Ok, so here's your next chapter, and it's a little short, actually I'm not altogether happy with it but I can't get it much better so. Thanks go out to all those who have read and especially to my reviewers: Sintar, notwritten, AvitarGirl, yodeladyhoo, Anna McNarin, forward-but-sincere-pirate, FaerieatHeart13, Skyrere, Faeries Midwife, ScarlethasPheonixpower, fireshifter, aeenc, Catwoman99, silver.shadow.23, draegon-fire, Mint Tea Rose, snip-snippet, sweetbabby33, EDouble and inksmudged. Again you all inspire me.
Chapter Twenty-six: Good Advice.
Sarah sat in her room, staring at her hands, despite the fact that she had left the Goblin Queen's quarters over an hour before, her hands were still shaking, badly. Something which amazed her. Her shaking had started shortly after she had left Marissa's chambers, the adrenaline draining quickly out of her system to leave her feeling weak and helpless. Vilae had seen her trembling, and the brilliant red mark on her cheek, and had sent her straight to her room to calm down. Sarah decided that she had gotten off lightly, Vilae would not let her go near Marissa again and Sarah had no intention of doing so. Despite her bravado earlier that day, she had to admit that she had been a little afraid of Jareth's wife.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and she called out for her visitor to enter, expecting it to be Nadine or Hesra, for a moment she even managed to delude herself into believing that it might be Jareth. She was disappointed when the door opened and she saw Vilae enter.
"Sarah," the fae woman closed the door behind her and sat on Nadine's bed, facing the younger woman, her expression serious. "I've just been to see the King." Something in her tone made alarm bells start ringing in Sarah's head. "He has asked that you be reassigned and I want you to know that I do not agree with his decision in the slightest, but be that as it may, we have our orders. I honestly have no idea what you did, or why he even agreed to it, Marissa has asked that you become her personal maid." Sarah's jaw dropped.
"What?" She demanded, standing and beginning to walk around the room, frustrated and confused. "What do you mean? Why the hell would Marissa want me?"
"I don't know. The King wouldn't tell me. It may be that even he doesn't know. From what I do know, Marissa asked and he agreed." Vilae watched her pace.
"How could he do this? He tells me that he's keeping me away from Marissa to protect me and then he goes and throws me at her! I don't understand!" She pushed her bandana back off her hair, today the flimsy piece of cloth was green, and used her other hand to run her fingers through her hair, then began to wring the bandana with her hands, twisting and creasing the delicate silk. "Oh Goddess, don't tell me that he really believes those ridiculous rumours!"
"Sarah, only the King can tell you what you want to know. However, let me recommend that you wait until you have calmed down a little before you go and start shouting," she held up a hand to ward off Sarah's protest, "I know that you will. Sit down, take a few deep breaths and go and see him later. There's no point going now, he will not see you, his aunt is visiting." Sarah's lips formed a small 'o' of surprise. Rilton's mother was here? Her anger with Jareth faded as she felt the disappointment of realising that Rilton had either not come with his mother, or he had decided that she was not worth visiting. She sat back on the bed and Vilae stood, taking her leave of the stunned young woman without being noticed. The Fae shrugged, not really worried about Sarah's lack of attention, the girl had received some shocking news, she was allowed to be distracted.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Elissa walked through the corridor like a woman with a great purpose. Her head was held high and she moved with inhuman grace and elegance, even among the lesser Fae, goblins and Taken who populated the part of the castle she was in. She paused, gesturing to one of the young women who was walking towards her, asked for directions, smiled softly at the reply, and continued on her way. She was walking for only a few moments more before she reached Sarah's room, pausing when she saw Vilae leaving. The younger Fae woman saw her, her worried expression replaced by a frown.
"Your Highness," she dipped in a quick curtsey. "You're here to see Sarah." Elissa nodded, though she knew it was not a question. "This may not be the best time. I have just told Sarah of the King's decision. She did not take it well."
"I understand, if I had the time to return later, I would, however, I have other commitments at home which prevent it. I merely need to deliver my son's letter and I will depart. You have nothing to fear of my visit." Elissa assured the other Fae.Vilae nodded and curtseyed again before making her way back down the hall. Elissa watched her walk away, then knocked on Sarah's door.
"Come in!" Her voice was muffled by more than just the doors and walls that separated them and when Elissa entered she could see why. Sarah had buried her face in her pillows, it was almost like she was trying to hide herself from the world. She looked up as Elissa closed the door, taking in the Fae's expensive and elaborate dress, pale blonde hair and mismatched eyes. Her appearance was so like Jareth's that for a moment Sarah thought something had gone horribly wrong with the King. She mentally slapped herself, perhaps this was Jareth's sister, not that he had ever mentioned having one.
"You must be Sarah," the woman said, her voice light and tinged with an accent similar to Jareth's, but also to Rilton's. Something in her demeanor made Sarah stand and curtsey to her. Elissa grinned at her. "I am Elissa, and I come baring something of interest to you." She handed the stunned woman Rilton's letter, their fingers brushing and allowing her to feel some of the magic that Rilton and Jareth had given her.
"You're Rilton's mother?" Sarah whispered, stunned at how much of Jareth there was in the Elf Queen. "But... I mean... you're so unlike him!"
"In appearances perhaps," she was amused by Sarah's surprise. "I hope, however, that my son has more of my personality than his fathers."
"That, I can be certain of!" Sarah laughed and Elissa wondered what had happened during her visit to the summer palace that Rilton had not told her of. "I'm sorry, thank you," she waved the letter, remembering her manners. Elissa laughed, a laugh very like Rilton's and Sarah felt her worries melt away with the sound. "He isn't with you?"
"No. My son and nephew aren't really talking at the moment. I came to try and find out why. I did and now I'm taking steps to rectify the situation." Elissa explained when she saw the hurt flash across Sarah's face. "Besides, he was hardly in a fit state for travel this morning when I left. His father's arrival last night was hard on him."
"What about you?" Sarah asked in reply, gesturing for the Elf Queen to take a seat, blushing for her lack of better seating arrangements. Elissa did not seem to notice as she perched elegantly on the edge of Nadine's bed with a small smile.
"What about me?"
"The way he acts, wasn't it hard on you too?" Sarah's compassion for a woman she did not even know touched Elissa deeply. For a moment she considered pouring out all of her worries for the last five hundred and forty years, all of the things that had gone wrong in her marriage since Rilton had been conceived, but she stopped herself. She had no business burdening Sarah further with her problems.
"I admit in the past it has been hard, but what I feel or felt is no longer important. My son is the thing that I care about the most and I will not let my arrogant husband ruin what my son and I have. At this moment it is not important, my main concern is what my foolish nephew has gotten you into now." Sarah's immediate problems came crashing back down on her and she looked at Elissa with wide, slightly frightened eyes.
"How did you know?" She whispered, her face showing how completely vulnerable she was in that moment..
"I was there when she asked, neither she nor my nephew knew I was."
"And he just gave in! She asked and he gave me to her!" Sarah raged, throwing her hands in the air.
"No, Sarah, he resisted for as long as he could. Then she brought up your engagement and there you have it."
"I'm not engaged! How can he believe that?"
"Have you told him anything to the contrary?" Elissa kept her tone reasonable.
"He isn't talking to me," Sarah admitted, "I think that this has been going on for a lot longer than the rumour has been around." Elissa nodded, she had suspected as much.
"I should leave you to your letter. I have a nephew to berate and a son to return to. I assume you will want to reply to that." Sarah nodded. "I will come to collect your letter before I return."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Elissa walked back into her nephew's study, she was not surprised to see him still sat in his chair by the fire, deep in thought. In fact, he was thinking so hard that he did not seem to notice her walk in. She stood and watched him for a while as he shifted in the seat, his hand moving from his knee to his chin, then to his forehead, then resting one finger alongside his nose as the rest of his hand covered his mouth. Absently he twirled his riding crop, quite where he had pulled it from always baffled Elissa. He sighed loudly, then spoke.
"How was your visit?" He asked, his voice soft.
"Shorter than I would have liked it to be," she replied, returning to her seat. He looked at her with the unspoken question in his eyes. "Vilae had just informed Sarah of your decision."
"How did she take it?" He looked away from the disappointment in his aunt's eyes.
"She was upset."
"If I could take it back I would, but it would give Marissa more reason for suspicion. I told Sarah long ago 'What's said is said' I cannot go back on that." Elissa nodded, acknowledging the truth in his words. "I cannot believe what a fool I was, to believe those rumours and let Marissa manipulate me in the way she did." His aunt laughed and he glared at her.
"Manipulation is what she does, Jareth, she's been manipulating people since the day she came here. I'll give you some advice, stop pushing Sarah away and talk to her." He rose from the chair and began to leave. "Not now, Nephew, she's angry, upset and she has some of your magic flowing through her." He stared at her open mouthed. "Did you think I wouldn't sense it? You used ancient and forbidden magic to sustain her, I know that Clara did what was best, but the consequences of such magic were always difficult to predict. The last thing that the kingdom needs right now is you being sent to the infirmary because she's lashed out at you using something that the three of you were stupid enough to give her. Give her some time to calm down and finish her letter."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Rilton took the letter from his mother and bowed in thanks to her before almost bouncing over to the fire and sitting in a chair, he opened the letter and began to read.
-I have so much to tell you this time, I can't believe I finally met your mother. She's really nice, it's a shame that I couldn't have met her under different circumstances. I really do have a lot to tell you, I just don't know how, I don't want you to over react or start shouting for blood or any of the other stuff I know that you can do, believe me when I say that I'm going to deal with this in my own way and in my own time, I'm sure your mother has had her say in the matter too.
-Jareth has had me reassigned, I'm not even really sure why. Your mother tried to explain it, but I'm not really buying it. Turns out that Marissa wants me as her new maid. I have no idea why she would, I took her breakfast to her this morning and I was as rude to her as I possibly could be. She even hit me a couple of times, but according to Vilae, she asked that I become her personal maid and your dear cousin just handed me over to her. If I ever needed an example of how little he really cares about me, this is it.- Rilton scowled as he continued to read, not liking what he saw in front of his eyes. -I hate that he's done this, Vilae told me to wait until I have calmed down to talk to him about it, fact is, I don't want to. I thought we were friends, Rilton, shows how stupid I am, I hoped that he would have the decency to tell me himself, seems he didn't and right now all I want to do is curl up into a little ball, away from him and away from her. They deserve each other.
-I miss you so much right now. If you had been here you would have gone and hit him, talked him out of it or taken me away. I won't ask you to do that though, it wouldn't be fair. I'll survive this, it's what I do. What will happen to Jareth on the other hand, is a completely different matter. Don't let this upset you too much, there's nothing that you can do, anything you do try will probably make things worse. I'm not trying to delude myself into thinking...- Rilton stopped reading, unable to read Sarah's seemingly quiet acceptance of her fate.
"Why, mother? Why did he do it? You were there, you know!" His face was scarlet with rage and Elissa found herself frightened of this side of her son, the side that belonged to his father. He was half out of the chair, the letter crumpled in his fist, his normally dancing eyes flat and burning with his anger.
"He was jealous, he thought that you and Sarah were... engaged." Rilton fell back in his seat, unaware that he had even begun to stand, the letter falling from suddenly limp hands.
"She told him that?"
"No, there was a rumour around the castle, no doubt courtesy of some of her more well meaning friends." She shook her head. "He never did just ignore them."
"What am I going to do?"
"There is nothing you can do," she placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "What's done is done and what's said is said. Your Sarah is a strong girl, she'll figure something out."
"I hope so mother."
There you go. My little update. I'm not sure about it, like I said, but I thought I would give it to you anyway. I hate to say it, but I don't know when I will be able to update again. It seems that I'm going away a lot lately, my latest trip is to a Supernatural Convention which I'm so excited about that I'm actually bouncing off the walls. Please R&R, I would love to know what you all think.
Artemis