Disclaimer: The labyrinth is not mine, unfortunately. Though, Aelis, Adam,
Annalisa, Emily, Byron and Hilliard are mine, as well as the Glade and the
differences between the "normal" fae and the druidic fae. Any question
comments or jeers and leers please direct to the review board… Thank you!
Enjoy!
Chapter 9: An Unexpected Visitor.
The summer passed softly, the storms were gentle, and the heat had never been as mild. Perhaps it was a good omen. The Glade returned to it's former glory gladly, the castle restructured and redecorated to be more pleasant, the grounds of the castle were repaired with the help of goblin and dwarven stone masons and crafters from all over the kingdoms. They were glade to help the place that their races had emerged from the meadow newly born and spread to the far reaches of the kingdom.
The season had past, but the new couple didn't notice, they were preoccupied, with each other. Their lives had nearly returned to normal, Annie's nightmares plagued her from time to time, but now that she was sharing a bedroom and a life with the Goblin King she was much less reluctant to have him let her dream the dreamless sleep.
Emily was fascinated by all manners of things in the Glade. There were nixies and pixies and dryads for her to play with galore, as well as learning about the plant life and how occasionally new races would emerge from the meadows. All the while her sister supervised the castle's rebuilding, and slowly the druids came out of the meadow and moved back into the villages that had been rebuilt.
Near the end of the summer, as the tree's started to show their true colors and the Glade was a rich blanket of burnt umber, maroon, and every green that they eye could comprehend. The nights grew colder, and Annie found she had a secret.
It had started nearly a month and a half after the wedding, she had been feeling faint while supervising a dwarven team that were re-cobbling the main courtyard. She had managed to get to a secluded spot and sit down before her stomach decided that it wasn't going to behave and relieved her of her morning and afternoon meals. Thinking nothing of it other then she had been overexciting herself she stayed in bed for a few days. But the sickness and dizziness stayed, finally, after the knowing stares from Aelis had become too much, and a month of hiding her illness from her family became to much she summoned a doctor to her.
"Your highness, there is nothing wrong with you." The doctor smiled at her at her examination. His large kind brown eyes were the eyes of a truly elderly fae. His salt and pepper hair noted that he was far older then even Oberon and Titania.
"They why have I been getting sick and fainting all the time?" She was concerned and suddenly worried that he was making fun of her. She had him meet her in the castle beyond the Glade, afraid that a doctor's visit would Jareth of danger, but perhaps there was no danger.
"There is nothing wrong with you that twenty four months and some onion pudding wouldn't fix." He said, then as confusion settled deeper on her features he laughed. "You are pregnant, your highness, not dying. I expect you are only a few months along."
Annalisa Kildalton, Goblin Queen, Chieftain of The Druids, Protector of the Glade and the Labyrinth, a woman of power and pose, stubborn and wise, willing to do what she must for the safety of her loved ones, heard these words, and promptly fainted.
------------
"I'm pregnant.'
"I know, lady." Aelis tried to smile but couldn't, so she turned from her lady and concentrated on making her bed. She had forgotten that her lady knew very little about the birthing of children. It wasn't expected that she would need to know so soon. Most fae were fertile very rarely, and when they did manage to get with child the pregnancy was very hard for the mother and more often then not resulted in the death of mother or child.
"Aren't you happy?"
"Yes, I am very happy for you lady, but I am worried as well. Pregnancies are very hard on women and you or the baby may not survive it."
Annalisa frowned, then understanding dawned on her face. "Oh, you think… No, Aelis, I'm a druid."
It was the handmaiden's turn to look confused. "Why does that matter?"
"Druid's bare children more like human's. Our gestational period is shorter and the fierceness of the pregnancy is much less. We have specialized in Life Magic for hundreds of thousands of years. My mother had two children, but only because she wanted no more, my father's first wife had six sons, all within a hundred years." Annie smiled at her friend. Confusion was wiped away by horror.
"Six in a hundred years? My goodness, you druids are the baby makers aren't you." Fae generally had no more then a child or two in a thousand years, but six in one hundred was as if a woman had three sets of triples in three years. "Well, then I am happy for you, does Jareth know what kind of baby mill you are going to be? He has been so busy adopting out children that were wished away to him he may be quit surprised."
Annie smiled, she had thought of that. He hadn't been reluctant to take on her and her sister, so perhaps he would be happy. She was astonished to find that the druids family ways had been kept quiet for so long, but she supposed that druid parents didn't want to be petitioned to give up their children to lords that may have more sway over them, so it was kept quiet. "Nay, he doesn't know. I think I will tell him tonight, it wouldn't be kind to wait any longer."
------------------
Not so far away from the room that Aelis and Annie spoke in hushed tones there was another private conversation going on. This one, however, was not spoken in the hushed tones of two women, but a brawl was brewing between three men.
Lord Hilliard was getting aggravated with his jumpy compatriots. "No, she is not. They have only been married for three months. The season is nearly over, there is no way that it's possible for her to be pregnant yet."
"You don't know enough of the druids Hilliard. They always have children in tow."
"Because the Druids and the Goblin King have worked so closely for so many years. None of those children are theirs. They are almost all, human children that were wished away." He sighed and sipped at his snifter of brandy. "What would it matter if she was pregnant or not anyway, she knows nothing. If she had surely Jareth would have had us on trial three months ago."
Byron and Adam frowned. This was not acceptable. He was far from being worried about the chance that the plan that they had been cultivating for years would fall apart easily if there was an heir to the throne that had a hold to both the Labyrinth and the Glade. The magic of both together would be far to strong to conquer. Byron had tested the wards on the Glade in the last days and found them to be impenetrable, whoever had laid the wards, was not joking. He cringed to think that it might have been Annalisa that wielded that much power to set them. He hoped it was not. "So what is the next part of our plan? Do we just kill her and get it over with? I mean, I found a way to break the wards once, I can do it again. She is now married and possibly with child, so we can simply kill her and be done with it, or let her continue to be a liability." Byron didn't want to kill her, but if it was necessary then it was necessary. There was no way that he was putting his neck on the line because she was beautiful.
Hilliard rose a brow at his companions. Adam hadn't spoken yet, he was annoyed with both Byron and Hilliard. Why kill her when the marriage would simply be ended and one of them could marry her. Surely she would want one of them, and with her being so young, even if they didn't end the marriage at the season's end in a few days they would easily fabricate something so that she would no longer be interested in being apart of his life. With the Glade in working order again she could take her sister/adopted daughter and live comfortably watching over her people. The druids were returning to the cities around the castle and the world was once again a comfortable place for them. "I have an idea." Adam spoke up, he still wasn't sure how he had been dragged into all this, but he was certainly not going to get beheaded because the older men couldn't stop bickering about it.
------------
"You didn't tell him did you?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I don't know, I felt as if it was something that I should keep quiet about."
"Hmmm. You should tell him soon though."
"Yes, I should."
"But you won't will you?"
"I don't know. I think I will wait until after the season."
"Make sure to do the right thing, lady."
Enjoy!
Chapter 9: An Unexpected Visitor.
The summer passed softly, the storms were gentle, and the heat had never been as mild. Perhaps it was a good omen. The Glade returned to it's former glory gladly, the castle restructured and redecorated to be more pleasant, the grounds of the castle were repaired with the help of goblin and dwarven stone masons and crafters from all over the kingdoms. They were glade to help the place that their races had emerged from the meadow newly born and spread to the far reaches of the kingdom.
The season had past, but the new couple didn't notice, they were preoccupied, with each other. Their lives had nearly returned to normal, Annie's nightmares plagued her from time to time, but now that she was sharing a bedroom and a life with the Goblin King she was much less reluctant to have him let her dream the dreamless sleep.
Emily was fascinated by all manners of things in the Glade. There were nixies and pixies and dryads for her to play with galore, as well as learning about the plant life and how occasionally new races would emerge from the meadows. All the while her sister supervised the castle's rebuilding, and slowly the druids came out of the meadow and moved back into the villages that had been rebuilt.
Near the end of the summer, as the tree's started to show their true colors and the Glade was a rich blanket of burnt umber, maroon, and every green that they eye could comprehend. The nights grew colder, and Annie found she had a secret.
It had started nearly a month and a half after the wedding, she had been feeling faint while supervising a dwarven team that were re-cobbling the main courtyard. She had managed to get to a secluded spot and sit down before her stomach decided that it wasn't going to behave and relieved her of her morning and afternoon meals. Thinking nothing of it other then she had been overexciting herself she stayed in bed for a few days. But the sickness and dizziness stayed, finally, after the knowing stares from Aelis had become too much, and a month of hiding her illness from her family became to much she summoned a doctor to her.
"Your highness, there is nothing wrong with you." The doctor smiled at her at her examination. His large kind brown eyes were the eyes of a truly elderly fae. His salt and pepper hair noted that he was far older then even Oberon and Titania.
"They why have I been getting sick and fainting all the time?" She was concerned and suddenly worried that he was making fun of her. She had him meet her in the castle beyond the Glade, afraid that a doctor's visit would Jareth of danger, but perhaps there was no danger.
"There is nothing wrong with you that twenty four months and some onion pudding wouldn't fix." He said, then as confusion settled deeper on her features he laughed. "You are pregnant, your highness, not dying. I expect you are only a few months along."
Annalisa Kildalton, Goblin Queen, Chieftain of The Druids, Protector of the Glade and the Labyrinth, a woman of power and pose, stubborn and wise, willing to do what she must for the safety of her loved ones, heard these words, and promptly fainted.
------------
"I'm pregnant.'
"I know, lady." Aelis tried to smile but couldn't, so she turned from her lady and concentrated on making her bed. She had forgotten that her lady knew very little about the birthing of children. It wasn't expected that she would need to know so soon. Most fae were fertile very rarely, and when they did manage to get with child the pregnancy was very hard for the mother and more often then not resulted in the death of mother or child.
"Aren't you happy?"
"Yes, I am very happy for you lady, but I am worried as well. Pregnancies are very hard on women and you or the baby may not survive it."
Annalisa frowned, then understanding dawned on her face. "Oh, you think… No, Aelis, I'm a druid."
It was the handmaiden's turn to look confused. "Why does that matter?"
"Druid's bare children more like human's. Our gestational period is shorter and the fierceness of the pregnancy is much less. We have specialized in Life Magic for hundreds of thousands of years. My mother had two children, but only because she wanted no more, my father's first wife had six sons, all within a hundred years." Annie smiled at her friend. Confusion was wiped away by horror.
"Six in a hundred years? My goodness, you druids are the baby makers aren't you." Fae generally had no more then a child or two in a thousand years, but six in one hundred was as if a woman had three sets of triples in three years. "Well, then I am happy for you, does Jareth know what kind of baby mill you are going to be? He has been so busy adopting out children that were wished away to him he may be quit surprised."
Annie smiled, she had thought of that. He hadn't been reluctant to take on her and her sister, so perhaps he would be happy. She was astonished to find that the druids family ways had been kept quiet for so long, but she supposed that druid parents didn't want to be petitioned to give up their children to lords that may have more sway over them, so it was kept quiet. "Nay, he doesn't know. I think I will tell him tonight, it wouldn't be kind to wait any longer."
------------------
Not so far away from the room that Aelis and Annie spoke in hushed tones there was another private conversation going on. This one, however, was not spoken in the hushed tones of two women, but a brawl was brewing between three men.
Lord Hilliard was getting aggravated with his jumpy compatriots. "No, she is not. They have only been married for three months. The season is nearly over, there is no way that it's possible for her to be pregnant yet."
"You don't know enough of the druids Hilliard. They always have children in tow."
"Because the Druids and the Goblin King have worked so closely for so many years. None of those children are theirs. They are almost all, human children that were wished away." He sighed and sipped at his snifter of brandy. "What would it matter if she was pregnant or not anyway, she knows nothing. If she had surely Jareth would have had us on trial three months ago."
Byron and Adam frowned. This was not acceptable. He was far from being worried about the chance that the plan that they had been cultivating for years would fall apart easily if there was an heir to the throne that had a hold to both the Labyrinth and the Glade. The magic of both together would be far to strong to conquer. Byron had tested the wards on the Glade in the last days and found them to be impenetrable, whoever had laid the wards, was not joking. He cringed to think that it might have been Annalisa that wielded that much power to set them. He hoped it was not. "So what is the next part of our plan? Do we just kill her and get it over with? I mean, I found a way to break the wards once, I can do it again. She is now married and possibly with child, so we can simply kill her and be done with it, or let her continue to be a liability." Byron didn't want to kill her, but if it was necessary then it was necessary. There was no way that he was putting his neck on the line because she was beautiful.
Hilliard rose a brow at his companions. Adam hadn't spoken yet, he was annoyed with both Byron and Hilliard. Why kill her when the marriage would simply be ended and one of them could marry her. Surely she would want one of them, and with her being so young, even if they didn't end the marriage at the season's end in a few days they would easily fabricate something so that she would no longer be interested in being apart of his life. With the Glade in working order again she could take her sister/adopted daughter and live comfortably watching over her people. The druids were returning to the cities around the castle and the world was once again a comfortable place for them. "I have an idea." Adam spoke up, he still wasn't sure how he had been dragged into all this, but he was certainly not going to get beheaded because the older men couldn't stop bickering about it.
------------
"You didn't tell him did you?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I don't know, I felt as if it was something that I should keep quiet about."
"Hmmm. You should tell him soon though."
"Yes, I should."
"But you won't will you?"
"I don't know. I think I will wait until after the season."
"Make sure to do the right thing, lady."