Disclaimer: Still not mine. Jareth's courtier's outfit was taken from a picture I saw on teenage wildlife of Mr. Bowie playing Mephistopheles in the opera Faust (purh) I thought it was very fitting and would look great with Jareth's hair style. (puhr) Oh, and if you need to picture Oberon, think of Mr. Bowie now, compared to what he looked like in the early '80's.
Chapter 4: Keeping the Daemons Away
She had never been at a formal court, but had been taught all the protocol. She was dressed in the finest silks that Jareth could have made for her, and he was dressed in matching colors. Her skirt was royal blue, many layers sat over her petticoats, making the skirt look much like a mushroom cap. Over it was a long rich purple blouse of the same material, the bell sleeves were slit at the elbows for better movement and the sides were split at the hips to allow the viewer to see the skirt underneath. She looked incredible. Jareth was dressed as a courtier, he looked debonair in his royal blue breeches, purple shirt and black over coat. His tights were the same purple as his shirt, Annie hadn't realized that they matched until they were out of the carriage. They stood side by side in the large ballroom that the court was being held. He looked down at her and smiled, her dark red hair was cut much to short for the fashion, lying on her shoulders in gentle waves that framed her face. "You look beautiful, Annie."
"I'm sure my /husband/ will appreciate it," she hissed at him. Her face didn't even fall, the smile that lit her features remained, and she curtsied to a neighboring lord of Jareth's. She would do well as a Queen, he thought to himself.
He frowned down at her, she had been rather cross about the whole situation for the last three weeks, and there had been so much to prepare that he hadn't had time to sit down and have a talk with her after the confrontation in his dinning room. Emily had grown more and more anxious as the day that they were to leave arrived, the girl sensed that something was going to change, and didn't like it. Though the arguing was starting to annoy him, he had enjoyed the arguments that they would have at first. She would be snappish and he would have to be stoic but could give it right back. He was actually enjoying the snippets that they had. As soon as she found out that Titania was just going to give her the right to choose her husband, she would admit her love for him, to him, again, and then they would be wed as soon as possible. Jareth had everything planned and ready to go. He waited only for his mother's announcement. "I do," he said under his breath.
She looked up at him with daggers in her eyes, she had heard his voice but not his words. "Don't you dare toy with me today. I am nervous enough as it is." She looked away, right into the face of Adam McLaughlin. "Oh, Adam, how /lovely/ to see you?" She attempted to smile in a way that at least looked genuine, but couldn't manage it.
"It is indeed a pleasure to lay eyes on such a beautiful creature as you. I haven't seen you in years it seems. You have turned into quite a beauty."
"Adam, good to see you," Jareth smiled down at the man, hooking an arm around Annalisa's waste. "What brings you to court? I thought you were busy hunting Owlbear's near the Stoat Plains." Annie wondered how often it was any other woman except for the High Queen that had two most handsome men in the court vying for her attention. She felt rather pleased with herself for the moment.
"Oh, I was, I was… But Titania called me to her, apparently there is to be quite an announcement this year. Any idea what it could be?"
"Actually… Ow…" He looked down at Annie with shock on his face. What in the world had she kicked him for? She smiled at him, mirth in her eyes. "Actually, Mother hasn't deigned fit to tell me."
Adam frowned for a moment but looked back at the red haired beauty that Jareth seemed so possessive of and assumed that it was for their ears only. He took his leave, he knew that Titania was planning to choose a husband for the girl. She had asked him what he thought of the match just a week ago, but suddenly he wondered if trying to win the Duchess Kildalton from the Goblin King was such a good idea. Something was definitely going on there.
Jareth pulled her out of the large ballroom into an anti chamber for more intimate talk, he pushed her against the wall gently, an arm blocking her escape. "What exactly was that for, Annalisa?"
"I think it would be rather rude to let your mother's secret out." She smiled, enjoying his annoyance. It served him right to be so pompous. She looked up at him from underneath thick lashes; her luscious virgin lips had a wry turn to them. Why did she have to be so damn desirable. "Anyway, I am not certain that I like him, and wouldn't want him to give her any idea's."
Looking down at her, his arm keeping her from going anywhere, her back against the wall, he could make her love him forever there. He bent near to her ear to speak, "Who do you prefer, lovely Annalisa?" His voice was husky and low. The warmth of his breath sent shivers down her body.
"I… You know who I prefer your Highness. Please let me go, please." Her voice quivered. She couldn't stand this. She could be one of his whores.
"No, tell me who you prefer." His mouth moved ever closer to the sensitive spot behind her ear. "Who would be good enough to be your husband, even for a season."
A season! She had nearly forgotten it had been so long since she had been tutored in Fae etiquette. Most Fae marriages only lasted a year, spring for the romance, summer for the happiness of the marriage, autumn the decline and winter the death of the relationship. Even the High Queen and King were merely consorts. Even if she did have to marry someone she detested it could be over in as little as three months as long as she had a male heir to take the Duchy after her death, Titania could not find fault with that. "Jareth, you must stop. It doesn't matter who I prefer, he has already been chosen, and I would imagine the contract that will hand my blood soaked lands over to some court fop that will never love me, only make me give him heirs so he looks like a real man."
"What are you afraid of, Annie? Most women your age have been married for years and have many children."
"I am not afraid of anything Jareth, now stop tormenting me and allow me to face my fate alone." Her eyes flashed cold. She was no longer playing his game. Not ever again would he make her desire him. He toyed with her for amusement and she could stand it no longer.
She stepped around him, and walked away fast enough that he would nearly have to jog to catch up. As she entered the ballroom, Adam caught up with her. "Lady Annalisa, would you care to dance, oh… You look flustered! Are you all right? Here, do you need something to drink?" He looked genuinely concerned.
"No, no, I'm fine," out of the corner of her eye she saw him walk in, annoyance flashing across his face, "But I would love to dance!"
"Wonderful!" Adam whisked her away to the floor.
Titania turned and spoke quietly to her King, "Our son looks none to pleased about that, Oberon."
The High King smiled at his Queen and consort. "Aye, he looks as if he might be getting ready to have kittens."
"Do you think I should just order the marriage for the season, neither of them will expect it and it should stop all of this nonsense."
"I rather like that idea, my darling. I think there might be a brawl though from the looks that Adam and Jareth are sharing."
"What fun," Titania giggled and continued to watch the festivities.
When the music ended and the King and Queen rose from their thrones and took the podium. The room quieted. Jareth stood near a corner, women surrounding him watching her.
"We have an announcement to make to this court. I had originally planned to wait until near the end of the festival but, I think it would merit to so it now. It has come to our attention that the Duchess Kildalton needs a husband." There were many ohs and ahs from the hall. Adam smiled brightly. "But because of her station the Duchess cannot have just any ordinary man or marriage," Titania paused when she saw the girl close her eyes. "Lady Annalisa, I have chosen your husband for you, have you any concerns?"
The question was against the etiquette, but Annie looked up at her queen with pleading in her eyes, "I could never love a man that did not love me. I could never give myself to him fully. Please choose someone that I can love." She ended softly. .
"Ah, this has been taken into account! I have chosen your husband, and by the end of the festival the marriage will have been made and it consummated, but, it is only for the season, if after that time you feel that you cannot find happiness with this man then you may find another." Titania paused for the court to settle down once more. "Jareth, King of the Goblins, High Prince of the Court of Fae, Heir to the High Throne, step forward to meet your bride."
Jareth stepped forward slowly, walking to stand by Annalisa. There was a scowl on his face, this was not the way it was to go. She looked at him with surprise in her eyes, and then pain that had always sat so deeply there came to the surface.
"The vows will be taken this evening after dinner, and the marriage consummated by the end of the festival. Good luck young lovers."
Oberon looked down at the young woman with sympathy, "Have you a dilemma with that, Lady Kildalton?"
"Nay, your Majesties." Her voice was crest fallen, full of something that many could not quite place.
"Good! Let the Celebration commence then!"
She could not bring herself to look at the man that would become her husband, and though it was considered bad manners she teleported out of the room. Away from her King, away from her dreams.
=========
The sun was near to setting as she walked the mazes, thinking about the choice that she was to make. It was for only a season, but that was three months, and she would be required to perform all the duties of a wife. She sat on a bench, far into the maze, near a small fountain.
The tears began to fall, running rivets into the flesh of her face, she bent over, feeling sick to her stomach, choking on her sobs. "Child, my son is a fool." The voice was soft and near. A males voice, like Jareth's but instead of cruel and deep it was light hearted and kind. Oberon sat next to the Lady Kildalton. He had been her mother's husband for a season long before the thought of a child came into her mother's mind, and felt that perhaps he should attempt to make the girl feel better.
"A fool?" She said through tears. "A fool for not wanting a woman with blood soaked lands and a broken heart, who is terrified of her own shadow? How could that make him a fool?"
Oberon looked at her closely, she was much like her mother, her features and mannerisms so close it almost broke his heart. "You know, your mother was afraid of the dark."
"What?"
"Yes, she was afraid of the dark, she always said that if there was a choice between being locked in a oubliette in the dark and being dropped into desert from the edge of the sky she would rather smash into the rocks." He signed, "She said that there were monsters in the dark that no one could see but watched you. That is why she loved your father so much, he kept the daemons away."
"Daemons?" She wiped the tears from her face, and looked into Oberon's face. She had not known that he knew her mother so well. She knew little of her parents, and Emily knew nothing except the stories that Mama would tell and the songs she would sing.
"Yes, your mother was plagued by daemons, not the daemons that plague you, but they were things that made her afraid as well. Everyone had these daemons, you just have to find the person that keeps them away, and if Jareth is not that person then he is not for you."
"He always sooths me. He always helps me sleep, I can only sleep with he is in the room," she paused for a moment and blushed because of what she had admitted.
"Do you love him?"
"I…" she paused. Yes, she did love him, as a friend, as a confidant, as a man, but could she love him for all her life? Could she love him for longer then a season? "I do love him, Oberon, but I wonder sometimes if I love him because he is all I have known, if I love him because of the kindness he showed us after our parents… went away. I wonder if it is because he listened to me cry and sat next to my bed when the dreams were at their worst."
"I don't know about you, but I think that those reasons are enough, Annalisa. You don't have to have some grand love affair with a dark stranger, sometimes a light friend will do just as well. Honestly, don't you think that after a millenium that Titania and I have grown board of one another occasionally? No, because we are all we knew for many years. Your mother was my wife once, after I had been married to Titania a number of times, I loved your mother, but I still always return to Titania. Perhaps you should give Jareth a chance to prove himself worthy of you." With that he was gone. She sighed, and walked out of the gardens in search of her fair friend.
Chapter 4: Keeping the Daemons Away
She had never been at a formal court, but had been taught all the protocol. She was dressed in the finest silks that Jareth could have made for her, and he was dressed in matching colors. Her skirt was royal blue, many layers sat over her petticoats, making the skirt look much like a mushroom cap. Over it was a long rich purple blouse of the same material, the bell sleeves were slit at the elbows for better movement and the sides were split at the hips to allow the viewer to see the skirt underneath. She looked incredible. Jareth was dressed as a courtier, he looked debonair in his royal blue breeches, purple shirt and black over coat. His tights were the same purple as his shirt, Annie hadn't realized that they matched until they were out of the carriage. They stood side by side in the large ballroom that the court was being held. He looked down at her and smiled, her dark red hair was cut much to short for the fashion, lying on her shoulders in gentle waves that framed her face. "You look beautiful, Annie."
"I'm sure my /husband/ will appreciate it," she hissed at him. Her face didn't even fall, the smile that lit her features remained, and she curtsied to a neighboring lord of Jareth's. She would do well as a Queen, he thought to himself.
He frowned down at her, she had been rather cross about the whole situation for the last three weeks, and there had been so much to prepare that he hadn't had time to sit down and have a talk with her after the confrontation in his dinning room. Emily had grown more and more anxious as the day that they were to leave arrived, the girl sensed that something was going to change, and didn't like it. Though the arguing was starting to annoy him, he had enjoyed the arguments that they would have at first. She would be snappish and he would have to be stoic but could give it right back. He was actually enjoying the snippets that they had. As soon as she found out that Titania was just going to give her the right to choose her husband, she would admit her love for him, to him, again, and then they would be wed as soon as possible. Jareth had everything planned and ready to go. He waited only for his mother's announcement. "I do," he said under his breath.
She looked up at him with daggers in her eyes, she had heard his voice but not his words. "Don't you dare toy with me today. I am nervous enough as it is." She looked away, right into the face of Adam McLaughlin. "Oh, Adam, how /lovely/ to see you?" She attempted to smile in a way that at least looked genuine, but couldn't manage it.
"It is indeed a pleasure to lay eyes on such a beautiful creature as you. I haven't seen you in years it seems. You have turned into quite a beauty."
"Adam, good to see you," Jareth smiled down at the man, hooking an arm around Annalisa's waste. "What brings you to court? I thought you were busy hunting Owlbear's near the Stoat Plains." Annie wondered how often it was any other woman except for the High Queen that had two most handsome men in the court vying for her attention. She felt rather pleased with herself for the moment.
"Oh, I was, I was… But Titania called me to her, apparently there is to be quite an announcement this year. Any idea what it could be?"
"Actually… Ow…" He looked down at Annie with shock on his face. What in the world had she kicked him for? She smiled at him, mirth in her eyes. "Actually, Mother hasn't deigned fit to tell me."
Adam frowned for a moment but looked back at the red haired beauty that Jareth seemed so possessive of and assumed that it was for their ears only. He took his leave, he knew that Titania was planning to choose a husband for the girl. She had asked him what he thought of the match just a week ago, but suddenly he wondered if trying to win the Duchess Kildalton from the Goblin King was such a good idea. Something was definitely going on there.
Jareth pulled her out of the large ballroom into an anti chamber for more intimate talk, he pushed her against the wall gently, an arm blocking her escape. "What exactly was that for, Annalisa?"
"I think it would be rather rude to let your mother's secret out." She smiled, enjoying his annoyance. It served him right to be so pompous. She looked up at him from underneath thick lashes; her luscious virgin lips had a wry turn to them. Why did she have to be so damn desirable. "Anyway, I am not certain that I like him, and wouldn't want him to give her any idea's."
Looking down at her, his arm keeping her from going anywhere, her back against the wall, he could make her love him forever there. He bent near to her ear to speak, "Who do you prefer, lovely Annalisa?" His voice was husky and low. The warmth of his breath sent shivers down her body.
"I… You know who I prefer your Highness. Please let me go, please." Her voice quivered. She couldn't stand this. She could be one of his whores.
"No, tell me who you prefer." His mouth moved ever closer to the sensitive spot behind her ear. "Who would be good enough to be your husband, even for a season."
A season! She had nearly forgotten it had been so long since she had been tutored in Fae etiquette. Most Fae marriages only lasted a year, spring for the romance, summer for the happiness of the marriage, autumn the decline and winter the death of the relationship. Even the High Queen and King were merely consorts. Even if she did have to marry someone she detested it could be over in as little as three months as long as she had a male heir to take the Duchy after her death, Titania could not find fault with that. "Jareth, you must stop. It doesn't matter who I prefer, he has already been chosen, and I would imagine the contract that will hand my blood soaked lands over to some court fop that will never love me, only make me give him heirs so he looks like a real man."
"What are you afraid of, Annie? Most women your age have been married for years and have many children."
"I am not afraid of anything Jareth, now stop tormenting me and allow me to face my fate alone." Her eyes flashed cold. She was no longer playing his game. Not ever again would he make her desire him. He toyed with her for amusement and she could stand it no longer.
She stepped around him, and walked away fast enough that he would nearly have to jog to catch up. As she entered the ballroom, Adam caught up with her. "Lady Annalisa, would you care to dance, oh… You look flustered! Are you all right? Here, do you need something to drink?" He looked genuinely concerned.
"No, no, I'm fine," out of the corner of her eye she saw him walk in, annoyance flashing across his face, "But I would love to dance!"
"Wonderful!" Adam whisked her away to the floor.
Titania turned and spoke quietly to her King, "Our son looks none to pleased about that, Oberon."
The High King smiled at his Queen and consort. "Aye, he looks as if he might be getting ready to have kittens."
"Do you think I should just order the marriage for the season, neither of them will expect it and it should stop all of this nonsense."
"I rather like that idea, my darling. I think there might be a brawl though from the looks that Adam and Jareth are sharing."
"What fun," Titania giggled and continued to watch the festivities.
When the music ended and the King and Queen rose from their thrones and took the podium. The room quieted. Jareth stood near a corner, women surrounding him watching her.
"We have an announcement to make to this court. I had originally planned to wait until near the end of the festival but, I think it would merit to so it now. It has come to our attention that the Duchess Kildalton needs a husband." There were many ohs and ahs from the hall. Adam smiled brightly. "But because of her station the Duchess cannot have just any ordinary man or marriage," Titania paused when she saw the girl close her eyes. "Lady Annalisa, I have chosen your husband for you, have you any concerns?"
The question was against the etiquette, but Annie looked up at her queen with pleading in her eyes, "I could never love a man that did not love me. I could never give myself to him fully. Please choose someone that I can love." She ended softly. .
"Ah, this has been taken into account! I have chosen your husband, and by the end of the festival the marriage will have been made and it consummated, but, it is only for the season, if after that time you feel that you cannot find happiness with this man then you may find another." Titania paused for the court to settle down once more. "Jareth, King of the Goblins, High Prince of the Court of Fae, Heir to the High Throne, step forward to meet your bride."
Jareth stepped forward slowly, walking to stand by Annalisa. There was a scowl on his face, this was not the way it was to go. She looked at him with surprise in her eyes, and then pain that had always sat so deeply there came to the surface.
"The vows will be taken this evening after dinner, and the marriage consummated by the end of the festival. Good luck young lovers."
Oberon looked down at the young woman with sympathy, "Have you a dilemma with that, Lady Kildalton?"
"Nay, your Majesties." Her voice was crest fallen, full of something that many could not quite place.
"Good! Let the Celebration commence then!"
She could not bring herself to look at the man that would become her husband, and though it was considered bad manners she teleported out of the room. Away from her King, away from her dreams.
=========
The sun was near to setting as she walked the mazes, thinking about the choice that she was to make. It was for only a season, but that was three months, and she would be required to perform all the duties of a wife. She sat on a bench, far into the maze, near a small fountain.
The tears began to fall, running rivets into the flesh of her face, she bent over, feeling sick to her stomach, choking on her sobs. "Child, my son is a fool." The voice was soft and near. A males voice, like Jareth's but instead of cruel and deep it was light hearted and kind. Oberon sat next to the Lady Kildalton. He had been her mother's husband for a season long before the thought of a child came into her mother's mind, and felt that perhaps he should attempt to make the girl feel better.
"A fool?" She said through tears. "A fool for not wanting a woman with blood soaked lands and a broken heart, who is terrified of her own shadow? How could that make him a fool?"
Oberon looked at her closely, she was much like her mother, her features and mannerisms so close it almost broke his heart. "You know, your mother was afraid of the dark."
"What?"
"Yes, she was afraid of the dark, she always said that if there was a choice between being locked in a oubliette in the dark and being dropped into desert from the edge of the sky she would rather smash into the rocks." He signed, "She said that there were monsters in the dark that no one could see but watched you. That is why she loved your father so much, he kept the daemons away."
"Daemons?" She wiped the tears from her face, and looked into Oberon's face. She had not known that he knew her mother so well. She knew little of her parents, and Emily knew nothing except the stories that Mama would tell and the songs she would sing.
"Yes, your mother was plagued by daemons, not the daemons that plague you, but they were things that made her afraid as well. Everyone had these daemons, you just have to find the person that keeps them away, and if Jareth is not that person then he is not for you."
"He always sooths me. He always helps me sleep, I can only sleep with he is in the room," she paused for a moment and blushed because of what she had admitted.
"Do you love him?"
"I…" she paused. Yes, she did love him, as a friend, as a confidant, as a man, but could she love him for all her life? Could she love him for longer then a season? "I do love him, Oberon, but I wonder sometimes if I love him because he is all I have known, if I love him because of the kindness he showed us after our parents… went away. I wonder if it is because he listened to me cry and sat next to my bed when the dreams were at their worst."
"I don't know about you, but I think that those reasons are enough, Annalisa. You don't have to have some grand love affair with a dark stranger, sometimes a light friend will do just as well. Honestly, don't you think that after a millenium that Titania and I have grown board of one another occasionally? No, because we are all we knew for many years. Your mother was my wife once, after I had been married to Titania a number of times, I loved your mother, but I still always return to Titania. Perhaps you should give Jareth a chance to prove himself worthy of you." With that he was gone. She sighed, and walked out of the gardens in search of her fair friend.