he pulled the covers down from her body. "Yes, leave. My parents have agreed to hold dinner with the council at their own castle tonight. Even if I rounded up all the goblins in my kingdom and threw them into an oubliette months ago this castle would still not be free of their stench or filth. We need to hurry and get ready so we can arrive there well before dinner." He leaned back down to her and she was caught off guard when he brought his lips against hers in a hurried kiss, which was just as well because she likely would have tensed or flinched or done something else that would have made him mad if she had known it was coming.

By 'we' he had to be talking about her since he already looked fully dressed and awake for the day. The only signs that he hadn't had any more sleep lately than she was the faint darkness that lined the skin of his eyes and the way his eyelids drooped just ever so slightly so that someone who didn't see him every day might have never noticed.

Jareth did look fabulous otherwise this morning she had to admit. His hair was still just as wild looking as ever, but the longest strands at the back were pulled together in a low tail with a thin strip of black leather and he wore dark grey tight leggings, a red silken shirt that shimmered in the light and left a triangle of skin on his chest exposed almost halfway down, a black cummerbund that helped show just how flat and narrow his waist was, crushed leather gloves, and boots that encased his legs up to his knees and had a very thick two inch heel on them. He was even more ornate looking than most days.

Sarah didn't like the thought of having to go to a strange place to have dinner with Jareth's parents and even more strangers who would be judging her the whole time. She didn't have to be a fortune teller to know that it was going to be an extremely uncomfortable night. "Is Toby coming with us?" She asked as Jareth took her hand and helped her up out of bed. She didn't want to let him help her out, considered even chewing her hand off as an alternative to allowing him to take it; but wouldn't that be time-consuming.

"Yes, Mavid and the wet nurse are getting him ready now. I had Torik go to the stables to help ready our transportation. Now hurry! We are running behind as it is," he ordered.

Ishapell had already laid out Sarah's under things for the day and had a burgundy colored dress slung over one little arm. She didn't try meeting Sarah's eyes at all, quite the opposite if anything.

Jareth reclaimed her attention when he started unbuttoning the front of her nightgown.

"Sire, what are you doing?!" Rally gaped, having just come out of the closet. "You shouldn't be in here when the queen is changing!"

"We don't have time for that kind of foolishness!" Jareth barked back, his patience reaching its end as he continued to help her undress. "I've helped her undress before for better reasons than to change back into clothes and even if I did wish to be inappropriate right now it is not your place to tell me I can't."

Rally didn't say another word, biting her lip and going back into the closet. Clora looked thoroughly amused as she paused to watch and Ishapell's face had gone even redder than Sarah's, although she was more likely embarrassed instead of enraged like Sarah was. Jareth stripped the nightgown from her and Sarah brought her hands up to cover herself automatically when his eyes took a second to roam, trying to keep her scowl to herself. Jareth gave her another pointedly annoyed look when she did so but she pretended not to see it, turning to the bed to pick up her underwear. Ishapell stepped forward to help but Sarah snatched the underwear and corset away from the female quickly, ignoring also Ishapell's hurt look as she sat down on the bed and slipped on the underwear and placed the corset over her bust. Jareth stepped up to lace the corset, having Sarah brace herself against one of the posts at the foot of her bed. "Breathe out," was all he said before he placed his knee against her back and pulled sharply at the laces.

Sarah regretted having him do it rather than Ishapell out of spite right away, now that she was becoming more accustomed to them, she could tell that Jareth had the added strength to make the corset extra tight around her middle to where it was just a little harder than normal to breathe. She said nothing though, adjusting her breathing to it manually as Jareth took the dress from Ishapell and threw it over Sarah's head.

This dress was a tad heavier than her other ones, the material being thicker and the dress being higher necked and long sleeved. It had a more simple design to it than the others she had worn as of yet, it had a bell skirt with a built in net with a parted overskirt of the same burgundy color that was lined with black lace and the top part had little hooks running up the front to fasten it closed with a high color that was also lined with black lace that formed a narrow V down to the top of Sarah's cleavage and long sleeves that were tight from the shoulders to the elbows but from there to the wrists they fanned out for ample movement. Those too were hemmed with black lace. "Why is this one built differently?" Sarah asked as she looked down at herself.

"This one is for traveling, when we arrive at my parent's you will change into a different dress," Jareth explained as Clora and Ishapell both started combing her hair so they could put it up. Sarah fought not to roll her eyes at the thought of changing again. Separate dresses just for traveling? Ridiculous.

As her hair was pulled up on her head into a tight bun, Jareth never stopped talking to her, which she half-heartedly paid attention to but it was hard. Everything just felt so surreal, like she was still dreaming and would wake up any minute to find everything had all just been in her head. She wanted so badly for everything to just be in her head. If someone could convince her that she was just insane she would have probably thanked them. Jareth was still very formal and business mannered towards her and she couldn't help but find it odd considering how desperately he had fought her tooth and nail on making her his wife. Now that she had finally agreed to make something of an effort for Toby's sake you would think that he would have been a little more… happy about it. Not treating her like a new employee on her first day at work.

"The council will be there tonight. I'm sure I've mentioned this before at least a dozen times. Because of this fact alone this dinner will be rather formal. I don't want you to say or do anything unless you must. Remember, you don't have to wow them, just don't make any major faux-pas in front of them and they should find you acceptable enough." He let out a deep sigh as he gave her look another once over. "Allow a couple strands near the front to hang loose I think, and try to make it look accidental," he directed, a most serious look on his face. "I could kill my father for arranging all this," Jareth hissed out under his breath.

X

Jareth was happy, truly he was. Well… maybe not entirely happy, but certainly very hopeful that he would be soon. Last night he knew it had taken a lot out of Sarah for her to agree to see things his way, and although it would take time and effort, he was sure that eventually, she would come to see the benefits of her decision far outweighed the cons. There had been times last night when he had doubted that she would ever submit even the slightest bit to him, her pride and courage being a perfect match for his own, just one more reason he knew he had to have her.

When he had found a way of coaxing a bit of humility from her it had been the same kind of relief that generals feel from winning a war. Not necessarily the start of peace, but an end to the bloodshed.

And the way she had kissed him afterward…

His body had been practically singing from that kiss. He had wanted so badly to take it further, had endured the worst torture of wanting to continue that kiss and coax more from her. She had to have seen that he had been hard for her in the bath, glancing at her body now and then as they had washed up, and then he had learned that she was no longer menstruating and he could take her if he wanted… and oh how he had indeed wanted.

He had abstained though, rather than pushing her pride and emotions even further. Being as sleep deprived as he was and as unbalanced as he felt he wasn't too sure that he could have even finished anything he started. Not to mention Carrie…

It had stunned him so earlier to learn of her death in the manner he did. He hadn't allowed himself any time or mind to be paid on reflecting on this, but now that they had come to a state of rest amongst all the chaos…

No matter how she had angered or hurt or humiliated him in the past, he never wished for her death. After she had lost the second child and been in danger of dying it had been him who had forced his last healer to save her. After she had reached recovery he had dismissed his old healer, bringing in the young elf Aboris instead, who seemed more sympathetic to his ex-wife. Jareth could feel a tightening in his chest that was a sure sign that he was coming out of his own shock that he hadn't even been aware Carrie's death had sent him into. Yes, toward the end of their relationship he had grown to honestly hate her, but that didn't take away the good memories either. Or the fact that once he had indeed loved her.

He had sent Sarah to her room right after the bath, not sure how well he would be able to hide his grief from her if she stayed. And the memories of his ex-wife and the view in the crystal had smashed his desire down to a pulp for the night now that he allowed himself to remember them. After Sarah went back to her room he had retreated to his own bed, trying to find sleep as tears spilled from his eyes from both the sorrow of Carrie's ghastly death and the closure that his son and wife were indeed his for always. Now there was no one trying to physically take them from him. Sarah wouldn't take Toby from him, and she had finally seen that she herself had no choice but to stay. She didn't love him yet no, but he was still confident that that would come in time now that she could see that he was all she had.

Jareth had seen her confusion on her face when he had dismissed her rather than ravage her, but tonight he couldn't have done so even if she had laid out before him begging for him. And there was time for all that later… now it felt like all the time in the world. The council could say what they wanted to, as far as he was concerned she was his wife and there was no changing that now.

All the same, he still wanted their approval so that it could never be questioned or challenged again.

When he had woken up this morning he had been so anxious and nervous that he had a permanent feeling of dizziness about him and had formed a rude headache by the time he was properly dressed for traveling to his parent's. After which he had gone to make sure that Mavid was ready as well, giving Sarah a little more time to sleep in, only to find Mavid wasn't ready yet and indeed had found his attendant still not only in his room but in bed with the wet nurse, which meant that his son wasn't being prepared for the trip yet either! It had been obvious from the blatant way Mavid had rolled his eyes and stalked about when Jareth had ordered him to untie the blonde fae that he was still cross with him from last night, something else that Jareth sorely wasn't in the mood for.

His patience already strung thin, he had gone back to Sarah's room to get her about, only to be ambushed in the halls on the way there by Rally, who found it her duty to tell him all the reasons why she thought it would be better to push back the dinner to a later date so that she could properly educate his wife on manners, saying something along the lines of how she had less grace than a drunken troll with gout. There was absolutely no way he could do such a thing, considering it wasn't even his choice for them to all attend this in the first place. But then he came upon Clora and Ishapell on their way to wake Sarah, who immediately latched onto him and Rally. Once they heard Rally's topic of conversation they both had joined in with their own opinions, Clora agreeing that Sarah had no poise but insisted that she would be fine anyway and Ishapell insisting that Sarah would do fine… probably.

Finally, as they had reached Sarah's door he had had to tell them all to be silent and just get her ready, giving them orders to preoccupy them as he had made his way into Sarah's room.

Truth be told he was very nervous about the dinner tonight. So much so that he had hardly gotten a wink of sleep despite his exhaustion. And there was so much to do before they would be ready for dinner anyway. They had to hurry if they were to arrive at his folk's castle before dinner with enough time to get Sarah settled in, preened and primped and prepared, and introduce her to his mother. He found himself much more nervous about his parents than he was of the higher powers of the counsel.

Sarah sat before him with a scowl just barely showing around the corners of her face as he tried to give her some small words of advice. Who knew if she was really listening or not, but if she had the sense of a gremlin she had better. This information was for her own good if nothing else. He was aware that he was acting just this side of cold to her, but he couldn't help it. Besides his own nervousness, he knew it was imperative for him to present himself a certain way tonight. The council wouldn't be won over by affections or love between a king and queen.

They would decide if Sarah was a good match for him and his kingdom based on how properly they conducted themselves in a high-pressure situation such as this could be.

He would make up the lack of affection to her after this all was over. In the meantime… Jareth said another small prayer inside his head that nothing went wrong. His nerves just wouldn't be able to take it today.

"Sarah, are you paying attention?!" he snapped, noticing when she jumped slightly and the glazed over look left her.

"Uh, yes… don't say or do anything embarrassing," she muttered as Ishapell and Clora finished with her hair.

Jareth let out another frustrated sigh, half certain that it had just been a lucky guess. "Is her stuff packed then?" he called to Rally, who was still in the closet. No doubt she would charge him extra for this. Since he was a king and she was in his kingdom if he gave her an order she had to follow it, but as it was she wasn't a real servant and he was certainly paying her better money then a servant would ever make.

"Almost," Rally called out to him, coming out of the closet with two long wheeled trunks behind her that when standing were taller than she was. Her seven-year-old appearance would have made such a thing seem cute if he hadn't known anything about her. "I haven't gotten any of her jewelry packed yet."

They didn't have time for this. If Mavid and Tallia didn't have Toby ready to go by the time Sarah was set he swore heads would roll.

"You both go and help with the jewelry," he ordered his cousins, "Have Rally tell you every outfit she packed and select some pieces accordingly. There is a smaller bag at the bottom of the case for you to place them in."

Both Clora and Ishapell did as told, moving over to the closet to help Rally pack, leaving Jareth alone with Sarah. She continued to sit on the edge of her bed, the dazed look back on her face as if she was still in shock even after last night. She had to snap out of it by the time they got to his parent's place. He wanted to say something… do something, to make it easier for her somehow. Now, he was lost for what he could do though. "Sarah?" he prompted softly, seeking her attention once more.

Her eyes flicked up to his, but it was like she was looking past him.

He wanted to say something to comfort her. "We'll be traveling by carriage," was what left his lips.

She looked back down to her lap in silence. She had to still be in shock, no matter what promises she made him he knew she would never have absolutely nothing to say under normal circumstances.

"We are all packed, your majesty," Rally informed him, all of them coming out of the closet with Sarah's luggage in tow.

"Let's go then." Jareth reached out and took Sarah's hand again, leading her with him out into the hall.

Mavid and Tallia were both dressed and waiting, Toby in Tallia's arms. She had two totes strapped over each shoulder full of his things, and Mavid was gathering up Jareth's luggage from in front of his room door where he had left them. Jareth took his son from the wet nurse, placing a kiss on his forehead before handing him over to Sarah. The dazed look on her face seemed to leave her and she took him in her arms, her lips going to his head to kiss him and Jareth paused to watch as she held him close, her cheek coming to rest against his as she stroked her hand through his curls.

"Shall we go then?" Mavid asked, a slight edge in his voice.

Jareth looked over at the male, seeing traces of bitterness in his face over their differences. It wasn't the first time they had disagreed on things before though, and although they were both proud, they both also knew that eventually, Mavid would move on from it. Jareth would just have to make it up to him somehow. In the meantime, however, Jareth scowled at Mavid as a warning for his attitude. "You'll handle Sarah's bags too. Clear?" he drawled out.

Mavid's hands were already full from Jareth's luggage, but he couldn't say no. "Like a crystal," he bit back, shifting the luggage around to take Sarah's as well. Jareth didn't wait for him, taking Sarah's arm and leading her down the halls with him, the rest all following behind down the filth-ridden passageways. The goblins would be alright by themselves for a couple days. The places they weren't allowed in in the castle locked up tight against them like his room and study. They tended to do the same stuff whether he was there or not so he wasn't worried about them. Aboris was here as well to put out any fires they should start.

"How far away are your parents?" Sarah piped up, surprising him as she showed the first signs of interest in what was going on.

"A couple territories away, but it shouldn't be an unbearably long trip." Truth be told it would have been mere seconds if they could go by magic, but the extra amounts of baggage made it near impossible. The carriage pulled by the Pegasus ponies would be the fastest way of travel for them.

He led the way to the main door, unlocking it and stepping out to the front of his castle. The carriage was out front already, waiting for them. Torik was at the front of the carriage, holding the bridle of the lead horse so they wouldn't go anywhere. The carriage itself was long, with two separate compartments built into it. The outside was ivory with gilded trim to match the white coats of the ponies and the golden bridles they adorned. Next, to him, Sarah gasped softly, her eyes big at the sight of the winged creatures, there were a total of nine of them on the rig. "They're beautiful," she sighed, her eyes locked on the horses.

Jareth nodded his head in agreement, thinking perhaps when they had more time he would allow her to look freely at them. He could even take her riding if she wanted. He looked them over again and couldn't help it as the corner of his lip raised up in a smirk when he recognized the pony on their side second from the back was the one that he had most recently broken.

After Mavid and Torik had gotten the luggage loaded- something Jareth wasn't sure would ever get done with the way Mavid was snapping orders at the boy, who would give him dirty looks back occasionally when the superior male's back was turned- and everyone had gotten their seating figured out they were off; Clora, Ishapell, Rally and Tallia in the front compartment, Jareth, Sarah and Toby in the back, Torik on the rear to act as footman, and Mavid in the driver's seat.

Sitting across from him, Toby on her lap, Sarah gave a little start when the horses got a running start enough to leap into the air, pulling them along into the air with them. He watched with amusement as she had slid over to the side of the carriage, pulling back the little purple curtain from the window to look out. Her eyes got even bigger at the sight of the Labyrinth far below them and Jareth couldn't help but smile as she held Toby up to look too, even more, amazed than the babe was. It was like she was a child trapped in a woman's body at times. Things that were commonplace to him were so exciting, so curious, so frightening to her. It was all part of her charm.

"Look, Toby, it's the Bog of Eternal Stench!" she was whispering excitedly to him as they continued to look out the window.

Jareth didn't bother, having seen the sights so many times from flying over the Labyrinth in his owl form. He knew that the Bog of Stench, once you were far enough over it to escape the smell, looked quite beautiful, the waters a tie-dye of different shades of greens all coming together.

Jareth pulled over a little case that had been packed into the carriage with them and opened it up, taking out one of the bottles that Tallia had made for Toby for the trip. Inside the case yet was another bottle and some crackers, and some food that had been packed for Sarah and himself as well as a flask of water. Since they had had no time for breakfast they would need to have lunch on the go.

Sarah's eyes never left the window, even long after Toby had lost interest and had started bouncing impatiently in her lap, "Sar Sar!"

Jareth took his son from her to hold in his own lap so he could set Toby up with a bottle, which she didn't fight him on as she was still too entranced with the sights of the different landscapes below, and sang softly to his son as they traveled. He handed Sarah one of the plates of food, which she took and placed on her lap, tearing herself away from the window view long enough to scarf down her food hungrily. Jareth didn't scold her for it, knowing that it had been quite a while since either of them had had a chance to eat and he felt quite starved himself. Jareth used his free hand to arrange his own meal before he himself tucked in. It wasn't until Sarah gasped again sometime later that Jareth looked back over at her.

"What is that?! In the distance there, another castle?" She squeaked, looking out the little window once more.

Jareth could assume what she was seeing and sure enough when he slid back the curtain from his own little window he saw that he was right. In the distance, you could see another kingdom. The castle there was grand but looked less like a castle and more like an enormous box, the outer walls built of white stone with hundreds of holes punched out all around it that upon closer inspection one could tell were windows. "That is the castle of Fairy Queen Mab. Hers is one of the kingdoms that borders my own. You might have noticed the fairy problem I have outside my outer wall," he added, an edge in his voice.

Sarah nodded her head but never took her eyes from the window, her food forgotten on her lap. "How many other kingdoms border yours?" she asked.

Jareth took Toby's empty bottle from him, switching it for a few crackers for the tike to munch on. "Two more. A large portion of my kingdom is bordered by the mountains, which is why creatures like dwarfs and rock-callers can sometimes end up in my lands."

Sarah looked over at him then, her face dead serious. "I want you to let my friends out of that dungeon. I want you to let them go."

Jareth shifted Toby around to sit on his thigh. Truthfully, they only had a few more days of sentence to carry out, but he was an opportunist. "If you behave yourself at dinner tonight, I will send word back to Aboris at the castle to free them yet tonight," he bargained, not wanting to take any extra chances with tonight. "Sound fair?"

Sarah bit her bottom lip, clearly wanting to fight for them to be let out now rather than tonight, but in the end nodded her head in agreement. "Alright, but before the night is over… promise?"

"You have my word," Jareth agreed.

Sarah eventually went back to looking out the window, handing her empty plate over to be put back into the food case, and Jareth leaned back in his seat to digest in peace, watching her out of the corner of his eye as he held his son in his lap. Toby was quickly falling asleep, cracker crumbs sprinkled over the fabric of Jareth's jacket, and Jareth couldn't help but watch Sarah. The deep burgundy of her dress made the different shades of mahoganies in her hair stand out and look even deeper and richer against the pale creaminess of her skin. The green flecks in her eyes a surprise amongst all that white.

If dinner was successful, he had plans to do so much more tonight than simply free her ragtag friends from their cell. Even right now the main thing that was keeping him from having her straddle his lap and ride him hard was the fact that Toby was in here with them, and even though he was falling asleep he was still getting old enough that they might not be able to get away with such a thing should he wake up.

Jareth was glad she was looking out the window and ignoring him, otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to miss the bulge in his leggings.

After a while more of traveling in silence, Toby stretched his small body out in Jareth's arms in a big yawn before coiling back up into a fetal position to go to sleep. Jareth couldn't help but smile as he brought his tired son up and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Sarah's attention turned back to him then and there was an odd look on her face as she watched this.

"What?" he asked, keeping his voice down for Toby's sake.

"Can I hold him?" she asked, already holding out her arms for him.

Jareth shook his head, "He just fell asleep, you'll disturb him."

Sarah glowered at him at that. "I will not," she hissed, earning a pointed look from Jareth but she showed no sign of caring. "I just want to hold him."

"You can wait. I said he just fell asleep."

Sarah let out a huff and leaned back in her seat in defeat, for now, glaring out the window.

"You can't act like that at supper. I hope you understand," Jareth warned her. "And I'm not being unreasonable, Sarah. It's almost time for his nap anyway and shifting him between us is unnecessary jostling. You will get to hold him again later."

"I'm not acting like anything," Sarah sniffed, "I just wanted to hold him."

"Because I was holding him."

"No!"

"Lower your voice this instant!" Jareth hissed. "And yes, it is because I'm holding him. You didn't insist on it till I gave him affection."

Sarah huffed again and turned back to glare out the window.

Jareth let out a sigh, "Just because I give him affection doesn't mean that he won't grow to love you as well… just like on the same token, he won't grow to hate me if you give him more," Jareth added, catching her gaze when she turned back to him, an expression of guilt on her face before she conceded the issue and turned back to the window, not another thing to say.

"When we get to my parents' castle," Jareth informed her, switching the subject, "We will be able to change for the night, Clora and Ishapell will help you of course. Most likely my mother will want a chance to meet you before the council arrives, so we will have some time to spend with my parents and I expect you to be polite. For dinner, I want you to just watch me and not do anything until I do so, like when my father came to visit."

"Fine," Sarah growled out.

"You had better forget about your bad mood by the time we arrive," Jareth warned her. "If you don't behave yourself I can think of three scalawags that have yet another night in a cell to look forward to."

That did earn him a glare, but Sarah kept her mouth wisely shut.

If she could just behave herself today and satisfy the council then Jareth didn't care if she glared at him and talked back to him all day tomorrow, he just couldn't afford it today and she wasn't helping him any right now. With how his nerves already were…

Sarah let out a gasp of awe as she continued to look out the window, Jareth could guess what she saw. They had to be arriving at his parents' castle by now, and he knew it was a sight enough to stop anyone dead in their tracks the first time seeing it. The castle was magnificently huge and made of fawn colored marble, the smooth texture gleaming like honey in the light. The towers, the outer gate, the grounds, everything was immaculate, pristine, and perfectly put together right down to the last leaf on the hedges. On the inside, it was the same and everyone inside the castle was the same as well. Gods he didn't miss it. It was enough to drive someone insane trying to live up to such perfection as was expected from the fae royalty.

The carriage landed in the front yard, bringing them right up to the main doors of the castle, where Erib already awaited them with four servants to show them to their rooms. After the others piled out of the front compartment Mavid opened the door for them and reached out his hand to help Sarah out first. She looked at Mavid's hand like it would turn into a fist at any moment and Jareth had to clear his throat and give her a pointed look before she finally took Mavid's hand and allowed him to help her out. Once she was out Mavid came back into the doorway and Jareth passed Toby out for him to take so he could climb out himself. He let out a sigh and forced himself into the proper mindset, like an actor preparing for a role.

As he stepped out of the carriage he did so with a grace and ease that had been forced to become natural to him since childhood, holding himself like every bit the lord he was. It would have been more proper for Mavid or one of the other servants to continue to hold Toby for him, but nonetheless, he took his son back from him, balancing him against his hip in a way that took away nothing from the superior way he held himself; just a proud king holding his son.

The others were all stiff with nerves and the anxiety of what was expected of them for tonight, except for Sarah. His wife was standing in front of the carriage next to him, looking up at the glorious castle in plain wonder as her eyes bulged and her lips parted in a tiny gape.

Erib bowed at the waist to them, straightening back up almost right away while the other servants held the pose longer. Like usual his long white hair was pulled into a strict bun at the crown of his head and his robes were of a pale pearl color. "Welcome, your highnesses. I trust your trip was pleasant," he greeted Jareth formally because he had to and they both knew it.

"It was," Jareth answered formally back.

The other servants rushed forward, keeping a distance as they stepped around Jareth and Sarah as was custom to retrieve the luggage.

"If you would care to follow I will show you to your rooms where you may change and freshen up before seeing the king and queen."

Jareth nodded his head, taking Sarah's hand and tucking it into the crook of his free arm's elbow since she was too awestruck to remember to do so herself, her eyes dancing all around the grounds. "That would be most welcomed."

Erib turned and Jareth followed, walking at a slower pace than normal so it wouldn't be so obvious that he was practically pulling Sarah along as she continued to look around. In his other arm, his son was still barely keeping awake, his little body slack and his head resting against Jareth's shoulder. They entered the castle in an order befitting their ranks, with Jareth, Sarah, and Toby at the front, then Rally and Ishapell and Clora, then Mavid, Tallia and Torik, then the servants carrying their luggage. The finery of the inside was enough to cause Sarah to gape openly and as much as he longed to do so, to remind her out loud to close her mouth would have been almost even more unsightly then her leaving it open. Jareth nudged her slightly with the elbow she was holding, turning her attention back to him in what he hoped would be enough of a hint to remind her of her manners, but she didn't even look at him. He nudged her harder, to which she gasped and shot him a confused and irritated look. Thankfully Erib's back was to them though. He said nothing to her because he couldn't and thankfully when she turned back to look at the beautiful murals that lined the walls her mouth remained closed this time.

"Here we are," Erib said, after leading them down many halls into the heart of the castle. "If you find these rooms insufficient you may take it up with the king and queen," he said, his voice so neutral you could have almost missed that he had in a very formal way just told them that if they didn't like the room it didn't matter in the least. "I'll show the others to their rooms while you settle in if you would like."

Jareth nodded, "Is there a room set up in this suit for my son?" he questioned.

Erib raised one brow at that, which for him was practically a sneer. That was the fae way, every emotion so subtle and toned down it was hard to know what anyone was feeling till you spent enough time with them to know the signs. Jareth had grown up around Erib though. "The Queen has suggested that the young prince stays in the nursery while you are here."

That surprised Jareth, but of course, he didn't show it. The nursery Erib was talking about was the one he had spent his first years in, located right next door to his parent's room. He had had no idea it was still set up after all this time. He had no objection though and so handed his son off to Tallia, who would no doubt be staying in the nursery too then. "Very well, Mavid will stay in the room next to mine and you may place the others where you may."

"Of course," Erib nodded, formally.

Jareth turned to Ishapell and Clora then. "Be ready in an hour to come help my queen get ready for supper tonight."

They both bowed, as was custom under formal settings such as this was.

Sarah liked to accuse him of expecting too much of her in her lessons… she wouldn't have lasted a week with his upbringing.

Normally when he returned here now since he had become a king of his own kingdom he tended to not keep to the strict expectations of his raising, but tonight he would need to so best to get in the mindset sooner rather than later.

Jareth ushered Sarah into the suite, leaving the door open behind them as a couple of the servants brought their baggage in, carrying it quietly past them straight for the closets. The suite they were staying in was quite grand, as it was Jareth's room from when he had housed here during his young adult years. It had been changed into another guest room of course, which was partially why Jareth had been so surprised to learn that the nursery had been kept up at all. The décor was of his mother's influence with crème colored walls and a large bed covered with a rich brown bedspread centered in the middle of the room. The rugs were thick and matched the sheets, and there was a door against the wall that led to a private bathroom. There was also a door on the opposite side that led into the walk-in closet that he and Sarah would share.

The grand sight in this room though was the mural that covered the whole of the ceiling, depicting a scene of a forest orgy, with fairies and satyrs and nymphs and creatures Sarah couldn't even name, all in intricate poses amongst the foliage. Jareth let Sarah stand there and simply look up at it for a minute, her cheeks turning red before she tore her eyes back down to the ground. He couldn't help but smirk when she looked over and caught him watching her, turning her back on him in her embarrassment as she pretended to find something interesting about a decorative vase in the corner.

Jareth removed the long black traveling jacket he had been wearing, tossing it on the bed carelessly as the servants finished their unpacking and without a word exited the room, closing the door behind them and Jareth fought the temptation to lock it, avoiding looking at Sarah because he knew if he allowed himself to really look her over again his mind would no doubt venture to places he didn't need it to be right now. Especially with that blush on her cheeks…

She could drive him mad without ever even trying.

X

Sarah hadn't felt like anything was real this morning like it was a dream. Now she was convinced it was. Everything she was seeing today was straight out of a dream. An extremely vivid dream. The Pegasus ponies, the carriage… this room. She had never seen anything so extravagant even in movies. She wondered if maybe the royal family in England had anything even close to as fine as the things she was seeing here. It was so different from the castle at the center of the labyrinth that it was staggering, almost blinding in contrast to the dark coldness of the castle there. Not that this castle seemed warmer, in fact, it was quite a bit chillier, but it was a different kind of cold, a brighter more beautiful cold; like comparing a winter snow to a cave.

She could have never imagined such refinery in her wildest dreams… no human could have. It had completely cleared her mind from the nerves she had felt before arriving. Now that she was here and had had more time to take it in though, it only made her feel even more nervous than before. How could Jareth expect her to be anything even close to fitting in with all this? She came from an upper-middle-class family, but compared to all this she felt white trash suddenly. It was the first time she felt as if she wasn't worthy of Jareth. And the way he was acting, had been acting all day… he walked about as if all this was beneath even his notice.

Sarah couldn't help the sinking feeling she had in her stomach that even if she did everything right tonight she might still be judged not good enough to be Jareth's queen. Then what would that mean for her and Toby? He would be taken away from her, to be brought up by someone who would be 'fit'. Sarah wanted to just crawl under the huge bed and stay there. At least then she wouldn't have to have dinner with some council before they inevitably judged her inadequate to be a part of Toby's life. She wanted to hold Toby again more than anything now. When she had held him this morning he had been like a grounding for her, keeping her steady. Keeping her whole.

Jareth removed his jacket and tossed it on the bed as the door closed behind the retreating servants. Sarah looked over her shoulder, but Jareth was back to ignoring her again. She couldn't figure out why he was doing that. All day he had been acting… not like himself. It was creeping her out more than if he had been acting normal.

"Ishapell and Clora will be here shortly to help you undress and get ready for tonight. Try to remember what Rally has managed to teach you so far," Jareth instructed, going into the closet and coming back out a couple minutes later with a change of clothes in his arms.

Great, like she wanted to be around either of them. Sarah already had her mind made up not to speak a word to either of them no matter what.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked as he set the clothes down on the foot of the bed and double checked that he had everything he needed.

"I will be changing in Mavid's room. I'm not allowed to be in here while you change," he said bitterly, "And I have matters to go over with him."

"What matters?"

"If it was your concern I would go over it with you now, wouldn't I?" he asked, obviously annoyed with her questioning him. He didn't have to be such a jerk about it though, Sarah thought resentfully to herself as she sat down on the side of the bed next to where Jareth had thrown his coat.

Jareth hardly even looked at her as he scooped up his clothing in his arms and came around the bed, so she was caught off guard when he suddenly dipped down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. His eyes were intense as they held her gaze, but not with passion like normal, or even with rage. Like she could watch his mind racing through them as if they were a window. She could finally see a little of the anxiety he was feeling which, contrary to what she would have thought, only made her feel more nervous herself.

"Try your very best to behave tonight," Jareth told her, just the faintest hint of pleading creeping around the corners of his voice, "And I will do far more for you than simply free your friends from their little prison," he placed another kiss on her lips quickly before standing up and exiting the room.

X