Disclaimer: O woe is me! The Labyrinth does not belong to me... Hark, I see a bright spot on this most dismal horizon, for I do own Riona, Talrond, Diba, and Elroth! Or do they own me? Hmm...most peculiar...
Author's Note: Hello again everyone! Please forgive me for the ridiculously long absence from this story!!! Until tonight, I hadn't realized how long it had been since I've updated...the only reason I can provide is that there was one scene in this chapter that had me pulling my hair out, it was that frustrating! I'm so sorry. I have a most dire request. Could someone possibly tell me what constitutes an "R" and "NC-17" rating on ? This information will be very necessary in upcoming chappies and I wouldn't want my story to get pulled.
Riona stretched and snuggled deeper into the large feather bed. A gentle breeze blew in through the open windows and the shadowy calm was quickly causing Riona to drift into a peaceful sleep. However, as she felt the veil of sleep overtake her, she was startled to feel the mattress depress beside her.
Very slowly, she slid her hand under the pillow and withdrew her dagger. She lay still for a moment, preparing herself before she lunged on top of the stranger beside her, placing the tip of her dagger at his throat.
"Oh is that you, Morgana, love?" The stranger laughed, "Thank you for welcoming me home so warmly, strumpet." With that, he quickly rolled over and pinned Riona's wrists above her head. Before she could open her mouth to scream, he covered her mouth with his.
Riona stopped struggling from sheer shock. The kiss was soft and sweet, the man's lips pressing gently against hers. She recovered some of her senses and attempted to protest, but her words turned into a soft moan, encouraging the man to slide his tongue into her mouth.
'Oh well, that's certainly interesting,' mused a voice in Riona's head. 'Oh Goddess! How am I going to get out of this?' cried her more sensible half.
Just then, she was struck with an inspiration and but down on her assailant's tongue.
"Mad wench!" the man yelled in pain. "Morgana, have you completely lost yours senses?" His hands still held tight to her wrists as he glared down at her. Then in the darkness she saw his brow wrinkle in concentration. "You aren't Morgana," he said in a confused voice.
"Of course I'm not you horrible man! I don't even know anyone by that name!" She wrenched her wrists and he released them quickly, still staring at her in disbelief.
"All right. Now that we've established that you are not Morgana, I'm wondering what exactly you're doing in my bed, little strumpet?"
Riona seethed, "I am not a strumpet, wench, tart, or any other loose woman that you obviously are fond of!"
He snorted, "Of course, how silly of me. I had forgotten that it was common practice for virtuous maidens to warm the beds of strange men."
"You drunken ass! This is not your room or your bed! These are my quarters for the duration of my stay in this kingdom."
He seemed to take affront at this statement, "I may have taken a bit of ale before returning home, love, but I am not so far gone as to not know the way to my own bed!"
"Oh, but you were drunk enough to mistake me for a lady of the night?"
"Begging your pardon, love, but that hasn't been disproved yet."
"Stop calling me that, you rum-pot!"
"You know, for someone claiming to be a virtuous maid, you certainly have a very rude disposition."
"Rude disposition?" she cried in anger, "You're the one who creeps into bedrooms assaulting innocent sleepers!"
"Assault? There you are mistaken, poppet. I have never once forced my attentions on a lady who did not desire them."
"Well you certainly broke that record tonight!"
"Once again, that's a debatable point." Though she could not see it clearly, Riona was sure she saw him smirk. "Until you decided to bite my tongue, you seemed to be enjoying yourself."
Riona for the moment was at a loss for any words other than a halting, "Out! Now!"
There was a pregnant silence for a moment and Riona was certain that he was about to object, but was surprised when he rose from the bed and stalked out of the room.
"Abominable man," she scowled at the door he had just exited through. She sighed because she was unsure as to whether or not she should report this incident to the king or to keep it to herself.
Just outside the chamber door, two of the serving ladies watched in shock as they watched the man leaving Lady Riona's chambers.
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The sunset was fire on the horizon, a brilliant burst of red and orange, stretching far across the sky with deep purple fingers. 'If only I could take a paintbrush and dip it into the sky,' Sarah mused. 'I would name it passion and keep it always to stroke the canvas when the grays would not cease to rain.' Her silent reverie was interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. "Come in," called Sarah as she turned from the balcony.
The door creaked open and seeing no one in the doorway, Sarah looked down and was greeted with the sight of what appeared to be a female goblin. The creature was wearing a bright orange smock and a matching bandana, which attempted to keep the goblin's wiry black hair under control.
Before Sarah could say a word, the goblin squealed in delight and clapped her hands together. "The rumors are true! We heard tell that you had returned to us Lady Sarah and here you are!"
"Forgive me," Sarah stammered in confusion, "But who are you?"
"Oh I'm Diba, your new lady's maid," with this proclamation, the diminutive creature dropped into a deep curtsy.
"There must be some mistake," Sarah started, only to be interrupted by Diba, who began pulling her towards the bath chamber.
"No mistakes, milady, King Jareth himself chose me to be your servant and told me that my first task would be to prepare you for dinner with him this very evening. So honored I was, considering, well, who you are."
"And who am I exactly?" she inquired in a bemused tone.
"You are the only one to make it through the labyrinth on your own accord! There were others who tried to be sure, but they all gave up within the first few hours. Lady Sarah, you are the only one who ever proved yourself worthy in the king's eyes."
'Oh yes,' mused Sarah silently, 'I was so worthy, so brave. A pity it couldn't last.'
"And now you've returned!" exclaimed the goblin as she drew the water for the bath, adding copious amounts of oils from several bottles. She lowered her voice in a conspiratorial tone; "Just between you and me, milady, the king has been in much better spirits with you in the castle."
Sarah raised her eyebrow, 'No doubt he's happy to have me around to torment again.' She sighed as Diba chattered happily while helping her into the bath. This new servant was evidence enough to prove that thought true, in her opinion.
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"I beg your pardon, Galen, what did you just say?"
Talrond's chief advisor shifted uncomfortably, "Well, your majesty, I was approached by the head of the servant staff this morning. She overheard two of the servants gossiping about Lady Riona."
The king raised his eyebrows, "Well that doesn't seem to be of great importance. The servants often chatter on about our guests."
"True enough, your majesty, but it was the nature of their gossip that I found so troubling." He drew in a deep breath, "They said that late in the night they saw a man leaving her bedchamber."
Talrond stared at Galen in disbelief, "What?"
Galen cringed, 'I knew this would be terrible.' He cleared his throat nervously, "Apparently it was too dark to tell who it was, but they swear that it was a man."
Normally Talrond was a very patient, even-tempered man. This time, however, he was struggling to control his emotions.
"Well, Galen, you are my best advisor, what do you think this little bit of news means?"
Sensing the underlying anger in the king's tone, he scrambled a moment for an answer, "Well your majesty, perhaps..."
"Because it seems to me that once again, Jareth had sought to make a fool of me!" He started to pace the room, "First, he turned down my generous offer to forever unite our kingdoms with the marriage of he and my sister, Mabyn. Despite the offense in his refusal, I forgave him and gave my sister freely to King Faris. And imagine my surprise and pleasure when he proposed to give me his sister Riona."
Galen attempted to say something to at this point, but Talrond held up a hand for silence.
"Who wouldn't be honored to be receive such a gift?" he spat out the word sarcastically. "Oh yes, I had often noticed the lady's beauty and had always known her to be a woman of great power and intelligence." He paused, "Isn't it amazing how such qualities can blind men from seeing the true nature of the beast?" He laughed shortly, "No wonder Jareth was so eager to marry her off."
After the king remained silent for a moment, Galen decided to attempt to speak once more, "Your majesty, what do you plan to do?"
Talrond stopped pacing for a moment and stared at Galen, "I don't know, Galen." His voice lost some of its anger and took on an almost weary tone, "I could turn a blind eye to this incident and take her as my queen. I'm by no means a romantic man who dreams of true love. I do not have the luxury."
Galen nodded, "It would be a very powerful alliance."
"Yes," Talrond said shortly. "And while I could abide a loveless marriage, my pride would not permit a sullied marriage bed, no matter how discreetly my lady would conduct her affairs."
"It would not be the first time such a union was formed, your highness. However, if the state of the marriage were to be revealed to the other kingdoms, it would most certainly suggest a weakness on your part."
"Indeed. They would say 'Talrond is not even strong enough to control a woman'," He sneered, "Galen, I do not think this whore is worth the trouble. Please send her a message stating that she is no longer welcome in the North Kingdom. I'll deal with Jareth later."
"Yes, your majesty."
"Oh and summon my brother. He should have much news to tell me concerning his travels."
"It will be done at once, your majesty."
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Riona had just finished plaiting her hair into two long braids when she heard Alistair's voice calling her from the hall.
"My lady, please open the door!"
She hurried to the door and as she stepped back to let him in she was shocked by the grave expression on his face, "Alistair, what's wrong?"
"My lady, we must leave the kingdom at once, let me help you gather your things." He hurried about the room, throwing her clothes into a sack.
"Alistair, what's going on?" she grabbed him by the elbow, forcing him to look at her.
He sighed, "I was just told by the king's advisor that you are no longer welcome in the North Kingdom and we have been ordered to leave as soon as possible."
She stared at him in confusion, "Did he give you any reason?"
"No my lady, I tried to find out the reason, but I was told to concern myself with getting you out as quickly as I could."
"This is such a strange turn of events," she said mystified.
"My lady, I have all of your things. Let us not stay in this wretched kingdom a moment longer."
Riona shook her head, "No."
"Lady Riona, please."
"I refuse to creep away from this kingdom like a whipped dog. I will go see Talrond myself and find out what the meaning behind this order is."
Alistair sighed in defeat, "Alright lady. But I'm going with you."
She smiled, "Thank you, old friend."
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Jareth walked briskly down the corridor towards Sarah's chamber. His expression was calm and aloof, perfectly masking the excitement and anticipation that was coursing beneath the surface. Ever since he had brought Sarah to his kingdom, he had longed for the opportunity to be alone with her and to reacquaint himself with the woman who had long been the subject of his dreams.
He understood that Sarah had changed over the past ten years. Aside from maturing into a beautiful woman, there was a certain sadness about her that Jareth found both fascinating and disturbing. Almost as troubling, if not more so, was her apparent lack of defiance. The girl who had brazenly stood against him in her youth now lowered her voice and complied to his requests with little hesitation. And while he might have entertained a few fantasies of a 'tamed' Sarah...he paused for a moment in the hall and smirked lasciviously in remembrance, Jareth preferred the bold and defiant Sarah that had stolen his heart so many years ago. Deep down, he hoped that this new temperament that Sarah displayed was just a front and that with a little effort on his part, he would be able to uncover the real Sarah. 'And of course, there's no time like the present,' he thought with a smile.
Sarah rose from the vanity and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She reached out and lightly touched the mirror. The forest green gown draped softly over her figure, accentuating her curves and creating the effect of a graceful willow. 'I used to dream of owning a gown like this,' she thought silently. 'He told me I was his little muse, his spark. He said he would drape me in satin when the money came in and we would dance in the streets til dawn, laughing at the people rushing along, not taking time to stop and dance just because they were alive and the world hadn't fallen in on itself yet.' She brushed away a tear that fell from her eye. "I would have danced in rags and bare feet in the snow to make you happy. I would have done anything to make you love me." She inhaled sharply as someone knocked on the door and took a moment to compose herself before going to answer open it.
As Jareth's eyes drank in the lovely vision before him, he used all his self-control to prevent him from falling to his knees and groveling at his goddess' feet. Instead, he schooled his features into a charming smile, before bowing over Sarah's hand. "You look lovely tonight, Sarah," he whispered confidentially as she took his offered arm.
"Thank you, Jareth," she replied hesitantly as she allowed him to guide her into the hallway. "The gown is very beautiful."
He paused mid step and gave her a hard look, "You are beautiful," he said firmly. The dress merely complements what was already stunning." With that he gently urged her forward, while Sarah looked at him in disbelief for a moment, before lowering her gaze to the floor.
As they walked through the corridor in silence, Jareth decided that he would not get very far with Sarah if they continued in this manner. 'She won't like it,' he reasoned, 'But I'll simply have to push her a bit harder.' He sighed inwardly with a touch of dismay; 'I played her villain once...I can certainly do it again.'
Sarah's eyes widened as Jareth escorted her through an archway onto a balcony where an intimate table for two awaited them. Jareth pulled out a chair for her and made sure she was comfortably seated before sitting across from her and staring at her, the corner of his mouth turned up in amusement.
Finding the silence to be very uncomfortable, Sarah attempted polite conversation. "It is a lovely evening, isn't it?"
Jareth paused a moment before simply nodding in agreement, allowing the silence to hang between them.
"Have you heard at all from Riona?" she asked.
"No, I have not," was the only reply he offered.
Feeling very frustrated Sarah bit out, "Jareth, as I recall you were the one who wanted to talk to me. If you've changed your mind, by all means, let me know so I can go back to my chambers!"
Inside, Jareth was chuckling, 'This is too easy.' He leaned back in his chair and regarded Sarah with an air of superiority, "Worry not, Sarah. I am more than ready to speak with you, but I thought I'd wait until you were done trying to make conversation about trivial matters."
Sarah glared at him, "Well, go ahead. What did you want to talk about?"
He raised an eyebrow, "I believe I promised you dinner." He waved his hand, "By all means, eat. Our conversation can wait and I don't want my sister to accuse me of starving you in her absence."
Sarah calmed slightly and raised a goblet of wine to her lips. As the two ate in silence, she considered the fact that Riona had seemed unconcerned about leaving her alone with Jareth. 'Perhaps I'm worrying over nothing,' she mused. 'The only thing he mentioned discussing was our past, which is easy enough.'
Seeing that Sarah was also done eating, Jareth rose and once again offered Sarah his arm. "Walk with me," he said in an inviting manner.
Soon they encountered a staircase and as they descended, Sarah found that she was beginning to recognize their surroundings. Sure enough, when they passed through the archway at the bottom of the staircase she found herself standing in the center of the room where she had finally faced Jareth years ago. All around them, staircases floated, in a never-ending maze.
"Do you remember, Sarah?" he whispered in her ear.
"Of course, I do."
He let go of her hand and walked around her slowly, "How many times I have walked about this room, thinking of our last talk, years ago." He paused and smirked, "You were such a child at first."
She closed her eyes for a moment before whispering, "I was."
"And yet while you were here, I saw you change. You became stronger, until you realized that you held power over your life." He looked at her and noticed a slight trembling. "Sarah, you were magnificent when you found your power."
She looked at him sadly before saying softly, "It feels like forever had passed since then."
Jareth closed the distance between them and lifted her chin so that she was looking into his eyes. "It's only forever," he whispered, "Not long at all."
A tear slid from the corner of her eye, "I'm not as powerful as you imagine, Jareth," she whispered bitterly.
"You are," he replied. "How else could you have defeated me? Sarah," he paused, "I don't know what has happened in the years since last I saw you, but I never doubted your strength."
Sarah looked at him sharply at his words, a haunted look on her face. "Strength?" she cried in disbelief. "Is that what you thought?" She backed away slowly, "I died long before you rescued me," she whispered. "When I needed that strength the most, I failed and I paid dearly for my weakness!" she sobbed as she collapsed on the floor at Jareth's feet.
Author's Note: Thank you everyone for reading this story. I'm going to do my best to update soon. Again, I am ever so sorry for the horrible delay.