Title: Red Diamonds
Author: Palla
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jareth unwittingly messes with a pair of Aboveground residents when he kidnaps the female and her male companion goes on a journey to rescue her.
Keywords: Jareth, romance, friendship
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Part Two
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Dannos inspected his surroundings as he appeared in the Aboveground. He had transported himself into a men's bathroom in a building he'd had the misfortune of being forced to attend for the past three years. A high school was a miserable place, he decided. Not a place he would have chosen to spend the time had he had any choice. Unfortunately, to blend in with the mortals, he needed to accomplish the things expected of a human teenager. He himself was a man in his late teens by Fae standards, but by human standards he was five hundred. Shaking his head, he remembered the pity he'd felt for humans when he learned of their requirements.
A splash and a loud yelp broke him out of his thoughts. Turning, he watched as Jareth exited a stall, shaking his foot vigorously.
"Where are we?" the blonde Fae growled. He waved his hand, drying his boot instantly. "And what are you wearing?"
Since they were in the Aboveground, Dannos had thought he would switch back to the clothing he had become accustomed to. When he had lived in the Underground, he had worn robes of silk and velvet. In high school, he wore long sleeved shirts thicker than normal, sweaters they were called. He had exchanged his breeches for a pair of stiffer, blue pants that ended just above the cloth-covered shoes he wore. Pulling a case from one of his pockets, he removed from it a pair of glasses and put them on.
"This, Jareth, is what people wear in this world," he stated, looking into a mirror on the opposite wall. Being Fae, he was vain by nature and loved to look upon himself and better his appearance if possible. "I would advise that you change your clothing and hair. The people of this world would be likely to consider you a same-sex tendency person if you were to walk around like that."
Jareth looked down at his clothing. It was the same outfit he had worn when he and Toby had danced with the goblins. True, it had been remade several times since then, but it was the same design and had the same colors.
"I am a king and must dress as such," he said, looking disdainfully at Dannos's attire.
"In the Underground you are a king. Here, to see what I wish to show you, you must appear as if you were on of the humans."
"But."
"There can be no exceptions. Do you know how arduous it was for me to build this life? I do not want it destroyed in one afternoon," Dannos said somewhat vehemently. His dark eyes were afire with the beginnings of anger.
Jareth nodded. He understood what Dannos meant about building his life. It must be much like building a kingdom. There was no rest, and there was always the chance that someone would come along that could completely upset everything you had worked for.
Silence overcame the pair. Jareth realized that he and Dannos were very similar in many ways. Both were facing or had faced a threat to themselves and that which they held close to their heart and spirit. Jareth had been defeated by a mortal and had his kingdom torn apart in that same moment. It had taken months to repair the damage.
Dannos, on the other hand, having been banished from the Underground, had been forced to make a new life among mortals. By bringing Jareth into it, there was the possibility that Jareth would destroy everything. It was a tremendous risk and Jareth had no desire to betray this trust.
With a reluctant wave of his hand, he produced a crystal. He threw it up into the air and it shattered over his head, showering glitter over his body.
The leather and silk melted away into a pair of jeans and a thick blue sweater. His long blonde hair changed from its usual unruliness to straight shoulder-length hair tied back in a ponytail.
"Is this suitable?" Jareth questioned, holding his arms away from his body as if he had not yet become used to this idea of mortal clothing.
Dannos nodded. "Oh, and one more thing," he added as he turned to walk out the door. "You will need to use a pseudonym while here. Jareth is not exactly common."
Jareth grimaced. His name came from his great-great grandfather, the once ruler of the entire Underground. Back home, it was considered a name reserved only for very special kings. "What would you propose?"
Dannos rolled his eyes. "If anyone speaks to you and asks your name, then tell them you are Jonathan. That is all they will need to know and probably all they will want to know."
"And you? What do I call you?"
"Daniel Matthews, Danny for short."
Jareth smirked. "All right then, Danny Matthews. Let us go and see what it is you wish me to see."
They left the bathroom not understanding completely what would happen when what Danny planned took a twist. An interesting twist none could have expected.
None.
