AN: Umm, I would have had this out sooner but for one thing... Damn
Harry Potter... I read the bloody third book in one sitting. I'm
trying not to crack the fourth because I won't sleep till dawn.
*breathes deeply* 'Must have self control...' My one weakness is a
good story, written or read... =)
*a pompous man struts onto the expectant stage... he clears his throat
and speaks as a hush falls over the audience*
"Standard Disclaimers apply."
*he waits for applause and frowns, slightly disgruntled as there are a
few helpless titters from the now amused audience before stalking off
the stage*
Please review... Reviews=Story... God I love blackmail... LOL
PS: Thanks SO much to everyone who has reviewed so far! =) You guys
rock!
********************* Sacrifices: Chapter Two *****************
Jareth sighed as he smoothed back some of Sarah's hair as she slept at
his command. Bringing her here, again, had cost him much of his power,
all that he had left after visiting her that is. She murmured,
troubled by her dreams, and he breathed a word of command and deepened
her slumber to guarantee that she would not awake. She would need her
rest after the journey; he had had to drain much of her own strength
in order to transport them the last of the way to the Underground.
He studied her intensely as she slept and was pleased, despite earlier
evidence, by what he saw. It was true, what she had said in a fit of
anger, she was no longer the girl he had brought to his home to defeat
him so many years ago. The strength, the spirit, the wide-eyed wonder
was not gone but all of it was tempered by wisdom, knowledge, and
patience. This was no rash child on the edge of blooming into woman
hood. This was a woman, grown, flowered, beauty itself instead of
merely beauty's promise.
True there were laugh lines, by her mouth and at the corners of her
eyes, and one wrinkled that persisted, even as she dreamed, on her
brow, a worry line. She was no longer a child, and she was even more
beautiful now, after twenty years stood between them.
He stepped back as he visibly controlled himself, let his hand trail
along her cheek and fall regretfully away. Jareth sighed, growled at
the twists life threw at him, that he threw at himself, and vanished.
*********************************************************************
He materialized in the throne room and raised his brows at the being
waiting for him. Drevlyn, Prince of the Dragons, rose and let his
scrying spell fade from outstretched fingers before greeting his blood
brother.
"The Court will exile you for this. You had permission to bring back
a baby, not a woman. What the hell were you thinking?" Jareth's
dangerous gaze narrowed slightly and Drevlyn bit his tongue.
The two had grown up as brothers, pledged themselves as blood
brothers, and had the scars to prove that pledge was worthy. But
Drevlyn was not yet King of the Dragons. In Jareth's home he bowed
before the King, even if he could remember Jareth as a fumbling
toddler.
"I am not some lowly born Sidhe Drevlyn, I'm High Sidhe, I'm King of
the Goblins. I informed the Court of my intentions as a common
courtesy. I am a King though and in my realm they have no power over
me." Drevlyn snorted and smoke was expelled from his nostrils.
In 'human' form Dragons managed to pass reasonably well as humanoid.
They shaped their bodies into human form but kept traces of their true
scales, which streaked their under skin with layers of colors. They
had no hair, at all, but many had spikes and crests which started at
the traditional human hairline and stretched down to mid back.
Infamous Dragon wings and tails were made to vanish for
maneuverability's sake. Only the eyes remained truly unchanged. They
were large, expressive, slitted like a cat's, and intimidating to all
whom met them.
Jareth was one of the few High Sidhe without Dragon blood who was able
to transform as easily as he did, into an owl. Dragons were the only
other creature who could leap from form to form as effortlessly as
he. They were, besides that notable fact, one of the least magical of
all the races which comprised the Sidhe Court, which was fortunate. A
fully-grown, untransformed adult Dragon was easily twenty-five feet
snout to tail tip, with a thirty-foot wingspan. Without the easy
mastering of transformation the Great Hall in the High Court's Castle
would have had to be enlarged simply to accommodate the extra bulk.
Drevlyn himself was colored dark, his skin a motley assortment of
blues, indigoes, and violets. His human form, like his Dragonic one,
was slim, wiry, and fast. He moved like lightning... He had one
trail of flexible spikes, almost black, which indeed gave him the
appearance of hair, and his eyes were a flat reptilian yellow that
proved him an interesting starring partner. He was barely a match for
Jareth.
"Why the woman Jareth?" Jareth ignored the question for a moment as
he conjured a crystal and absently twirled it with deft fingers.
Drevlyn stalked closer to him, persistent despite the moodiness he
sensed in the King of the Goblins.
"Why Jareth? You do nothing without a reason." The crystal
disappeared with a sleight of hand. He looked up, met Drevlyn's
yellow gaze, and pursed his expressive mouth before replying slowly,
unwillingly.
"Because She offered herself to me. Herself for the baby I went to
claim. I can't refuse Her Drevlyn; I never could." The Dragon's
piercing gaze softened for a moment.
"Her?" Jareth looked away.
"She will not love you," Drevlyn said even softer, though the words
still cut. Jareth growled and lightning shattered the deathly silence
in the throne room.
"She promised herself to me. She is my subject as surely as any of
the goblins. A life for a life." Drevlyn shrugged gracefully before
strolling over and taking Jareth's throne with a slouch of utter
indifference. The Goblin King raised tailored brows, suddenly
exasperated.
"Subtle Drevlyn, subtle. She shall not interfere with my duties. I
know my responsibilities, better than you." The Dragon Prince blinked
reptilian eyes as he languished, ignoring the jibe, before turning to
stare at his proclaimed brother. Jareth held his flat stare and that,
more than anything, proclaimed him and his worthy of Dragon's Trust.
"She promised you Her fealty, not Her love Jareth. Even I know enough
about mortals to know that there is a difference between the two."
"I am a just King Drevlyn. My subjects care for me. You think She
wouldn't too, in time?" Drevlyn laughed dryly.
"That's another thing, Goblin King. The Sidhe Court won't take Her
appearance lightly, much less Her immortality." It was Jareth's turn
to shrug, totally unrepentant, and the movement was fierce, hard.
"It was necessary," he replied in the cool tones of controlled,
clipped anger. "Her mind and body were well set in Her world. It
cost more than I thought to bring Her. Babies and children... still
unformed, still finding out who they are, they are indeed much
easier." Drevlyn coughed.
"So you burned Her mortality away for magic. Convenient if you ask
me." The King of the Goblins glared fiercely.
"I didn't." Drevlyn rose with a yawn, stretched wiry limbs, and bowed
with only a hint of mockery in his movement. Bowed because Jareth was
a King and he had earned Dragon's Trust.
"As you most pointedly reminded me, I have duties to attend to. Let
me know about any new developments and be careful Jareth... Even King
of the Goblins can be burned by mortals." Jareth smiled grimly and
dipped his head in acknowledgment of Drevelyn's respect.
"Oh, I know that much Dragon Prince. Your treasure shall be safe. I
know all too well the pain that mortals can inflict and I'll not soon
be forgetting, not with Her." He didn't use Sarah's name; he didn't
have to. There was only one Her in the Goblin King's World and all
the Sidhe Court knew it, if for different reasons than Drevlyn.
Drevlyn nodded, reassured, and opened a portal that showed quite
clearly, Draco Castle rising against the backdrop of the Labyrinth
Mountains. An ordinary Dragon would have transformed and flown the
journey but Drevlyn was far from ordinary. Unlike his kin, he was
blessed with abnormal power and magical ability. He would have had to
been, to maintain Jareth's interest so long, even as children Jareth
was a very demanding play mate.
That was one thing that fascinated Jareth about Sarah... She had no
magic but she was just as alluring, just as damn fascinating as the
most magical being Jareth had ever come across.
"Happy huntings," Drevlyn called. Jareth's eyes flickered at the
double meaning but returned the traditional parting...
"And fair skies." Drevlyn took one step backward, through the portal,
and let it close with a snap, leaving Jareth alone, or almost alone.
Almost but not for long. He resisted the urge to conjure a ball to
check in on his latest subject and strode off to attend to the matters
of his realm that he had left half finished in his hurry. He could
wait... he had waited twenty years. He could, would, must wait for
just a little while longer.
Harry Potter... I read the bloody third book in one sitting. I'm
trying not to crack the fourth because I won't sleep till dawn.
*breathes deeply* 'Must have self control...' My one weakness is a
good story, written or read... =)
*a pompous man struts onto the expectant stage... he clears his throat
and speaks as a hush falls over the audience*
"Standard Disclaimers apply."
*he waits for applause and frowns, slightly disgruntled as there are a
few helpless titters from the now amused audience before stalking off
the stage*
Please review... Reviews=Story... God I love blackmail... LOL
PS: Thanks SO much to everyone who has reviewed so far! =) You guys
rock!
********************* Sacrifices: Chapter Two *****************
Jareth sighed as he smoothed back some of Sarah's hair as she slept at
his command. Bringing her here, again, had cost him much of his power,
all that he had left after visiting her that is. She murmured,
troubled by her dreams, and he breathed a word of command and deepened
her slumber to guarantee that she would not awake. She would need her
rest after the journey; he had had to drain much of her own strength
in order to transport them the last of the way to the Underground.
He studied her intensely as she slept and was pleased, despite earlier
evidence, by what he saw. It was true, what she had said in a fit of
anger, she was no longer the girl he had brought to his home to defeat
him so many years ago. The strength, the spirit, the wide-eyed wonder
was not gone but all of it was tempered by wisdom, knowledge, and
patience. This was no rash child on the edge of blooming into woman
hood. This was a woman, grown, flowered, beauty itself instead of
merely beauty's promise.
True there were laugh lines, by her mouth and at the corners of her
eyes, and one wrinkled that persisted, even as she dreamed, on her
brow, a worry line. She was no longer a child, and she was even more
beautiful now, after twenty years stood between them.
He stepped back as he visibly controlled himself, let his hand trail
along her cheek and fall regretfully away. Jareth sighed, growled at
the twists life threw at him, that he threw at himself, and vanished.
*********************************************************************
He materialized in the throne room and raised his brows at the being
waiting for him. Drevlyn, Prince of the Dragons, rose and let his
scrying spell fade from outstretched fingers before greeting his blood
brother.
"The Court will exile you for this. You had permission to bring back
a baby, not a woman. What the hell were you thinking?" Jareth's
dangerous gaze narrowed slightly and Drevlyn bit his tongue.
The two had grown up as brothers, pledged themselves as blood
brothers, and had the scars to prove that pledge was worthy. But
Drevlyn was not yet King of the Dragons. In Jareth's home he bowed
before the King, even if he could remember Jareth as a fumbling
toddler.
"I am not some lowly born Sidhe Drevlyn, I'm High Sidhe, I'm King of
the Goblins. I informed the Court of my intentions as a common
courtesy. I am a King though and in my realm they have no power over
me." Drevlyn snorted and smoke was expelled from his nostrils.
In 'human' form Dragons managed to pass reasonably well as humanoid.
They shaped their bodies into human form but kept traces of their true
scales, which streaked their under skin with layers of colors. They
had no hair, at all, but many had spikes and crests which started at
the traditional human hairline and stretched down to mid back.
Infamous Dragon wings and tails were made to vanish for
maneuverability's sake. Only the eyes remained truly unchanged. They
were large, expressive, slitted like a cat's, and intimidating to all
whom met them.
Jareth was one of the few High Sidhe without Dragon blood who was able
to transform as easily as he did, into an owl. Dragons were the only
other creature who could leap from form to form as effortlessly as
he. They were, besides that notable fact, one of the least magical of
all the races which comprised the Sidhe Court, which was fortunate. A
fully-grown, untransformed adult Dragon was easily twenty-five feet
snout to tail tip, with a thirty-foot wingspan. Without the easy
mastering of transformation the Great Hall in the High Court's Castle
would have had to be enlarged simply to accommodate the extra bulk.
Drevlyn himself was colored dark, his skin a motley assortment of
blues, indigoes, and violets. His human form, like his Dragonic one,
was slim, wiry, and fast. He moved like lightning... He had one
trail of flexible spikes, almost black, which indeed gave him the
appearance of hair, and his eyes were a flat reptilian yellow that
proved him an interesting starring partner. He was barely a match for
Jareth.
"Why the woman Jareth?" Jareth ignored the question for a moment as
he conjured a crystal and absently twirled it with deft fingers.
Drevlyn stalked closer to him, persistent despite the moodiness he
sensed in the King of the Goblins.
"Why Jareth? You do nothing without a reason." The crystal
disappeared with a sleight of hand. He looked up, met Drevlyn's
yellow gaze, and pursed his expressive mouth before replying slowly,
unwillingly.
"Because She offered herself to me. Herself for the baby I went to
claim. I can't refuse Her Drevlyn; I never could." The Dragon's
piercing gaze softened for a moment.
"Her?" Jareth looked away.
"She will not love you," Drevlyn said even softer, though the words
still cut. Jareth growled and lightning shattered the deathly silence
in the throne room.
"She promised herself to me. She is my subject as surely as any of
the goblins. A life for a life." Drevlyn shrugged gracefully before
strolling over and taking Jareth's throne with a slouch of utter
indifference. The Goblin King raised tailored brows, suddenly
exasperated.
"Subtle Drevlyn, subtle. She shall not interfere with my duties. I
know my responsibilities, better than you." The Dragon Prince blinked
reptilian eyes as he languished, ignoring the jibe, before turning to
stare at his proclaimed brother. Jareth held his flat stare and that,
more than anything, proclaimed him and his worthy of Dragon's Trust.
"She promised you Her fealty, not Her love Jareth. Even I know enough
about mortals to know that there is a difference between the two."
"I am a just King Drevlyn. My subjects care for me. You think She
wouldn't too, in time?" Drevlyn laughed dryly.
"That's another thing, Goblin King. The Sidhe Court won't take Her
appearance lightly, much less Her immortality." It was Jareth's turn
to shrug, totally unrepentant, and the movement was fierce, hard.
"It was necessary," he replied in the cool tones of controlled,
clipped anger. "Her mind and body were well set in Her world. It
cost more than I thought to bring Her. Babies and children... still
unformed, still finding out who they are, they are indeed much
easier." Drevlyn coughed.
"So you burned Her mortality away for magic. Convenient if you ask
me." The King of the Goblins glared fiercely.
"I didn't." Drevlyn rose with a yawn, stretched wiry limbs, and bowed
with only a hint of mockery in his movement. Bowed because Jareth was
a King and he had earned Dragon's Trust.
"As you most pointedly reminded me, I have duties to attend to. Let
me know about any new developments and be careful Jareth... Even King
of the Goblins can be burned by mortals." Jareth smiled grimly and
dipped his head in acknowledgment of Drevelyn's respect.
"Oh, I know that much Dragon Prince. Your treasure shall be safe. I
know all too well the pain that mortals can inflict and I'll not soon
be forgetting, not with Her." He didn't use Sarah's name; he didn't
have to. There was only one Her in the Goblin King's World and all
the Sidhe Court knew it, if for different reasons than Drevlyn.
Drevlyn nodded, reassured, and opened a portal that showed quite
clearly, Draco Castle rising against the backdrop of the Labyrinth
Mountains. An ordinary Dragon would have transformed and flown the
journey but Drevlyn was far from ordinary. Unlike his kin, he was
blessed with abnormal power and magical ability. He would have had to
been, to maintain Jareth's interest so long, even as children Jareth
was a very demanding play mate.
That was one thing that fascinated Jareth about Sarah... She had no
magic but she was just as alluring, just as damn fascinating as the
most magical being Jareth had ever come across.
"Happy huntings," Drevlyn called. Jareth's eyes flickered at the
double meaning but returned the traditional parting...
"And fair skies." Drevlyn took one step backward, through the portal,
and let it close with a snap, leaving Jareth alone, or almost alone.
Almost but not for long. He resisted the urge to conjure a ball to
check in on his latest subject and strode off to attend to the matters
of his realm that he had left half finished in his hurry. He could
wait... he had waited twenty years. He could, would, must wait for
just a little while longer.