There are many things I am lucky to own but none of them are the rights to 'Labyrinth'.

Many thanks to my readers for being patient while I work on these last chapters. Next chapter will deal with the trial.

Chapter 35

Aislinn sat quietly in the room in the tower. Two guards stood at the door in the room with her and two more guards stood outside the room. The space she was being held in was humble and sparse, but comfortable. There was a bed with clean, warm covers and fluffy pillows. And table and padded chair with a candelabra for light to write by. There was also a bath chamber. All in all, not bad for someone who was guilty of killing their king. And she had done it in full view of the entire court and all visiting nobility. She scoffed at herself. What would be her fate now?

Caoilainn faithful came to visit every day. The other children were forbidden to come to the tower. Lorcan was acting regent while the council met behind closed doors, trying to determine when they would be holding her trial. She would be tried, of that Aislinn was certain. But what punishment would be doled out to her? Oh, she wished she had not needed to act at the reception of her oldest son's wedding. She had not wanted his marriage to start in the shadow of her extremely severe decision to end their monarch's life. Would that there had been another way.

It had already been three days. Three days without uttering a single word! She had vowed to wait to speak until her trial. There was nothing to say until then. She felt for her daughter but what was the point in speaking? She could not bring herself to talk of the horrors she had endured at her husband's hands. She would only wish to give that testimony once, and then her speak of it again. Especially that terrible time when she nearly lost Jareth. For Alroy to blame her for his nearly dying was a pain so traumatic that she had nearly killed herself to escape the agony.

A tapping at the door broke Aislinn out of her introspection. The only time there was a knock at her prison was when Caoilainn came to visit. It was the only time Aislinn smiled. She knew the Caoilainn was expecting a baby. It would be her first grandchild and she was very excited. Hopefully, the council would not decide to execute her. She so did wish to see her grandchild, be it a boy or a girl.

The guard inside the room opened the door and Caoilainn walked through, a worried smile on her face. Aislinn did not like the paleness of her countenance. She did so worry about the strain this was putting on her daughter so close to her time. She motioned for her to come sit beside her in the bed. "Mother, will you still not speak to me? You cannot remain silent forever." She responded by slowly shaking her head, a weak smile on her lips. She was trying to be as calm and reassuring as she could be, but her vow to remain silent would not be broken.

"Jareth has requested permission to come and see you. He hopes the council will grant his request. He believes I am not strong enough to continue to come to you every day. The midwife says the stress is not good for the child." Aislinn smiled at this, her hand patting Caoilainn's lovingly. "Please, Mother, please speak to me." All she could do was shake her head. She was known for her resoluteness.

Caoilainn decided to bring this visit to an end. "I am feeling a bit fatigued and the long climb up the stairs of the tower is becoming untenable for me. Mother, I hope Jareth will be able to come to you tomorrow." She hugged her mother tightly. "We all love you and support you. Know that we will be there when the council holds your trial. Be well, Mother." And she stood and walked to the door as the guard let her out. Tears slid silently down her cheeks as she again was alone to contemplate her situation.

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Jareth paced outside the great hall, waiting to plead his case to the council. Three days he had been waiting and he loathed being made to wait. The rage he felt had been building and he worked extra hard to keep it contained and away from Sarah. She worried him greatly. Murtagh had been staying in the room adjacent to theirs at his insistence. As worried as he was for the babe, he was more concerned for Sarah's well being. He would protect her with his life. Somehow he did not feel the threat was over though he could not sense where the danger would come from.

The door to the hall swung open and a page motioned for Jareth to step into the chamber. "Step forward and be recognized, Jareth, Prince of Avalon, King of the Goblins, Keeper of the Labyrinth. The council has read your petition and granted you visitation of the prisoner in place of Princess Caoilainn. All business with the council is ended and you are dismissed." Jareth turned on his heel and strode out of the room.

He moved through the corridors of the palace, acutely aware that the servants gave him more than the customary space granted royalty. They feared him. So be it. The sound of his heels clicking against the marble floor vibrated off the walls and echoed through the silence. His thoughts were on his mother and Sarah. He wanted to get Sarah back to his castle but right now he needed to be here for his family. He furrowed his brow and scowled. He had to make sure his queen was safe. Entering the chambers they were currently in residence in, he spied his beloved, napping on the bed. She looked like a child, nestled amongst the pillows and furs.

He moved to sit in the edge of the bed and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Sarah. Mo grá. Múscail mo stór.*" She snuggled deeper into the pillows and sighed. He chuckled. She was so childlike in slumber. "Sarah, my sweet. Come, my love, you cannot spend the entire day abed."

He saw one jade eye blink at him.

"Jareth, why are you in armor?" Her expression displayed her confusion.

"And here I thought you liked me in my regal Goblin armor." He smirked at her. "I had to appear before the council. They have granted my petition. I may visit my mother in Caoilainn's stead." She sat up and stretched. She grinned at him. "That is great news, my king. Oh, and I do like you in your armor, sure enough." She grinned at him, reaching for him to come into her arms.

"No, mo grá, as much as I would love to join you in our bed, I have much to do. There are still forces at work here in the court, people that were working with my father that need to be ferreted out before they have a chance to hurt you, hurt us. The labyrinth has told me. It warned me that the danger had not yet passed." He hated the look of worry that passed across her face. Detested that he could not completely shield her from the trouble that came with being with him, being married to him.

"Jareth, why do you try to keep me from all your worries? Am I not you queen, the guardian of the heart of the labyrinth – your equal?" Her hand rested on his arm, squeezing it gently. In a moment he was on top of her, covering her body with his, kissing her with a desperation that frightened as well as excited him. Never had he felt so wholly inadequate and utterly helpless.

"Sarah, my Sarah." His voice hitched, the emotions he was feeling driving him to hold her as close as he could. And there were too many clothes keeping him from feeling her. He reached up to her bodice and with just one hand rent the front of it in two. He pulled her dress from her as she worked at the lacings of his trousers. This was still taking too long. With the snap of his fingers they were both naked and he was spreading her thighs to drive his hard shaft into her welcoming valley. Holding her as close as he could, he refused to move. It was as if he wished to physically meld them into one being.

"Jareth." Her voice a hoarse whisper. "My love, please. You're crushing me." She groaned, trying to breath.

He spoke not, but began to move, grinding his hips into her, a growl rumbling from deep inside him. He was pounding into her, fiercely, like a man possessed. He felt her climax, wave after wave, her screaming his name over and over. He roared his release, certain the windows in their frames would shatter from the force. They both were panting, Jareth suddenly aware of his less than tender and gentle treatment of his wife.

"Sarah," he forced the words out in between panting for air, "my love, I'm sorry. I did not intend to be so forceful." He was kissing her neck and whispering into her ear. "Please tell me I did not hurt you?"

"Jareth, I'm not made of porcelain. I do not break so easily. I am fine but I was afraid the guards would come breaking into our chamber, swords drawn to protect us from assassins." She giggled and the sound was a relief to him, knowing she was unharmed.

"Ah, you forget I have magic, my queen. I warded the room for sound when we were first installed here, and I am glad I did. I needed you so desperately, mo lómhara." He kissed her again, but with so much tenderness and love, tears fell from her eyes from the pure depth of his emotion.

"Mo rí, mo thiarna, mo slánaitheoir. Whatever was it that persuaded you to make me your wife? I will never understand how so extraordinary a being would join with an ordinary mortal woman like me, but I do not care to understand so long as you always will love me." Gentle sobs escaped from her passion swollen lips. Jareth was floored by her use of Gaelic and her confession.

"Mo bhanríon, mo bhean, mo bandia. You are far from ordinary and I thank the fates for bring you to me. I will always love you, you are an leath eile de mo anam." He looked into her pale green eyes and smiled a beatific smile. "When did you learn those words of Gaelic? I have never used them." He chuckled. "My king, my lord, my savior?"

"And you called me, what? My queen, my lady and I did not recognize the last."

"My goddess, who I wish to spend eternity worshipping." He was nibbling on her neck, running his tongue over the crescent shaped mark on her shoulder, causing her to shiver.

"A goddess am I? Hardly. But you are my savior, of that I am sure. And as to where I learned those words, well, my dear, I do have copious amounts of time on my hands and lots of books to read. I merely looked them up. I do wish to be as pleasing to you as you are to me." She blushed, her lashes fluttering. She could slay him with a glare of her cruel eyes and resurrect him with a smile from her luscious lips.

"Precious, I do believe we need to get bathed and dressed. The family will expect us at dinner." He stood, so completely at ease at in his nakedness and pulled her towards the bath. She reluctantly followed him.

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Crown Prince Lorcan stood in the council chambers. Prior to them seeing Jareth, they had officially made him acting regent, contingent upon the outcome of the trial against the queen. Depending on what that end brought about, he would either return to being Crown Prince of the Seelie court or there would be a coronation making him the new Seelie King. He sincerely hope it would not be the latter as that would mean his mother had been likely put to death. The loss of his father, even taking his treachery and treason into account, was hard enough. To have to add the loss of his mother to that grief would be nigh impossible to bear.

Too many things had happened in far too short a time to be properly dealt with and assimilated. Jareth and Sarah, Orlagh and his marriage, his father's perfidy and treason, his mother murdering his father. Caoilainn's pregnancy. Certainly this would prove to be the most intense training for being High King he had experienced. He hated his position and wished, for the first time in his life, that he had not been first born. And yet, thinking on Jareth and his life, he knew instinctively that he was glad he had not been born last.

The trial would be held in two weeks. The council had decided that there needed to be time to get the deceased king's affairs in order, have him take over the day to day running of the realm and arrange for the memorial services and funeral rites. All this at a time when he should be with his new bride on their honeymoon. They hadn't even taken the time to complete the bond with the wedding night. Lorcan knew he had put it off as long as he could. The rite needed to be completed within three days of the wedding rites and that was tonight. He shook his head. While he wanted to bed his new bride, he did not want to with all these things hanging over his head.

He walked out of the council chambers and down the corridor towards the dining hall. All the family would be there along with Orlagh and he needed to feel their love and strength to see him through the next fortnight. His life had become a hell that he would not wish on his worst enemy.

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Sarah sat next to Jareth, staring at her plate, wishing there were already food upon it. She found herself feeling a bit hungry, for a change. She stared up and down the table at the rest of the family. Caoilainn and Fergal were seated to Jareth's right. Riona was sitting next to Orlagh, chatting about Ruari. Ruari was standing on the balcony, his arm around the waist of the lovely Nymph princess, Caoimhe. Lorcan sat at the head of the table with Orlagh to his left. He was gently stroking her hand with his, and leaning in to whisper something to his bride, her cheeks blushing pink as she smiled. Well, at least some things had become a bit more normal.

"Where are you, mo lómhara? You seem far away." He whispered into her ear, causing the goosebumps to rise on her arms.

"Mo fear céile, I am hungry and wondering how long I will have to wait to get something to eat." Her stomach growled as if to emphasize just how serious she was.

"I will have the servants bring the food at once, mo bhanríon." He signaled the servant hovering by the door to start service. Turning back to Sarah, he grinned and whispered, "I must tell you, mo grá, that I find your newly discovered love of gaeilge to be most thrilling." He grinned in that wicked way that told her he was thinking of sex. She gently smacked his hand.

"You, mo rí, are incorrigible. We just were in bed not thirty minutes ago." She whispered, hoping no one could overhear.

"I am sorry, mo chroi, but I find you absolutely irresistible." He pulled her hand to his lips, placing a kiss on her upturned palm, moving up to her wrist, where he nibbled with his teeth at her pulse.

Riona was laughing at the spectacle the two were providing. "Jareth, can't you keep that behavior with your intended to your bedchamber? Some of us would like to keep our appetite."

"Oh, very funny, dear sister. Ever trying to ruin my good times." He dropped her hand and winked as he mouthed 'later' to her as he tried to look dejected at having been forced to cease his seduction.

"Riona, it would appear that you are the only member of the family that does not have a love interest. Perhaps I should make it my responsibility to seek out someone to court you. What sort of man do you find attractive?" Jareth was laughing at his sister and the others were all listening intently. Sarah smirked at her and nodded to encourage her to respond to her teasing.

"Oh, well, I never really…Sarah, that is not funny and actually quite cruel." She was pouting and staring at her food. Sarah couldn't help but nudge Jareth and wink at him. He grinned at her, clearly loving the teasing way she handled his sister.

Lorcan paid little heed to his meal, kissing Orlagh's hand. This did not escape Sarah's notice and she pointed it out quietly to Jareth. He smirked at her and made a rather rude gesture and she smacked his arm quite roughly. He laughed out loud, causing the entire table to stare at him. Even Lorcan stopped his foreplay and stared at his little brother.

Jareth stood up and pulled Sarah to her feet. He turned to his brother and addressed him very formally. "Prince Lorcan, I ask that my wife and I be allowed to take are leave from table and retire to our chambers. We are a bit fatigued this evening." He grinned, looking not the least bit fatigued what so ever.

"Jareth, you silly prat, off with you two then. I think I will ask your intended to teach you some better table manners. Good evening, Lady Sarah." She curtsied and grabbed Jareth's hand and pulled him out of the room.

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Once dinner had been dispensed with, Lorcan took his bride by the hand and escorted her to their chambers. He knew that she was aware of what needed to happen this night and after the disastrous first time he had been with her, he very much wanted to make it up to her. She was sweet and he definitely found her attractive.

"Orlagh, my sweet, come over here, out on the balcony." He tenderly took her had. And led her on to the balcony as the moon was just coming up in the heavens. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest and kissing her up her neck to nibble on her ear. "Orlagh, do you trust me? I will not hurt you, I promise you."

"I trust you, Lorcan. I want to be your wife, in all ways. I know we need to complete the bond. I give you all of me, without reservation." She smiled, a blush rising on her cheeks as he turned her into his embrace and brought his lips to hers.

The kiss was tender: he wanted to take his time and give her all the pleasure he knew he could. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and when she parted them he deepened the kiss. He was caressing her neck and the small of her back as her hands tangled themselves into his dark hair. Whispering into her ear "come, my pet, join me in our bed. I want to touch every inch of you and wherever my fingers touch, my lips and tongue will follow."

"Lorcan, my love." She was panting, her face flushed, eyes dark with desire. He swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. She rolled over so he could work the laces of her dress and slowly pulled it down, exposing soft, pale skin. Every inch that was uncovered was peppered with light kisses and flicks of his tongue. She was whimpering, saying his name over and over.

He pulled his shirt off and kicked off his boots. Kneeling between her thighs, he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her knickers and slowly slid them down, revealing her thatch of curls, glistening from her arousal. He grabbed her leg at the knee and ran his tongue up her thigh, never taking his eyes from her face. He needed to see her pleasure. When he reached the apex of her thighs, he slid his tongue into her folds and she gasped. "Oh, Lorcan, yes."

Her words encourage him as he slid one finger into her as he nibbled and licked her sensitive nub. She raised her hips up against his mouth as he slid a second finger into her slit, hooking the fingers up as he moved them in and out to match the pace of her moans. She was close to her first release and he quicken his movements as her wall clenched around his fingers. She cried out her release and he lapped up her juices. She tasted like heaven to him. He removed his trousers before He worked his way up her stomach to her voluptuous breasts, suckling and biting the nipples until they were hard rosy pearls. He kissed her again and she ran her hands down his back and around to his rock hard cock. She grasped it tentatively, sliding her hand up and down the shaft, emboldened by his groans of pleasure.

"Careful my love, or you will end this too soon and I want to finish this inside you." He kissed her with increasing passion as he positioned himself at her entrance. He rested the tip of his rod, barely penetrating her welcoming warmth as he held both of her hands in his. "Look at me, my love. I want us to watch each other as we consummate our bond." Slowly he entered her. It was almost painful to restrain himself as he sheathed himself in her tightness. When he had fully penetrated her, she closed her eyes. "Orlagh, look at me, please." He voice was a caress and she gazed intensely into his eyes as he built up the pace.

"Faster, please, go faster." She was mewling like a kitten as her second orgasm was building quickly. He could feel his control slipping as he neared his own release, thrusting his hips with urgency; his rhythm becoming erratic and hurried. She cried out his name as she came and he followed right after, growling out her name. He rolled off her and pulled her into his arms, throwing the covers over them and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Now, we are truly husband and wife. Are you happy, my pet?" Her contented sigh was all the reply he received as she snuggles closer to him, already drifting off to sleep.

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