Three days later the day of Roland's funeral dawned, the labyrinth had been plunged into a cold snap, which was uncommon for the time of year, however despite the chill it was a perfect sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. Jareth suspected that the weather had been caused by Danae, though he was unsure if she had done this on purpose, or unconsciously.
Sarah was woken up by one of the ladies in waiting, who had already laid out Sarah's clothes for the day, a grey morning dress, with a matching veil and gloves.
Sarah's dress was very simple, it was a soft dove grey with a deep round neck, and long sleeves. When she was dressed, she wandered over to Danae's room, where the silent girl was having the finishing touches done to her hair as her maids attatched her veil. Unlike Sarah's dress, Danae's was much more ornate, showing her position as princess. It was made from the finest black silk, with an incredibly tight bodice and full trailing skirt. Over the top of the bodice she wore a lacy, long sleeved tunic, which tied loosely at the top. Her hair was pinned behind her head, with a sheer veil covering her face. She looked tired and drawn, Sarah knew for a fact that she had barely slept, and Camille had confided in her that the majority of food that had been sent up to the girl had been left untouched. Danae hadn't left her room since Jareth had broken the news to her, she had spent the majority of her time sleeping or lying on her bed in silence. Today would be the first time she would face the world since Roland's death, and she looked as if the slightest puff of air could knock her down.
Sarah took hold of the girls hand "Are you ready?"
Danae nodded, but looked unsure of herself, her face was ghostly pale "Where's Jareth?" she asked uncertainly.
"I'm here" a soft response came from the Goblin King, who had been standing silently in the doorway for some time. He was dressed entirely in black, black boots, black britches, black jacket. Like his sister he looked drawn and tired, from holding everything together, Sarah mused. For the past three days Jareth had been torn between comforting Danae and making preparations for Roland's funeral, like Danae he had been taking his meals in his quarters, and Sarah was certain that he hadn't been eating properly.
"Sarah?" a voice interrupted her thoughts "Aldous is waiting downstairs to escort you." It had been decided last night that Sarah would accompany Aldous to the funeral, allowing Jareth to tend to Danae.
"I'll see you in a bit." She smiled weakly to Danae before heading off to find the King's advisor.
"How do I look?" Danae asked her brother shakily.
Seeing her so frail, Danae, who was usually so invulnerable, even though she had already lost so many in her life, broke his heart. His eyes filled with unshed tears as he answered in a cracked voice "You look beautiful Nae."
"Jareth" her voice was so soft that it was barely a whisper "I don't think I can do this."
"Of course you can. And I'll be beside you for the entire ceremony."
She slipped her small hand inside his gloved one. She took a deep calming breath. "I'm ready Jareth."
Hand in hand they both disappeared, then reappeared beside Sarah and Aldous in a Temple just outside the labyrinth. The temple was large, and consisted of four buildings surrounding a square courtyard, in the centre of the courtyard a large pyre had been erected, waiting for the priests to bring Roland's body out.
Sarah, holding Aldous' arm followed Jareth and Danae inside one of the temple buildings, inside was a single large room, with an ante chamber behind it for the priests, it was all made out of pale grey stone, with few adornments. At the front of the room on a large slab of grey stones lay Roland. He was decked out in a white robe, with simple embroidery on its edges, befitting the status he held in life. His face was peaceful, but through the thin material Sarah could glimpse, on his chest, the knife wound that had killed him, and she was reminded that his was not a peaceful death.
The priests were chanting now, as they gently washed Roland's body with fragranced water. Its scent, combined with the incense burning in the temple, made Sarah feel slightly light-headed, so she gripped Aldous' arm tightly as she listened to the head priest speak in the high tongue. "No more shall he wander the green fields of this earth, for he has passed beyond this realm. An evil death has taken him from our midst. And although we stand here in death's shadow, fear not, for Roland was brave and true, he will pass to the halls of our fathers…"
Sarah looked around the room, near Jareth and Danae stood Ivenan, and with him, holding the arm of a beautiful brunette, stood a man, who from resemblance could only be Carstonan, the elder of the three sons. Beside him, stood who Sarah could only assume were Roland's parents, King Menus, the eldest living son of Stevan, if Sarah remembered correctly, and his wife, the Queen Consort, her eyes were red rimmed. She stood as still as a statue, as she watched the funeral rites performed on her youngest son.
"…And at the end of days we will see him again, we shall hear his call, for his is not lost to us but waiting in the life hereafter." As the head priest finished his ritual, four of his silent acolytes, picked up Roland from where he lay and carried him to the pyre, waiting for him outside. Roland's family walked over to the pyre, to say their final farewells, until there was only Danae waiting to stand beside him. She walked over slowly and took his hand in hers.
"Fare thee well my love" she whispered quietly as she brought his cold hand to her lips, before rejoining Jareth.
As tradition stated, it was Jareth, King Menus, and Roland's two brothers who had the task of lighting the pyre. Danae stood staring at the pyre as it began to burn, her face cold and expressionless. She had been in so much pain for the last few days that she was simply shutting down.
Roland's mother, Queen Lana, came over and hugged the young princess, before travelling home with her husband and remaining sons, she spoke little, her grief seeming to be beyond words, though when questioned about her welfare by Jareth she replied sadly, "No parent should ever be forced to outlive their children."
As the mourners departed, the four from the Castle beyond the Goblin city were left. Jareth, tried to usher Danae home, but she firmly declined his efforts, "No, I want to watch it burn."
As Sarah and Aldous began to walk out of the temple they turned to see Danae sink to the floor, letting the grief, which had been pent up over the last three days out, while Jareth watched over her, a few feet away.
After the funeral Danae had returned to her room, and she had remained in there ever since. Sarah, Jareth and Camille had been keeping a silent vigil over the girl for the last week, sitting in the room with her, Camille with her embroidery, Sarah with one of her books, or Jareth, who just sat and held her hand. But despite all the comfort they offered her Danae was still drowning in her grief. She was still refusing to leave her room, and most days she refused to get out of bed. It was almost as if she had stopped seeing a reason to live. In the end Jareth had forced her to come downstairs every night for their evening meal, but even then, she pushed her food around her plate silently.
After about a month Jareth's temper was strained, he had found no lead on Roland's assailants, three goblin patrol groups had also been slaughtered recently in a similar fashion, and the people were starting to grumble about not seeing Danae, who was considered the brightest jewel in the Labyrinth's crown. Sarah and Jareth had come to harsh words several times in the last few weeks, over how Danae should be treated.
"She just needs more time" said Jareth coolly, unhappy that they were yet again having the same argument.
"She's had time" Sarah reasoned.
"It's only been a month" snapped Jareth "Don't be so unreasonable to expect her to have completely moved on."
"I don't expect her to have moved on" she replied, exasperated, "only to have shown some improvement over the last month. I understand that she's hurting, but she has to start healing."
"And what could you possibly understand about the situation"
"Oh, I understand more than you realise" she glared back at being dismissed in that manner.
"Well I don't know what to do!" he yelled loudly at her, causing Sarah to take a few steps back. He immediately cursed himself for frightening her. He fell back into a low chair and held his head in his hands "The gods help me Sarah; I don't know what to do to make this better for her."
"You need to get her to come out of her room" Sarah said softly, pulling up a chair beside him, and taking his hands in hers "You have to make her see that life goes on. It's going to be hard for her to realise that, but it's the only way she will ever get over this."
The next morning, Jareth appeared at Danae's door with a fairly large box. He knocked softly, and was admitted by one of the maids. "I'm afraid she isn't dressed this morning Your Highness" she said sadly.
"Tell her highness, that I will wait here until she is dressed", he said entering the small sitting room which led to Danae's bedroom. The maid curtsied and went off to do as she was bid. Ten minutes later Danae appeared wearing a loose fitting black velvet dress. The dark colour made her look washed out, and her hair was scraggly and unbrushed.
"Good morning" Jareth said with forced cheeriness. Danae sat down in one of the chairs and looked at her brother expectantly, she remained silent, so he continued. "I've brought you a gift."
Danae looked at the package curiously. "What is it?"
"You'll see" Jareth replied smoothly. "I'll leave it with you. However, if you wish to keep it you must join me for a walk in the gardens this afternoon." And without another word he put the box down on the floor and strode out of the room.
As soon as Jareth had gone Danae opened up the box cautiously, and gasped as she saw what was inside. There nestled sleepily amongst a small pile of straw lay a small kitten. She was black with three white paws and a white belly. Danae immediately fished her out of the box and started playing with her, a smile on the beautiful girls face.
That afternoon, for the first time since Roland's death Danae went outside in the sunshine.
