A/N: See, I told you Jesus loves me! Wasn't that fast? Well, relatively
speaking? Think of it as a Thanksgiving present. Thank you to all of my
reviewers fro your compliments and suggestions. I got so many great
suggestions that I didn't know what to do with them!!! I hope I don't
disappoint some people by not taking their advice on the story, but all of
the suggestions were great and I just picked some that went along with my
plan for the story. Anywho, enough of my yakking, on with the show!
Disclaimer: No, I refuse, I will not say it again! *Shakes fist at fates* Why?!?
Chapter 19: Shayan's Bedtime Story
Anikara felt her glare harden in the moonlight. "I think it's you who has some explaining to do, Goblin King!" she spat venomously, "I don't appreciate being the main attraction in your little peep show!"
Jareth snorted. "Don't flatter yourself, my lady," he retorted dismissively.
Anikara felt her ire rise like a desert wind inside her, stinging heat prickling her skin and eyes as her fists balled up. She took a deep breath, feeling the cool air rushing her lungs and calmed herself. It wouldn't do to go and start a fight, not in this situation. Jareth could be a complete idiot, but he knew how to fight, and how to win. Heaving a sigh and shoving her pride back down her throat, she digressed.
"What do you want to know?" she ground out.
Jareth's smirk was as darkly seductive as ever. "That's more like it," intoned, the arrogance seeping out around the edges of every word, "I want to know why she is here in the Underground and what the hell is going on. No lies!"
Anikara considered this. She was reluctant, but only for Sarah's sake. She still didn't know that Jareth had found them out, nor did anyone else, and she intended to keep it that way until she was ready. The poor thing had been through so much so quickly, she didn't need her arch enemy and love interest on her case as well, but she didn't see any other course.
"Sarah is here to fulfill my sentence. Surely you remember, I was to find a worthy human and bring her before the High Court. If they find her worthy, as I do, she will be endowed with all my powers and I will be banished to the mortal world," she smiled ruefully, "unless you plan on marrying me first." Jareth quirked an eyebrow at her and she shook her head. "Don't you know? The only way for me to stay is to be bound to a man. Disgusting as the idea of depending on a man is, I think I'd even bind myself to you if I could stay here." Her eyes were sad. "On the other hand, at least in the Aboveground I'd be able to keep my sanity. Your castle is one place that is not conducive to mental health."
Jareth wasn't really listening anymore as his mind whirled around what she'd just said.
"Endowed with all your powers?"
This was Sarah they were talking about, willful, proud, demanding, impossible Sarah, and he couldn't imagine that she'd changed all that much in just three years, even if they had felt like an eternity to him. If she was to possess all the power Anikara had implied, he had a nagging feeling that he was in trouble. He wasn't sure how or why, just that he was.
Anikara was, for her part, rather proud of herself. She had actually told Jareth the truth! Never mind that she'd conveniently left out her involvement in the little dream sequence, and the part about Sarah's mad grab at her amulet that had prematurely transferred a great deal of power to her. She wasn't suicidal after all..
"Why?" Jareth demanded suddenly, tearing her from her thoughts. She glanced at him, surprised to find something akin to betrayal reflecting in his dual colored gaze. Surely it wasn't as bad as all that!
"Why?" she repeated, confused.
"Why have you done this? Why, of all the young girls in the world, was it her you had to single out? Surely there were one or two others in the entire Aboveground worthy of the fae? Why her?"
Anikara was flabbergast. She'd seen how he'd melted into Sarah in the dream she'd lured them to, seen the need in his eyes, the wonder at the young mortal swooning in his arms. Of course, she couldn't remind him of that and survive his wrath, but shouldn't he be happy that they could now be together? What was going on?
"But..but I..Damnit, Jareth! You've been dragging around in a daze since the day that girl beat your labyrinth, and I'll be damned if you try to tell me otherwise! You cared for her then, and I know you still do! What's the matter with you?" The look on his face made her regret her hasty words almost instantly. He looked like an injured hawk, desperate for help, yet ready to tear into anyone or anything that tried to provide it.
"I already offered her everything I had to give!" he confessed through gritted teeth, "It wasn't enough for her. What shall I do differently now to change that? After all, in a few days, she won't need me or anyone else to give her what she dreams of, you've made sure of that."
Anikara's eyes narrowed at the accusation in his tone, and she was about to tell him plenty of what he could do differently, but held her tongue when she realized she didn't want him to do anything involving Sarah just yet. She chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully for a moment before she spoke.
"Look, don't say anything to her just yet, alright? She still thinks her presence is a secret and she wants to keep it that way. In spite of what you may or may not think of her, she doesn't deserve any more trouble than she'd been through already."
"What would you have me say to her anyway?" he demanded bitterly, looking away, lips pressed firmly together as though he were struggling within.
"Just remember this, Jareth: she came here of her own free will. I could not have brought her here if she did not want to come, you know that as well as I. Just think on that."
The Goblin King looked like he was about to say something, but nothing came. Instead he turned and began to walk away, away from Anikara, away from the camp, away from everything.
"Where the hell are you going now?" she demanded.
"That's none of your concern!" he snapped back, sending a dangerous glare over his shoulder that told her not to follow, but added in a less scathing tone, "I'll be back before dawn." With that, he leapt into the air, his cape shrinking in around him and losing itself in a mess white feathers as the great white owl took off into the night.
Anikara was worried he was going to do something remarkably stupid, as was his tendency when he was in a snit, but if he really planned on coming back, she was fairly certain he wouldn't do anything other than run off somewhere and nurse his broken heart and wounded pride. She hurriedly threw up some little charms just for appearances before heading back to camp. When she got there, she found Shayan sitting cross-legged on his bed roll gazing up at the stars. The rest seemed to be asleep, but she did notice that Ilo was not there.
"Where is Ilo?" she inquired quietly of the elf, who spared her a glance as she entered the ring of firelight.
"Hmm? Oh, the males came back and took her out that way," he explained, pointing out towards the river, "Don't ask me why, I don't understand a thing about their kind. Where is King Jareth?"
"Wha? Oh, he flew off. He said he'd be back before dawn. Don't worry, he's a big boy, he can take care of himself," she explained.
The boy nodded absently, clearly not satisfied with her response, but letting it drop. He gazed back up at the stars for a few moments as Anikara unrolled her bedding and sat down curled up on it, the campfire reflecting in her eyes. For all her weariness, she didn't feel like sleeping.
"Do you ever wonder about the stars?" Shayan asked suddenly, startling Anikara. She took a moment to answer.
"I used to," she replied quietly, "I guess I haven't in a while. Why?"
"I don't remember much of my home, but there was a story that my mother used to tell me when I was little and afraid of the dark that I have never forgotten. After that dark nothingness that came after us today, it reminded me." Anikara, in a state of weary insomnia, sat up silently, training her eyes on him and listening intently. For some reason, she felt like a good story.
"She always told me that the stars are where you can find your dreams. You see, during the day, there is light in the sky, and the only darkness is in the shadows. There are always shadows, even at midday, because the light can't exist without the darkness. But at night, the sky is dark. Mother said that the stars were there because the darkness can't exist without the light either. The dark space between the stars rules the night, but it needs the stars to make it real, otherwise, we wouldn't be able to see it and it would consume everything, then die itself without anyone to dream. That's what the light and darkness do. If one weren't there to keep the other in check, it would consume everything, the dark and light alike. That is why mother always told me to look to the stars when I was afraid of the dark. When the dark closed in around me, I had to look to the stars. As long as there were stars, the darkness couldn't touch me because the starlight kept the darkness from consuming the world. She also said when I was in doubt that the stars would guide me, so that all I had to do to find my dreams was focus on the stars. The key is not to focus on the darkness, because since it's greater at night, it will consume your dreams and your heart. If you focus on the stars at night, they will keep your dreams for you until you can reach them."
His eyes had glazed over with memory as he recounted the tale, his gaze fixed on the sky. Anikara remained silent after he finished, thinking Shayan's mother very clever for coming up with such a tale to ease her young son's fears and keeping him from waking her whenever he had a nightmare at the same time. And yet it made a weird sort of sense as well, and she was glad she'd listened. Perhaps she could find her answers in the heavens. Wherever they were, they certainly weren't here where she could get at them.
Shayan suddenly came out of his thoughts and laughed quietly at himself. "Listen to me, I sound like some kind of senile old wise man! King Jareth would have told me to shut up long ago, I'd wager," he grinned, and Anikara smiled back. She'd grown sleepy listening, like a little girl after her bedtime story, but also felt an undercurrent of interest. What if they really had been attacked by some raging, uncontrollable darkness? What would that mean? Her weary mind scolded her for even thinking about it so late at night. She yawned and stretched her still achy muscles.
"Nonsense," she murmured, "that was a beautiful story. Thank you for telling it to me. But I think we should get some rest now, we have to be going early in the morning."
Shayan nodded silently, laying back against the blanketed ground and closing his eyes. Anikara followed suit, but before letting her heavy eyelids slide shut, she took a second to contemplate the stars overhead, wondering which one had her dreams as she slipped into welcome slumber.
**********************
It slunk to its master's feet like a snake, pooling there, bubbling and writhing, telling the tale of the days events. A frigid smile bloomed on his lips. So the lord and lady had come together, had they? This complicated matters a bit, but not nearly enough to stop him. And what's more, they had friends.
The pooling darkness rose to eye level, the glossy obsidian clarity revealing the scene around a low-burning campfire. He watched her sleeping, her raven hair tucked haphazardly under her head, framing her perfect noble features. Nearby, a man with similarly dark locks, also lay curled on his side. He felt the man's dreams. He dreamt of her.
The blackness shuddered as its master laughed coldly. Let him dream. Hell, let him act on those dreams. It didn't matter what he or anyone thought or did anymore. Soon, the Lord and Lady of the Labyrinth would sleep forever within his darkness. And the sleeping beauty in his mirror? Well, she would be dead.
*******************************
A/N: Dat dat daaaaaaah! Suspense tastes yummy! I am already working on the next chapters, so don't fret, but finals are coming, so also don't fret if you don't see more right away :). Remember, a great man once said "Review and thou shalt receive".well, it went something like that..anywho, you know what to do :D Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!!! Much love!
Disclaimer: No, I refuse, I will not say it again! *Shakes fist at fates* Why?!?
Chapter 19: Shayan's Bedtime Story
Anikara felt her glare harden in the moonlight. "I think it's you who has some explaining to do, Goblin King!" she spat venomously, "I don't appreciate being the main attraction in your little peep show!"
Jareth snorted. "Don't flatter yourself, my lady," he retorted dismissively.
Anikara felt her ire rise like a desert wind inside her, stinging heat prickling her skin and eyes as her fists balled up. She took a deep breath, feeling the cool air rushing her lungs and calmed herself. It wouldn't do to go and start a fight, not in this situation. Jareth could be a complete idiot, but he knew how to fight, and how to win. Heaving a sigh and shoving her pride back down her throat, she digressed.
"What do you want to know?" she ground out.
Jareth's smirk was as darkly seductive as ever. "That's more like it," intoned, the arrogance seeping out around the edges of every word, "I want to know why she is here in the Underground and what the hell is going on. No lies!"
Anikara considered this. She was reluctant, but only for Sarah's sake. She still didn't know that Jareth had found them out, nor did anyone else, and she intended to keep it that way until she was ready. The poor thing had been through so much so quickly, she didn't need her arch enemy and love interest on her case as well, but she didn't see any other course.
"Sarah is here to fulfill my sentence. Surely you remember, I was to find a worthy human and bring her before the High Court. If they find her worthy, as I do, she will be endowed with all my powers and I will be banished to the mortal world," she smiled ruefully, "unless you plan on marrying me first." Jareth quirked an eyebrow at her and she shook her head. "Don't you know? The only way for me to stay is to be bound to a man. Disgusting as the idea of depending on a man is, I think I'd even bind myself to you if I could stay here." Her eyes were sad. "On the other hand, at least in the Aboveground I'd be able to keep my sanity. Your castle is one place that is not conducive to mental health."
Jareth wasn't really listening anymore as his mind whirled around what she'd just said.
"Endowed with all your powers?"
This was Sarah they were talking about, willful, proud, demanding, impossible Sarah, and he couldn't imagine that she'd changed all that much in just three years, even if they had felt like an eternity to him. If she was to possess all the power Anikara had implied, he had a nagging feeling that he was in trouble. He wasn't sure how or why, just that he was.
Anikara was, for her part, rather proud of herself. She had actually told Jareth the truth! Never mind that she'd conveniently left out her involvement in the little dream sequence, and the part about Sarah's mad grab at her amulet that had prematurely transferred a great deal of power to her. She wasn't suicidal after all..
"Why?" Jareth demanded suddenly, tearing her from her thoughts. She glanced at him, surprised to find something akin to betrayal reflecting in his dual colored gaze. Surely it wasn't as bad as all that!
"Why?" she repeated, confused.
"Why have you done this? Why, of all the young girls in the world, was it her you had to single out? Surely there were one or two others in the entire Aboveground worthy of the fae? Why her?"
Anikara was flabbergast. She'd seen how he'd melted into Sarah in the dream she'd lured them to, seen the need in his eyes, the wonder at the young mortal swooning in his arms. Of course, she couldn't remind him of that and survive his wrath, but shouldn't he be happy that they could now be together? What was going on?
"But..but I..Damnit, Jareth! You've been dragging around in a daze since the day that girl beat your labyrinth, and I'll be damned if you try to tell me otherwise! You cared for her then, and I know you still do! What's the matter with you?" The look on his face made her regret her hasty words almost instantly. He looked like an injured hawk, desperate for help, yet ready to tear into anyone or anything that tried to provide it.
"I already offered her everything I had to give!" he confessed through gritted teeth, "It wasn't enough for her. What shall I do differently now to change that? After all, in a few days, she won't need me or anyone else to give her what she dreams of, you've made sure of that."
Anikara's eyes narrowed at the accusation in his tone, and she was about to tell him plenty of what he could do differently, but held her tongue when she realized she didn't want him to do anything involving Sarah just yet. She chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully for a moment before she spoke.
"Look, don't say anything to her just yet, alright? She still thinks her presence is a secret and she wants to keep it that way. In spite of what you may or may not think of her, she doesn't deserve any more trouble than she'd been through already."
"What would you have me say to her anyway?" he demanded bitterly, looking away, lips pressed firmly together as though he were struggling within.
"Just remember this, Jareth: she came here of her own free will. I could not have brought her here if she did not want to come, you know that as well as I. Just think on that."
The Goblin King looked like he was about to say something, but nothing came. Instead he turned and began to walk away, away from Anikara, away from the camp, away from everything.
"Where the hell are you going now?" she demanded.
"That's none of your concern!" he snapped back, sending a dangerous glare over his shoulder that told her not to follow, but added in a less scathing tone, "I'll be back before dawn." With that, he leapt into the air, his cape shrinking in around him and losing itself in a mess white feathers as the great white owl took off into the night.
Anikara was worried he was going to do something remarkably stupid, as was his tendency when he was in a snit, but if he really planned on coming back, she was fairly certain he wouldn't do anything other than run off somewhere and nurse his broken heart and wounded pride. She hurriedly threw up some little charms just for appearances before heading back to camp. When she got there, she found Shayan sitting cross-legged on his bed roll gazing up at the stars. The rest seemed to be asleep, but she did notice that Ilo was not there.
"Where is Ilo?" she inquired quietly of the elf, who spared her a glance as she entered the ring of firelight.
"Hmm? Oh, the males came back and took her out that way," he explained, pointing out towards the river, "Don't ask me why, I don't understand a thing about their kind. Where is King Jareth?"
"Wha? Oh, he flew off. He said he'd be back before dawn. Don't worry, he's a big boy, he can take care of himself," she explained.
The boy nodded absently, clearly not satisfied with her response, but letting it drop. He gazed back up at the stars for a few moments as Anikara unrolled her bedding and sat down curled up on it, the campfire reflecting in her eyes. For all her weariness, she didn't feel like sleeping.
"Do you ever wonder about the stars?" Shayan asked suddenly, startling Anikara. She took a moment to answer.
"I used to," she replied quietly, "I guess I haven't in a while. Why?"
"I don't remember much of my home, but there was a story that my mother used to tell me when I was little and afraid of the dark that I have never forgotten. After that dark nothingness that came after us today, it reminded me." Anikara, in a state of weary insomnia, sat up silently, training her eyes on him and listening intently. For some reason, she felt like a good story.
"She always told me that the stars are where you can find your dreams. You see, during the day, there is light in the sky, and the only darkness is in the shadows. There are always shadows, even at midday, because the light can't exist without the darkness. But at night, the sky is dark. Mother said that the stars were there because the darkness can't exist without the light either. The dark space between the stars rules the night, but it needs the stars to make it real, otherwise, we wouldn't be able to see it and it would consume everything, then die itself without anyone to dream. That's what the light and darkness do. If one weren't there to keep the other in check, it would consume everything, the dark and light alike. That is why mother always told me to look to the stars when I was afraid of the dark. When the dark closed in around me, I had to look to the stars. As long as there were stars, the darkness couldn't touch me because the starlight kept the darkness from consuming the world. She also said when I was in doubt that the stars would guide me, so that all I had to do to find my dreams was focus on the stars. The key is not to focus on the darkness, because since it's greater at night, it will consume your dreams and your heart. If you focus on the stars at night, they will keep your dreams for you until you can reach them."
His eyes had glazed over with memory as he recounted the tale, his gaze fixed on the sky. Anikara remained silent after he finished, thinking Shayan's mother very clever for coming up with such a tale to ease her young son's fears and keeping him from waking her whenever he had a nightmare at the same time. And yet it made a weird sort of sense as well, and she was glad she'd listened. Perhaps she could find her answers in the heavens. Wherever they were, they certainly weren't here where she could get at them.
Shayan suddenly came out of his thoughts and laughed quietly at himself. "Listen to me, I sound like some kind of senile old wise man! King Jareth would have told me to shut up long ago, I'd wager," he grinned, and Anikara smiled back. She'd grown sleepy listening, like a little girl after her bedtime story, but also felt an undercurrent of interest. What if they really had been attacked by some raging, uncontrollable darkness? What would that mean? Her weary mind scolded her for even thinking about it so late at night. She yawned and stretched her still achy muscles.
"Nonsense," she murmured, "that was a beautiful story. Thank you for telling it to me. But I think we should get some rest now, we have to be going early in the morning."
Shayan nodded silently, laying back against the blanketed ground and closing his eyes. Anikara followed suit, but before letting her heavy eyelids slide shut, she took a second to contemplate the stars overhead, wondering which one had her dreams as she slipped into welcome slumber.
**********************
It slunk to its master's feet like a snake, pooling there, bubbling and writhing, telling the tale of the days events. A frigid smile bloomed on his lips. So the lord and lady had come together, had they? This complicated matters a bit, but not nearly enough to stop him. And what's more, they had friends.
The pooling darkness rose to eye level, the glossy obsidian clarity revealing the scene around a low-burning campfire. He watched her sleeping, her raven hair tucked haphazardly under her head, framing her perfect noble features. Nearby, a man with similarly dark locks, also lay curled on his side. He felt the man's dreams. He dreamt of her.
The blackness shuddered as its master laughed coldly. Let him dream. Hell, let him act on those dreams. It didn't matter what he or anyone thought or did anymore. Soon, the Lord and Lady of the Labyrinth would sleep forever within his darkness. And the sleeping beauty in his mirror? Well, she would be dead.
*******************************
A/N: Dat dat daaaaaaah! Suspense tastes yummy! I am already working on the next chapters, so don't fret, but finals are coming, so also don't fret if you don't see more right away :). Remember, a great man once said "Review and thou shalt receive".well, it went something like that..anywho, you know what to do :D Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!!! Much love!