Chapter 25
Jareth made his way to his private chambers. After nearly two thousand years of life, nearly one thousand years of ruling, he assumed he could manage some control over his emotions, but no, he was reeling from the events of the night. He could hear the rolling thunder his emotions were bringing though the kingdom; he had been an adolescent the last time he brought on a storm with his moods.
"Damn you, Branna," he said through gritted teeth. The pleasure she obviously took in catching him with Sarah made it hard not to throttle her.
He summoned a crystal and practically threw it out the window with frustration. It was only a matter of minutes when Nolwynn lightly landed on the balcony.
"How did it go? What did the Dowager want? She didn't terrorize Sarah did she?" Nolwynn had been dying to know how the meeting went.
Jareth didn't answer, but the expression on his face and his familiar pacing silenced the Fairy Queen. Things had gone very bad indeed. Her tone softened as she approached her friend.
"What happened, Jareth?"
He took a deep breath before answering and braced his hands on the fire place mantle, staring into the flames.
"Well, to start, my grandmother knows about the prophecy. She wouldn't say how but I'm guessing that Priest has been running his mouth when he swore to me that I was the only one that knew."
"Well, that's not the end of the world, your grandmother would never do anything to harm you." Nolwynn placed a reassuring hand on Jareth's arm, he shook it off with a shrug, he was interested in being pacified. At the moment it felt better to feed into his anger, a bolt of lightning shot through the sky, the brightness startling Nolwynn. She stepped away from Jareth, worry filling her eyes.
"I wasn't finished. She wanted me to tell Sarah about everything." Jareth's words were clipped and hard, many creatures would have backed down immediately, but Nolwynn wasn't afraid of Jareth.
"Good."
Jareth ignored her, "I refused and told her the danger Sarah is in. She had no idea why I brought Sarah here, she assumed it was only to fulfill the prophecy. Then Sarah and I took a walk, thinks were going well…" He trailed off, Winnie was his closest friend but did not want to give details of the intimate moments he spent in the gardens with Sarah. He was never one to brag about conquests but that time with Sarah was more dear to him than anything.
"Where were you?" Nolwynn raised an eyebrow in suspicion, she was pretty sure she knew the answer.
Jareth waited a beat before answering, "Grandmother's private gardens."
"You mean the Lover's Garden?" Nolwynn couldn't hid her smirk. How many times through the years had she snuck into that very same garden to purposely ruin Jareth's time with whoever he had seduced that week. Like a bratty little sister, she would 'stumble' upon him and his 'conquest' with an innocent smile slapped on her face for effect.
"Yes, Winnie." Jareth said with and exasperated sigh, "It was lovely, until Branna showed up."
"Branna?! Why was she there?"
"She claimed she was there to meet Lord Elisedd while the others were away at that damned party. She was her usual horrid self. It took all my self-control not to throw her across the garden." Jareth began pacing again.
"Poor Sarah." Nolwynn said with a shake of her head. On a good day Branna was awful, she couldn't imagine how awful she had been after finding her ex-lover alone with a woman, a human woman at that. When they were y9unger everyone had wondered why Branna was so interested in Jareth. Goblin Kings usually didn't marry while on the throne, and his duties included protecting the humans. Branna had made it no secret of her disdain of the human race. Nolwynn assumed Jareth's charm was just too much for Branna to resist.
Jareth shook his head at the memory of the exchange with Branna, poor Sarah.
"Why you had anything to do with that awful woman I'll never understand. She was just as awful then as she is now." Nolwynn rolled her eyes, thinking back to the time Jareth had decided to pursue Branna.
Jareth ignored the statement, "I took Sarah home. I don't want her outside of Dearmad again. Something about Branna being there didn't feel right. It was almost as if she already knew I'd be there. You know how Branna is, she'll plot and scheme but can't help but tell you all about it. She's conniving, but not very smart about it. She seemed to be dying to tell me something, she was toying with me."
Nolwynn nodded wearily, she was well acquainted with Branna's ways, "Could she be the one behind this mess?"
Jareth shook his head, "No, if she knew anything about the prophecy someone would have heard about it. I don't think she could have kept something like that too herself."
The Fairy Queen had to agree, Branna had always seen her as a rival. Though Nolwynn had never harbored any romantic feelings towards Jareth, Branna had never believed their relationship was completely platonic. Nolwynn had to deal with Branna's taunts once she had captured Jareth's interest. If at any point she had found out that Jareth was destined for someone else Branna would have delighted in telling Nolwynn.
"Nechtan." Jareth said flatly, his pacing stopped as he looked out the sitting room window towards the forest that separated the Goblin Kingdom from the Daemons.
"What about him?"
Jareth turned to his friend, "Maybe it's time to pay a visit to Branna's husband."
"No way he'll see you."
"He'll see you." Jareth said, pointing a finger in her direction.
Nolwynn's eyes widen as she let out a skeptical laugh, "He's only slightly more likely to see me!"
"That's not true Winnie."
"Yes, it is! Don't play this game with me, Jareth. You know it how things are between me and Nechtan."
"Just try, darling. Think of it as a favor for your dearest friend." Jareth smiled and knelt by Nolwynn's chair, if someone walked in they would have assumed the Goblin King was proposing marriage, not some ill-advised meeting between rulers.
"I'm sorry Jareth but three of my best spies are currently missing because of the last favor you asked of me." She crossed her arms and looked away from him.
Jareth's smile faded, "Missing? Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because it wouldn't help anything, and you need to focus on Sarah."
"You should have told me, Winnie!" Jareth stood up, looking down at Nolwynn's annoyed face.
"I have others looking for them, they were headed to the farthest reaches of the kingdoms looking for the High King."
"I'm sorry, Winnie." He said with a sigh.
Nolwynn got up from her seat wearily, the worry for her spies weighing heavy on her, "I'll try to visit Nechtan, but I can't promise anything. I haven't seen him in years."
Jareth's face softened, he placed a hand on Nolwynn's cheek and looked into her eyes, "You don't have to, I can see him. I'm sorry, I've forgotten that I'm not the only one with problems."
"If Nechtan has anything to do with this he may be behind my spies' disappearance. Either way, I'm doing it for Sarah, that girl has enough on her plate, being destined to marry you, poor girl. If Nechtan is after her as well she'll never want to see another Fae again, and I have developed quite a soft spot for her."
"I don't deserve a friend like you, Winnie." He said softly, placing a gentle kiss to the top of her head.
"No you don't and I constantly wonder what awful thing I did to deserve a friend like you." Winnie teased before stepping onto the balcony and gracefully lifting off the ground, her wings shimmering slightly in the moonlight as Jareth watched her fly away. His smile faded as he wondered if he was sending his best friend into a situation too dangerous for her to handle.
Sarah tossed and turned throughout the night, her dreams were broken and terrible. She would repeatedly wake with a start, her heart beating hard, her nightgown damp with sweat, but when she tried to think back to what the nightmare was that scared her so, she was at a loss. The memory of the dream was just out of reach, frankly, she wasn't sure she wanted to remember what it was that shook her so. She got out of bed and opened the window in her room, Dearmad was quiet and still in the night. She could see clouds rolling in the distance over the Goblin Castle. Her mind went to Jareth, causing her stomach to clench. Her dream had been about Jareth, but she couldn't remember the specifics. She had had several nightmares about him in the past but couldn't imagine having one now. After those few moments they had together in the garden her fear of him was gone, now she just feared her feelings. She could not see how falling for him would end positively. She sighed and looked away from the castle, thoughts of Jareth would not help her get back to sleep. She looked down from the second floor to the street below when a slight movement caught her eye. She was startled to see a pale face looking up had her from the small passage between the cottages across from Cathleen's.
The man smiled at her from the shadows, his dark hair blended into the night, leaving only his pale skin and white teeth gleaming in the moonlight. He couldn't be human, Sarah thought, he was too beautiful looking, he had the refined features similar to Jareth and Nolwynn, and even that Daemon Queen. Sarah took a step back from the window, uncomfortable with the man's pale eyes staring at her. Something about him made her squirm, her heart picked up its racing beat. She suddenly felt a desire to fling herself out the window and run to the stranger. The impulse scared her, quickly she shut the window and pulled the flower patterned curtains shut, blocking the man's view. Sarah got back into bed but couldn't shake the feeling of pale eyes staring her down. If she didn't know any better she would have thought he was watching her from his place in the alley, the glass and calico barrier she placed between them doing nothing to shield her from his gaze.
Eventually, she drifted back to sleep. Once again, dreams troubled her. This time instead of Jareth she dreamt of the man with dark hair and pale eyes, touching her and setting her skin on fire with longing. When she woke in the morning her heart was beating hard and her sheets tangled about her, this time it was not fear that woke her but frustrated desire.
Late in the morning Nolwynn landed elegantly on the dark grey stone steps that lead to the gates at the Daemon Kingdom. It had been decades since she had been to the Daemon Kingdom, she felt the dread collect in the pit of her stomach. She hated it here, being around a single daemon was easy enough but entering their kingdom caused all her emotions to be amplified, she didn't want to speak to Nechtan but being here made her reluctance turn into outright fear. Nechtan could control his subjects to keep guests from such troubling reactions but he enjoyed seeing visitors squirm. He purposely employed dark daemons as castle guards as a way to control the other Fae.
Nolwynn was lead into the cavernous throne room. So, Nolwynn thought, he wants this to be as formal and intimidating as possible. She looked to the guards that flanked the dais Nechtan and Branna's thrones were placed. They looked straight ahead but she could feel them trying break through the barrier she set around her, her magic was powerful enough to block the daemons' attempts to feed off her emotions but she was rusty at maintaining the spell. She didn't know how she would manage to speak to Nechtan and maintain the wall. She looked around the dark room, so different from her lovely throne room. The pillars that dotted the room were of the same black obsidian that was used for the floor, the grey stone walls were lined with long, narrow windows that only let in thin streaks of light.
"Nolwynn, this is quite a surprise." Nechtan's voice echoed through the room before Nolwynn spotted him in the shadowy chamber.
"Not a pleasant one I assume." She schooled her voice to be as equally emotionless as his. She watched him as he made his way to the dais and sat down. The throne seemed to be made of spikes and shards of dark grey metal, making the large Fae ruler look even more intimidating that his black clothes and towering height.
"It's always a pleasure to see you, Nolwynn." He said with cloying insincerity.
"I'm in no mood to play games today, Nechtan."
"My my, what a sour disposition. Has ruling the fairies made you hard and jaded little sister?" His voice laced with fake concern, unable to hide the smile when Nolwynn's face twisted at the reminder of their relationship.
"Not as hard as ruling the daemons has made you, big brother."
"Well, tell me, why did you flap your little wings over my way then? It can't be simply to catch up."
Nolwynn stood silently for a moment, not knowing exactly how to go about this conversation. Nechtan had his guard up, all the while the daemon guards were repeatedly attacking her defenses, making it hard to concentrate.
"First off, tell your little minions to ease off. Attacking a ruler could get them charged with treason." Nolwynn forced herself to sound as confident as she could.
Nechtan rolled his eyes at the demand, "I don't know what you mean. Besides, you could never prove anything."
Nolwynn's eyes narrowed into slits as she stared down her brother, if he had anything to do with harming Sarah she would tear him to pieces.
"I'm here to tell you to stop whatever game it is you're playing with Jareth." Her voice was low and steady as her heart fluttered in her chest.
"What game would that be?" He said with feigned innocence.
"You know exactly what I mean, Nechtan."
"Could it have anything to do with the little human my wife found Jareth with? I must say I was surprised to hear the almighty Goblin King would debase himself with a human. But I suppose we can't be too shocked, between his subjects the humans are only slightly preferable to the goblins." He sounded bored as he insulted Jareth and Sarah.
"Maybe you should keep better tabs on your wife and she wouldn't have to stumble upon things she finds so terrible." Nolwynn shot back.
Nechtan laughed at the jab, "Really, Winnie, do you think I really give a damn what Branna does, or who Branna does? Don't be so naïve. Maybe you should show a little family loyalty and not make a fool of yourself with Jareth."
"What are you planning, Nechtan?" Spat out, ignoring his jab at her relationship with Jareth.
"Well, I'm not planning anything."
Nolwynn could see he was lying, he was clearly taking pleasure in her frustration. He didn't care that she knew he was lying, he enjoyed watching her try to keep her composure.
"You can gain nothing by this." She ground out through clenched teeth.
"Oh, think so? Thank you so much for your advisement. Now, I have much to do, please see yourself out." He gestured to the door, but Nolwynn stayed rooted to the floor. She noticed a familiar sensation around her eyes, and groaned inwardly as the golden little sparks shot from her eyes. One of her magical talents was fire, unfortunately it meant when she was mad or frustrated to a point she could set things on fire. When they were children Nechtan would bully and tease her to the point she was in tears, unfortunately her tears were showers of sparks.
Nechtan laughed loudly when he noticed the flickering light, "Oh Nolwynn, you are so easy to break."
Nolwynn took a deep breath at the sound of his laugher, she lifted her snapping eyes from the floor in time to see one of the guards try to had a smirk as he watched her. She reached the tipping point and suddenly the guard's boots burst into flames. Nechtan laughed even louder as he watched the sentry try to stamp out the flames.
Nolwynn looked above the throne dais at the black and silver velvet banner that hung about the platform, within seconds it too was in flames. A burning piece fell upon the Daemon Queen's empty throne causing Nechtan's laughter to stop at he jumped away from the burning cloth.
Before he could say a word Nolwynn turned and walked away from him, "Harm on hair on Jareth or the human and I'll destroy everything you hold dear!" She yelled to him as she reached the door.
"Goodbye, Nolwynn!" He yelled back casually, ignoring the burning velvet dropping from the ceiling, "By the way, I would stay away from Dearmad if I were you, you know humans; they can be so temperamental, I would hate to see them turn against you!"