A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I updated. We're just about through with this little adventure of ours. Thanks for to all of you who've read and responded so faithfully.
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Elyssa tossed the rag into a bucket full of soapy water before leaning back to stretch. Her back snapped an popped in protest, unused to the manual labor of scrubbing steps. However, one does what one has to do in order to get the job done, even if it means destroying one's manicure.
The past four days had flown by, catching Elyssa up in a whirlwind of meetings, planning, and now at the last minute - cleaning. They usually capable Bashion cheerfully undertook the monumental task of preparing the Grand Ballroom, but even the Mistress of Chambermaids and her army of sweepers, dusters and moppers were struggling to finish the job in time. So, in order to help things along, Elyssa took it upon herself to begin scrubbing. The ball was now a mere two days away. Every time she even considered that face, a tight fluttery feeling of panic fluttered in her stomach. There was still so much that had to be done, not to mention Jareth's other "demand" for that night... But Elyssa couldn't even consider that idea - there was simply too much stress to handle it all.
Elyssa was startled out of her reverie when a smallish goblin lass carrying a huge wicker basket clomped towards her, carefully avoiding the larger puddles of soapy water. As the girl approached, Elyssa instinctively guarded her bucket of water, having witnessed one to many incidents already this morning. Nodding politely, the girl set her basket down. "Begging yer pardon milady," she attempted to curtsey while she spoke, and Elyssa barely managed to catch the bucket before it tipped over, "but my Mistress requested I bring ye lunch and see ye safely to the gardens."
Stiffling a sigh, Elyssa shook her head in a negative. "Tell Bashion I have not time for breaks today. If we don't finish the scrubbing today, the decorators won't be able to get in tomorrow."
The damned brat was persistent. "But milady, my Mistress will be very wroth if I come back with this here still full," she gestured towards the basket.
Fighting back the urge to toss a soapy rag at someone, she merely smiled sweetly and murmured, "Then eat the bloody food yourself and say I ate it. Now if you don't mind." she turned her back on the girl.
The girl remained stubborn. Crossing her little arms over her chest, she said, "My orders were to bring ye this basket, and show ye to the gardens for rest, and I intend to do so. Scrubbing floors is goblin work, not fit for a lady such as yerself. It's just not proper. What would his Lordship think if he saw ye down and scrubbin like that?" The girl was becoming visibly upset at Elyssa's reluctance. Her resolve was wavering.
Frankly, I don't give a damn what His Majesty has to say about anything right now, she thought irritably. I haven't seen hide nor hair of His Royalness since he gave me this horrible assignment... Giving up, Elyssa stood up and stretched her aching back. "Alright, alright. Calm down, I'll come with you. Where was it we were going again?"
The girl picked up the basket and headed down the corridor, looking back over her shoulder to ensure that her charge followed. "The royal gardens, milady. His Majesty was once an avid horticulturalist." She spoke amicably, obviously pleased to have known and proncounced such an impressive word.
"How nice," Elyssa answered politely, not really caring in the least what Jareth was or wasn't at that particular moment. There was something about this whole incident that seemed to have put her in a foul, irritable mood. In fact, she had stayed in an irritable mood since she last spoke with Marcus about Jareth. How could he even suggest, even jokingly, that she was falling in love with that monster? She hated him. Hated him with every fiber of her being. A mocking voice floated through her mind, sounding eerily like Marcus. So if you hate him so badly, why has his absence made you so angry?
She didn't get the chance to come up with an answer for that, because at that moment, the goblin lass guided her through a stone archway. When Elyssa stepped into the sudden sunlight, her grumpiness began to melt away just as quickly as it came on. Standing in the garden, she was bathed in sunlight and color. Everywhere she looked, flowers were in the height of their glory, branches and petals arrayed in full bloom of every shade and color imaginable. Her senses were inundated with a barrage of colors and scents. In the distance birds chirped, singing a duet with the tinkling of running water. "Wow," she murmured, studying a stately rosebush with petals that began a dark orange at the center turning into a blood red at the tip.
The girl handed Elyssa the basket and curtsied slightly better this time. "Yer lunch, milady." Dipping down politely again, the girl scampered back into the castle. Elyssa shook her head, watching the girl retreat. Nabbing the basket, she sighed happily and moved further into the gardens. A pathway made of smooth, even stones wound it's way through the flowerbeds. She stopped to stare in amazement at a large bush with purple tufts of flowers, covered with butterflies with colors unlike anything she had seen before. Her breath caught in her throat as a delicate violet butterfly the size of her hand flew slowly past her face to land on one of the branches. Moving on, a bed of flowers caught her eye off in the distance. The flowers themselves were large and trumpet shaped, it's vibrant ivory petals forming a star. Inside whirls of reds and oranges swirled around the center. Their scent was sweet and aromatic, but not overpowering. Beside the patch, and empty square of soft green grass beckoned invitingly.
"Looks like a good place for a picnic," she spoke to no one in particular. Scrounging around in the basket, someone had thoughtfully packed a large cloth. After spreading it out on the grass, Elyssa sat down with her legs crossed Indian-style. Rummaging again in the basket, she pulled out a huge loaf of bread still warm from the oven, two wheels of cheese, an assortment of the Labyrinth's fruits, and finally a decanter of wine and two glasses. "Those dingbats packed enough for two," she murmured. Oh well, she thought to herself, I'm hungry enough to eat for two anyways. Sighing, she leaned back - for the first time in days, she felt completely and utterly relaxed and at peace.
Elyssa almost jumped out of her skin when she suddenly felt Jareth's chin resting on her shoulder. "Yes, well my subjects do sometimes manage to get things right on occasion." Jareth's silky voice threatened to throw Elyssa into an apoplectic fit.
"Do you find it absolutely necessary to scare me every single time we have a little chat," she spoke acidly, her good humor shattered. His body leaned a little too close to her own for comfort. Elyssa scooted away and turned back to face the lounging monarch. Jareth was already helping himself to a bunch of grapes, languidly popping them into his mouth while his eyes danced with mischief. Elyssa's brow furrowed in irritation. "You know Jareth, you have the uncanny ability to piss me off without even trying."
His lips spread into a wide grin. "Well I must say, I've never had the distinct opportunity of hearing such disrespect words from a woman with a rag in her hair." He referred to the large red cloth she had at once point tied her locks back with while working earlier.
She resisted the urge to slap him. "Well, your Majesty, make all the jokes you want, but I'd like to see what you'd wear when scrubbing the floors." Her eyes flicked over his prostrate form, momentarily allowing herself an unself-conscious glimpse. Jareth wore one of his customary ruffled cotton shirts, but it was left untucked and half buttoned revealing several tantalizing inches of his muscular chest. Instead of his usual grey tights, Jareth wore a pair of loose-fitting black leather pants. Her heart caught in her chest for a moment as she gazed at him. Unexpectedly, the image of His Royal Prissiness down on his hands and knees, elbows deep in sucks and muck flashed through her mind. She suppressed the sudden urge to giggle.
Sitting up, Jareth wordlessly began to slice bread and cheese from the basket. Elyssa watched hi movements, curious to know the reason for this sudden truce. He handed her a cheese sandwich, looking somewhat p leased when she accepted it without a single word of protest. Ah, it's the little thangs that makes one happy, he marveled.
The ate in companionable silence, for the moment at peace. Before too long, Elyssa became aware of Jareth's gaze watching her in silent contemplation. She avoided his eyes for a few moments before finally giving in. Tossing away the bread crusts, she spoke brusquely. "Is there something growing out of my ears, milord?"
Jareth gingerly wiped the crumbs off of his gloved hands. "You know, I wish you would just call me Jareth, but if you insist of titles and epitaphs, Your Majesty has always been my personal favorite."
Elyssa dipped her head in mock obsequiousness, a smile playing at her lips. "Was this what Your Majesty crashed my lunch to tell me?" she said. It was blatantly obvious that there definitely was something Jareth wanted. Yeah, but who can know the mind of a madman, she thought glibly.
Jareth pressed his lips together in thought. "There are several things I wish to discuss with you, Elyssa. We've needed to talk for several days now, but unfortunately matters of state have kept me busy." He reached for the decanter of wine and poured both of them a glass, handing one to Elyssa. "Let me begin by saying your doing a splendid job preparing everything for the ball." He sipped his wine gingerly.
Shocked momentarily by the unexpected praise, she took a sip of wine herself. Unfortunately, her innate bullshit-o-meter kicked in at the last minute. "Gee Jareth, I'm touched... what's the catch?"
"Catch?" he questioned, looking honestly puzzled at her reaction.
"Usually when someone begins a conversation this way, it starts with a nice little word of praise or two, then the bitching begins. Let me tell you something though - You've dumped me with this job where I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing. You've left all the decisions up to me, then you have the nerve to disappear for days on end," she vented.
"I'm beginning to wonder if you know how to do anything but complain," his eyes flashed dangerously.
"Yeah, well, I'm beginning to get a little annoyed with you myself," she retorted.
Faster than a striking snake, Jareth's hand flicked out and caught Elyssa's wrist, pulling her body against his own. With one arm painfully pinioned behind her back, she offered no protest when his mouth covered her own in a smothering kiss. When Jareth finally pulled away, she gasped for air and fell against his chest for support. Jareth gazed down at her, an odd combination of lust and irritation mixed in his mismatched eyes. "Frankly my dear, you speak too much sometimes. These past few days, I have been studying various trade agreements between my own and other kingdoms, all of which will need to be updated and reviewed following the ball." He lifted her chin with one gloved hand, running his fingers over her lips. Dazed by the intensity of his unexpected kiss, Elyssa gazed into his eyes in silence. Unable to resist the temptation of her lips, Jareth leaned down and kissed her again tenderly, taking his time - savoring the taste of her mouth. Forcing himself to pull away, he caressed her cheeks and gently pushed the hair out of her face. He spoke again, his voice husky and thick with desire. "Now that I have your attention, my love, I want to make it clear. If you continue to defy me, I will have to end our agreement. You tempt me too much as it is already, and any further acts of flagrant disobedience will end you directly into my bed."
Jareth released her arms and Elyssa pushed herself away slowly, her eyes never leaving his. "Fair enough," she spoke, trying unsuccessfully to keep her voice from wavering. Amazingly, he wine glass did not spill over during their embrace. Picking it up, she gulped the glass down. "Was there anything else you wanted?" She sure as hell knew what she wanted - the get the heck out of this garden and away from Jareth as soon as possible. His kiss had sent her senses into an uproar, and her defenses were down - she knew it.
But Jareth wasn't going to let her get away so easily. Carefully watching her reaction, he spoke again. "Elyssa, I'm not finished. We still have much to discuss."
Biting her lip, she swallowed hard. "You know, I have to get back to cleaning pretty soon. There's still so much that has to be done," she attempted.
Jareth sighed. "You'll not be going back to the ballroom today, my dear. I will not have you scrubbing floors like a common gully dwarf. The Mistress of Chambermaids can handle the job herself, you'll see."
Elyssa turned her head away with an argument on her lips, almost firing her arsenal of hot words away... almost. Instead she simply nodded her head. "Fair enough, I suppose. Anything else?" Jareth watched her closely, trying not to crack a smile at her obvious internal struggle to obey. Was it so always going to be so hard for her to take orders, he wondered.
Clearing his throat and steeling himself, Jareth prepared himself to bring up the subject he had wanted to speak on all along. "There was one last thing, Elyssa." She suppressed a sigh, but this was a conversation she simply couldn't escape. "I would like for you to tell me something," his voice was silky and soothing. Elyssa wanted to scream.
"Fire away, your Majesty." She spoke calmly even though her body was tenser than a preacher in a whore house. "What would you like to know?"
Jareth lounged backwards, toying with a goblet of wine. He's taking his time with this, enjoying watching me squirm, she though bitterly. After what felt like an eternity, her spoke. "Elyssa, I want you to tell me your dreams."
Her eyes widened in confusion. "Excuse me?" What the hell is he talking about, she wondered.
He tried again. "Every night you struggle to sleep, and when you do it's always restless and full of nightmares." Her jaw almost dropped in shock. She struggled to keep her face calm and composed. Jareth could see this was quickly turning ugly. He reached out his hand and caressed Elyssa cheek, but she turned her face away. "Elyssa..." he began.
"You've come into my room and watched me sleep at night? How sick is that?" she spit angrily. Her eyes searched the monarch's face, looking for some sign of his amusement. This must be some kind of sick joke of his, she thought furiously. How dare he find my pain funny...
Grabbing Elyssa's wrist he pulled himself up from the ground bringing her with him. With his other hand, he tilted her face up to his own, holding her in place as Elyssa struggled to get away. "Answer the question, you little hellion." She kept fighting his embrace, but Jareth held her still. After a few moments, Elyssa could see that she was going nowhere fast. Giving up, she quit resisting but remained silent. "Are you done?" he grated, clearly annoyed with her temper tantrum. When she refused to answer, he said, "I'll take that as a yes." Elyssa was breathing heavily because of her efforts to escape. The smell of Jareth mingled with the fragrance of flowers, making her head spin.
When Jareth spoke again, his voice softened regaining it's silkiness. "I'm going to overlook this little "spell" of yours on one condition. You will answer my questions and satisfy my curiosity or you will spend the rest of your two days locked up in the tower and then the rest of your natural life chained to my bed." When her head turned quickly up to glare at him, Jareth smiled and relented. "Alright, lovely, maybe the punishment will not be quite so severe - but I do believe some time in the tower might help your disposition, hmm?"
"I'm sorry," she said woodenly, her voice monotone. "I've forgotten the question."
Releasing her from his arms, Jareth moved a step away. Kneeling down her grabbed the decanter of wine and attempted to poor another goblet full, but the decanter was empty. "Blast..." he muttered. Meeting her gaze again, Jareth repeated his question. "What is it that you dream at night? I can't stand to see you suffer so needlessly time and time again."
"First tell me why you would like to know so very badly," she challenged. Damn him, she cried bitterly. Damn him for making me talk about this...
Jareth watched her very carefully, aware of her discomfort. The walls that she had built around her heart where almost impregnable, but if he tread carefully... "Elyssa," his voice was nothing more than a gentle whisper. "I'm not trying to hurt you. I want to help you, but first, you have to let me." He reached down and touched her ice cold hand.
"Some hurts can't be helped by anyone, Jareth," she said, her voice thick with unshed tears. "Some hurts are just part of who we are as people. You can't help me with this. No one can."
He touched her shoulder, his gloved hand caressing her skin. "Then tell me - make me understand."
At first, he didn't think she would do it. Watching her face, Jareth could almost see her weighing the possible consequences of defiance and the certainty of pain with telling. After a few moment debate, Elyssa turned away. Jareth was almost out of patience when she spoke. "I loved my father very, very much. Two years ago, we were supposed to meet after I danced at the ballet. Michael had the night off. It was freezing that night, so father went outside to fetch a cab. I was still dressing, so we agreed to meet out front. As I came around the sidewalk..." she stopped for the moment, unable to continue. When she felt Jareth stir behind her, she pushed onward. "...I saw a man come up behind my father. I knew what he intended to do, so I tried to yell." She couldn't stop the hot tears from flowing down her cheeks. "The bastard pulled out a knife and slit my father's throat for the few dollars he kept in his wallet."
Jareth wanted to wrap his arms around her tiny body and hug her to himself, but he held back. Instead he whispered into her ear, "Elyssa, I can take away the pain of your dreams. I can fill your sleeping mind with peace."
Elyssa merely shook her head. "It's not that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do for me," she turned to face him, her green eyes dark with tears. "it's just that... just that this is my burden. It's my problem, and I will have to deal with it in my own way."
Jareth shook his head, marveling. "You will not let me help you even in this simple way?"
"No," she said simply.
Feeling impotent and frustrated, Jareth touched her hand before moving away. "I believe Hyrle was looking for you earlier. Perhaps when you're feeling better you can locate him."
Elyssa shook her head, "I'm feeling fine now..." she said to thin air. Jareth had already disappeared. "Damnit," she muttered. "I hate it when he does that."