After dismissing Sir Didymus and Jarvi, the four adjourned to continued their conversation in a more private location, at Jareth's suggestion. Jarvi refused to leave until she could assess Raelia, and after a quick examination, the new addition to the Order was given a clean bill of health. Sarah, meanwhile, took Raelia to fetch a set of clean clothes from the training room. When the group reconvened, they entered the throne room, closing the massive doors behind them.
With a wave of his hand, Jareth produced a magical fire inside the sunken pit at the center of the throne room. Saresh noted that it looked as though someone had been attempting to straighten up, though poorly. Much of the room still looked as though a group of goblins had partied hard in here recently. Sarah and Raelia each sat on opposite sides of the fire. Saresh noted that Sarah stayed a fair distance from the Goblin King, and for a fleeting moment, he thought he saw a pained look in Jareth's eyes.
What was up with them? Saresh had noticed the cool distance between them lately. At first he thought it was his imagination, but when he'd returned to lock up the training room this evening and found Sarah punching a training bag with bloodied knuckles, he knew something was up. Not that he was entirely displeased that Sarah and Jareth were less chummy these days, but he hated to see her distressed. Worse, the order can't afford to have conflict between its two rulers, especially with Mal Morcant still out there somewhere. He had planned to ask her what was wrong when they came upon the scene in the foyer.
Jareth seated himself on his throne. He sat with elbows resting on his knees, hands steepled in front of his face, an intensity in his eyes, looking every bit the Goblin King he was.
Saresh could only imagine what he was thinking. Morcant, the fae woman said her name was. Was she connected to that homicidal maniac? It couldn't be a coincidence. Saresh leaned against the massive wooden doors of the throne room, his hand still resting on the pommel of his sword. He knew they needed answers, but he hadn't resolved to trust this woman yet, order member or not.
Finally, Jareth broke the palpable silence.
"Start at the beginning, what happened to the Order of Saarah?"
"To understand that you need to understand who I am, and more importantly, who my parents were. I am the daughter of Ardina and Merran Morcant. Do those names mean anything to you?"
Only that the name Morcant is shared by crazy powerful warlock who apparently hates Jareth and wants Sarah dead. Saresh wondered how they were going to keep Morcant's threat from Sarah now, but his thoughts were interrupted when Jareth answered.
"Presume we know nothing," Jareth said, leaning back in his throne.
Clever. The Goblin King was certainly a master of playing things close to the chest, revealing only as much information as necessary. Saresh would need to remember that.
"Very well," Raelia replied, drawing a knee into her chest. "It began with a secret, as stories of loss often do. My parents were members of the Order of Saarah before me. My mother, Ardina, was also a shield."
"Shield? Is that your power?" Saresh asked.
"Yes. The shield has the power to create magical protection for anyone within range. I can cast a protection about 30 feet from me. My mother, by contrast, was especially talented. She could cast her protection twice as far as I can. She passed her power on to me, but I will get to that part later. There is one major drawback to being the shield—you can protect those around you, but not yourself. As such, the shield is always vulnerable to attack.
My parents met in their service to the Order. Before the Order fell, there was a custom that, while Order members could, and often did, have relationships with one another, marriage was forbidden."
"Because of the soul bond?" Sarah asked.
Soul bond? That sounds…ominous, Saresh thought.
"Correct, your Majesty. If the order members went through with the nuptial rituals of our kind, it could expose the entire order to grave risk. Imagine if one of a bonded pair fell in combat."
"The other would die too," Sarah said quietly, staring intently at the fire, an unreadable expression on her face.
"Even if they were far from the battle at the time." Raelia confirmed.
How and when did Sarah come to know so much about fae wedding practices? Saresh was starting to wonder if Sarah and Jareth's nightly research sessions strayed into…other topics. Of course Jareth wouldn't let a little thing like a dangerous outsider get in the way of pursuing Sarah. It's not like he has to make up for years of magical training! Saresh felt like an idiot for pouring all his attention into training the order. He dug his nails into the palm of his hand, suppressing the wave of jealousy welling within his chest. Now was not the time.
"As you can imagine," Raelia continued, "allowing those charged with defending our realm to marry could easily have resulted in the entire Order being wiped out. All it would take was for an enemy to know who was bonded to whom, and strategically eliminate one of each bonded pair. My parents knew of this danger, yet…"
"They married anyways," Jareth said.
"In secret. As I said, my mother was the shield. My father was the conduit, the natural antithesis of the shield. He had the ability to amplify the power of anyone he was in physical contact with. Though, like my mother, he could not use this power himself. Such a power would naturally come in handy during battle, but theirs was a time of great peace."
Raelia turned her attention to Sarah.
"You, my Queen, were a powerful fae from a noble household when the Labyrinth chose you as Regent. Your name was Saeliah. You and King Jareth were more than King and Regent. You were very much in love, and—"
"Married." Saresh interjected, the word rolling his tongue with barely concealed bitterness. "yes, we established that."
Raelia shot an irritated look at Saresh before continuing.
"Indeed. Highly unusual for two fae rulers, given the risks, but then again," she said, looking at Jareth, "your parents also took the risk and enjoyed a prosperous reign until…well…"
"Until I was born." Jareth said, an uncomfortable silence filling the room.
"Yes…" Raelia shifted uncomfortably, lowering her gaze and giving a slight bow of her head in Jareth's direction. "My apologies if I spoke out of turn, my Lord."
"No apology necessary. Please, continue."
"As I said, your reign was a time of great peace. But my father feared that such peace could not last forever. He worried not for himself, but for my mother, who would certainly be vulnerable if war should ever come to Labyrinth's gates. He began experimenting with my mother's powers, attempting to see if his amplification combined with her shield would allow her to shield herself as well as others.
In a sense it worked, when he touched her the shield did protect her, but no one else. She told him that she would never forgive herself if she were called into battle but chose to save herself rather than do her duty and protect the Order. So, my father resolved to find another way to protect her, to increase his powers. Unfortunately for all of us, he found it in the form of blood magic."
Jareth drew in a sharp breath. His careful control of his emotions gone. This can't be good, Saresh thought.
"Blood magic?!" Jareth spit, "That magic is evil! Cursed! Only a fool or a maniac would turn to such a practice."
"My father was both. A fool in love, trying to keep his secret marriage safe. A fool who believed he could control a practice as heinous as blood magic. And, eventually, a maniac, consumed by his lust for power."
The four sat in silence for a moment, Raelia's words hanging in the air. Blood magic. A kind of magic that doesn't play by the rules. Saresh wondered if Jareth was thinking the same thing—that Mal Morcant might also be using blood magic. Perhaps this Merran taught him? Had it become a family business? In any respect, Saresh took some vindication at his reluctance to trust this Raelia Morcant.
"How—" Sarah began, tentatively, "how does it work…blood magic?"
"Torture. Mutilation. Murder." Jareth answered, an inscrutable expression on his face. "You pull power from the pain, suffering, and death of a creature. The more suffering the creature endures, the more power one can draw."
"And if the creature is of magical descent, the power draw is increased a hundredfold." Raelia continued, a slight tremble in her voice. "My father learned of the power from an old tome in the castle library. He asked you about it once, my Lord. According to my mother, you told him that blood magic was forbidden. That it caused nothing but suffering and changed the souls of those who practiced it until they became unrecognizable. She said that when my father again sought the tome, it was gone.
Not long after, my father was sent away on a scouting mission beyond Labyrinth. Your Majesties believed that a mission would refocus my father with regard to his duties to the Order and keep him from hunting down information on blood magic. Shortly after sending his last missive to my mother, indicating that he was soon to exit the outermost walls of the Labyrinth, he went missing. At the time, no one knew what happened to him. My mother told me that Your Majesties sent many search parties to determine what happened to him, but he was simply gone.
Only my mother knew for certain that Merran was alive. She occasionally felt him. Brief flashes of pain, sharp moments of intense rage or joy. It was its own form of torture. And, adding to her pain, she discovered within a month of his disappearance that he had left her pregnant with me.
At this point, my mother had no choice but to reveal their secret. She told your Majesties everything, the secret marriage, the pregnancy, the moments when she could sense him, which grew fewer with every passing day. She told me that you embraced her, my Queen, that you promised to help her. At this point, even my mother could not hide from the truth. Merran had abandoned the order in search of power.
Eleven years passed. I grew up within the walls of the castle. The Order members were my tutors, training me in everything from history to hand-to-hand combat. My mother rarely felt Merran's presence anymore, and though she often smiled, her eyes were always filled with a deep sadness.
One day she brought me before your Majesties." Raelia said, turning to Jareth. "You handed me a crystal. The instant it touched my hands it glowed the same deep indigo as my mother's shield magic. She looked frightened, and told me it meant that I was to take her place as the shield when she passed.
Now you see the second complication of Order members marrying. There is a high possibility that their children will be chosen by the Labyrinth, and what parent would want their child's life to be placed at risk like that?"
Raelia paused and took a deep breath, as though gathering herself for what was to come. Saresh couldn't help but share in her unease. Her story thus far had been filled with troubling revelations, but, based on Raelia's expression, the worst was yet to come.
"Shortly after I learned I would become a member of the Order, my father returned." Raelia said, the tremble returning to her voice. "My mother made me hide from him when he arrived at the castle, but I was curious, and knew every secret passage in the castle. When he appeared before your Majesties, I hid just there."
Raelia pointed at a torch sconce protruding from the wall just behind Jareth's throne.
"The passage was designed for cleaning staff. It's only narrow enough for a goblin or a small child to fit through. I could hear most of the conversation through the wall. He no longer went by the name Merran. He intended to use his new power to leave the fae realm behind and go to a place where he and Ardina could be free of their duty to the Order—the mortal realm. He'd returned only to take my mother with him. He did not know of my existence." She closed her eyes, as though lost in the memory.
"There's a small gap between the sconce and the wall, which allowed me to see him. He looked younger than my mother, except for his hair, which was long and silver like hers had become in their years apart. His skin was tan, as though he'd spent a lot of time outside. I'll never forget his eyes, though." Raelia shuddered, "they were so…"
"Dark." Sarah said suddenly. All eyes turned to her. "Dark and cold and cruel."
Stunned silence descended over the room. For a moment everyone was frozen. Then, Jareth flew from his throne with near inhuman speed, pulling Sarah to her feet and placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Sarah. I need you to tell me exactly when and where you saw this man." He said, his eyes blazing.
"I—I met him during my run—in the Labyrinth. He asked me how I got here to this realm…something about a…portal? Or something? He—he scared me. But he left me alone when he found out about Toby."
"And you swear you haven't seen him since?"
"No!" Sarah yelled, fear in her voice.
Saresh couldn't take it any longer. He crossed the room in a few quick strides and pulled Jareth away from Sarah.
"That's enough!"
"Gods damnit, Saresh! You of all people know what we're dealing with!"
"You're scaring her, Jareth—"
"What is wrong with you two!" Sarah yelled. "I don't understand why you're acting like this, unless…"
Sarah's eyes widened in realization.
"You know this man, don't you Jareth?" Sarah studied Saresh and Jareth, looking each of them in the eye, the truth slowly dawning on her. When she spoke again, they could hear the anger and hurt in her voice. "Both of you. You know this man, and he scares you."
"It's a long story—" Jareth began, but Sarah quickly interrupted him.
"Well go ahead and share with the group, boys! It just so happens that it's the night of long stories here in the castle! What, Jareth, did you meet him at Magical Assholes Anonymous? And you, Saresh! I, for one, would love to know exactly how you're mixed up with this creep"
"Sarah, I never meant to hurt you, but he threatened your life—"
"So you assumed that the best course of action was to keep it from me? I expect this kind of secrecy from Jareth, but not from you!"
The words stung. Saresh felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him. He could see the betrayal in her eyes.
"I wanted to tell you, Sarah, but I gave Jareth my word. And, yes, I was scared. I had just watched you come out of that despondent state. It was horrible, seeing you like that! Like there was no light left in you! I couldn't—neither of us wanted to burden you with…" Saresh was at a loss for words.
For a moment, the room was silent. Then Sarah took a deep breath, and spoke in a measured voice.
"How do either of you expect me to be Queen if you don't trust me? If there is someone out there threatening my life, I deserve to know about it." She said, staring at the flickering magical flames.
Jareth crossed to Sarah, gently taking her face in his hands. Saresh turned away and walked back towards his spot against the door, his face still burning with shame. After all this time, you're still a coward.
"Sarah," Jareth said, gently, "I'm sorry. I promise I will tell you everything tonight. But first I think we should let Raelia finish her story, for there are questions I, too, need answered before I can give you the truth you seek."
Sarah murmured her assent, then took her seat by the fire. Jareth, too, resumed his place on the throne, again leaning forward in his seat, his hands steepled in front of his face. Raelia continued.
"As you all seem to have gathered, my father is Mal Morcant."