A/N: I'm kinda back, kinda not. I have no schedule for updating anything anymore. I just update when I can and most of the time, it's not much. I feel bad about that, but I'm kind of stuck in this brain fog at the moment and I don't know why or how to get out of it. So for now, here's a small update.
OOOOOOOOO
Mai stood there at her painting of him, slashing away at the background of it while Jareth stood there with her Blood Guard standing between them. A very angry Blood Guard. It appeared that the vampire knew that Jareth's temper had slipped and that he had magically struck the woman that they were both bound to protect – one by blood, one by love – and was not going to let it happen again.
"What do you want, Goblin King?" Mai asked dully, keeping her back to him. "Can't you see us commoners are a bit busy here?"
"You are anything but a commoner, Mai," Jareth said, folding his arms over his chest. "And I would like to have a word with you."
"Not interested," Mai decided after a moment of furious painting.
"What?"
"She said she's not interested, Goblin King," Taryn told him with a smile. "So you can leave now and you know, work on your kingdom or something. Put your hair in a bun. Work on your makeup. Just go somewhere else. Leave the princess be."
Jareth glared at the servant girl and Avery bared his teeth at the Goblin King. It was obvious any dark looks at either female would not be accepted by this overprotective male. But Jareth was just as protective of Mai, even more so.
"Mai, why will you not speak with me?" Jareth asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Oh, maybe because you're an arrogant jerk that hit me with magic and won't listen to me because I said that I had a gut feeling about someone that you trusted," Mai said, shrugging her shoulders. "A gut feeling that you don't trust when you've always trusted me and I don't know, it makes me feel like you are turning your back on me just because you want to believe you're right and I'm wrong. That she's good and that I'm blind to see it because the Goblin King can't be fooled twice and certainly not for so long by someone in his friend circle. Oh, no. That would be the end of the kingdoms." She huffed and went back to painting in bitter silence.
"Well said, Princess," Avery said, violet eyes locked on the Goblin King. "Though I would have thrown in some insults and swear words."
"I can do that," Taryn offered, throwing her hand up in the air. "I've always wanted to insult a king to his face."
"No," Mai said, shaking her head.
"Please, Princess? Please, it would mean so much to me."
Mai shook her head again and Jareth watched her dip the paintbrush into the water. She never painted with oils, though he knew she could and he had offered to get her the best of the colors offered in the Underground. She lifted her paintbrush again and held it before her color selection, waiting. Jareth stared at the crystal hanging in the picture and envisioned himself inside of it with her.
OOOOOOOOOO
Mai knew Jareth had pulled her into the crystal in her painting when she could no longer hear Avery or Taryn in the room with her anymore. She spun around and saw the beautiful glenn that Jareth had created within the crystal, knowing that the Goblin King had wanted her to find peace there. This was not a battlefield for the two of them it seemed, but she had seen prettier places torn to shreds in history. Mai moved towards the waterfall and stared at the water, breathing in slowly.
"Mai," Jareth's voice floated to her.
"Jareth," Mai said, holding her body steady.
His hands slid over her arms and smoothed over her skin. Mai tensed as their magics brushed against each other, hers just beginning to blossom into something formidable and his beyond compare. Jareth pressed his lips to the girl's skin and then brought his lips to her ear.
"Please forgive me for striking you," he whispered, his nose brushing against her. "In my brief anger, I knew not what I was doing."
"You just reacted and you reacted poorly," Mai guessed, trying not to melt in his arms.
"Yes."
"What's to stop you from striking me out of anger again, Jareth?" Mai asked, frowning. "I cannot stand the idea of being hit again."
Jareth brought his hand to her cheek and the other to her heart. "I swear on my heart, Mai, that I will never strike you out of anger again. You are too precious for me to lose like this and I will protect you with my life. You are my love, my mate, my future Queen. I will not lose you, even to myself."
Mai sighed and let him press his lips to her cheek, knowing he would rather kiss her lips. She moved in his arms and turned to look at him. "Jareth, I am hardly satisfied with that apology. You didn't trust me. You probably still don't trust me when I say that I have a bad feeling about Minthe."
Jareth's mismatched gaze held hers. "Mai, I believe in you and what you have to say. I may not understand what you have against Minthe or why you feel this way about her because she's been supporting my family for as long as I've been an active member of the court. I will however, trust you as my fiancée and be careful around that woman. She's not as important to me as you have become and it would take more than a thousand of her to account for one of you. There is only one you and a million demigoddesses. If I lose the support of one, there are others. If I lose you, there will be no other."
The Elven Princess looked at him with wide eyes and Jareth offered her the tiniest smirk to confirm his words. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a tender kiss.
"Please don't fall back on your words, Goblin King," Mai begged when she parted from him a few moments later. "My heart can't bear the idea."
"Never," Jareth promised.
OOOOOOOOOO
Mai moved around the castle grounds, playing a game with Jareth where she hid from his crystals and he had to find her. So far, he was having bad luck because Mai was quick on her feet and was learning to poof out of existence in a swirl of glitter just like he could, only to end up in a location a few rooms away and have to run somewhere else. The girl laughed quietly and moved around a vase, looking around a for an owl, a crystal, anything that could be her Goblin King in disguise. Seeing nothing, she moved a bit farther and started skipping.
"Today is mostly good," Mai decided, looking up at the sky and seeing the sun was lower. "It could have gone a lot better, but what should a girl expect from a grumpy Goblin King and the wild life that he leads her on?"
Mai froze when she heard a clicking sound that repeated over and over again. She looked around and saw nothing, but the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. The air seemed to drain of heat as she stood there and her body shivered as it fought to warm itself back up, protesting against the sudden lack of warmth. The wind picked up and the sky grew dark with gray clouds that blotted out the sun, but the clicking sound grew worse, louder, closer.
"What's going on?" Mai whispered, wrapping her arms around herself and looking around desperately. "What's happening?"
That's when her eyes landed on the forms coming out of the shadows, their eyes glowing red and their teeth clicking together. Clawed hands reached towards her as they slowly walked towards her, stalking her in a half circle. Mai's eyes widened as she heard death cries in her head, the moans of people no longer among the living and whispers of voices that she didn't want to listen to.
"Please, no," Mai whispered, taking a step back and falling onto her rear. "Please, God no."
OOOOOOOOOO
A/N: Small update for now. Maybe one day I'll have a longer one again. I hope you enjoyed what I managed to type up. It's not much, but it's all I can do in my current state of health and mind. Thank you for your patience and understanding. -Scarlet
