Underneath the Crystal Moon
a/n: I do not own Labyrinth
Part Two: Damien
Chapter 11
When Xen awoke she was in her own bed. Alone. She frowned, trying to recall how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was her tree telling her she had conceived. She smiled, and placed a hand on her midsection. There was life there now, a tiny life. She did not know how long she would be pregnant. Fae pregnancies only last four months. A dryad's last for about six months. She pulled a cord and Lavina came into the room. The sprites face was relaxed and blissful, a sure sign she had enjoyed the previous night's festivities as well.
"Lavina, send for a midwife. Send for Queen Sarah's midwife actually," Xen told her maid. Lavina looked at her queen slyly.
"Who's the father of your heir, Your Majesty?" Lavina asked.
"Prince Damien," Xen told her maid. There was no need to be ashamed of it, "Can you tell me where His Highness is this morning?"
"Afternoon," Lavina informed her, "And His Highness left this morning"
Xen felt dismayed, "Where did he go?"
"He said something about being no better than a something or other. I could not really hear him Your Majesty. He saddled that horse of his and took off due East. I think he went home," Lavina told her.
"Pack a bag for me. It will take me a week to get there. And summon Xdrea. I do not want to travel alone with the babe," Xen told her maid.
"Where are you going?" Lavina asked, concerned.
"After him. He does not even know he is going to be a father. Knowing him he had some damned fool reason for leaving and is being an idiot. I am going to go after him. But first, I need something to write on. It is time for me to revoke that stupid law," Xen stamped her foot and started to dress.
"What stupid law?" Lavina asked as she rummaged around for a quill and some parchment.
"The law that says I cannot marry. I am going to marry him. I love him," Xen said as she laced up a fresh tunic.
Lavina chuckled as she handed her queen a piece of parchment and a quill.
Xen spent a few minutes writing down the new law that would repeal the old law, and then used her seal to sign it. She handed it to Lavina.
"Go post this at the bottom of the palace. By my royal decree, the Queen of the Trees is now allowed to marry whomever she wants," Xen smiled as she handed the parchment to her maid. Lavina rushed out of the room.
Why did he leave? Stupid, snarly male.
Lavina came back up, winded from running, and finished packing a bag for Xen. Xen scribbled a note on some paper and carried it to her balcony. She whistled, and a bird flew to the railing.
"Take this note to Queen Sarah of the Goblin Kingdom as fast as you can," Xen told the little bird. She tied the note to the bird's leg, and it took off, flying at a brisk pace. With any luck someone would meet her at the border between their lands so she could get through quickly. Maybe it would only take four days instead of a week that way.
It was only an hour later that Xen took off on foot. She headed East, towards the Goblin Kingdom and whatever awaited her there.
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It was almost time for bed when Damien stopped his horse in front of the castle. A stable hand came to take Dante from him with a slightly fearful look in his eyes. Damien stalked into the castle and was met by Agee, his mother's maid.
"Your Highness!" Agee curtsied, "You were not expected back so soon!"
"Please have a meal sent to my rooms as soon as possible, Agee. Tell everyone I wish not to be disturbed," Damien said as he almost ran up the stairs.
Agee ran immediately to the dining room, where the rest of the family was enjoying their dinner. She ran to the chair Queen Sarah was sitting in, and curtsied.
"What is it, Agee?" Sarah asked her maid, although she thought she knew what was going on.
"Prince Damien has returned just now, Your Majesties. He asks for a meal in his room and to not be disturbed," Agee reported, curtsying again.
"Well, I have to nurse Ophelia very soon," Sarah said, having given birth to Ophelia only a couple of days before, "But then I can go and find out what's wrong. Go ahead and send him some food, Agee. I will give him time to bathe and to collect his thoughts before I go bug him"
Jareth let out a chuckle, "You never could leave well enough alone, could you?"
"Not when it comes to the people I love," Sarah smirked.
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Damien heard a knock on his door as he was getting ready to climb into his own bed.
"Go away!" Damien yelled. He punched his pillow in frustration.
"Don't you want to meet your little sister?" Sarah asked plaintively through the door. Little Ophelia was peaceful in her arms, with her dark hair and green eyes. She looked exactly like her mother.
"Damn!" Damien cursed. He had forgotten his mother's pregnancy. She had been only a week away from her due date when he had taken Xen back to her kingdom. He could not refuse to see his littlest sister. He walked over and opened the door to admit them. Sarah swept into the room, wearing blue pajamas and the most absurd looking slippers. They were big and fuzzy. And they were a shocking color of pink, "What are those?"
"Slippers. I conjured them myself. I had a pair when I was Aboveground," Sarah told him.
"I wish I could see a bit of how you lived before you came here," Damien told her.
"Be careful what you wish for, Damien. So, why are you home?"
Damien knew she was going to ask, "I just decided to come home is all. I got tired of that talkative little dryad," Damien sat down and took the infant from his mother. Ophelia looked into his eyes as he held her, and he felt content. He liked babies.
"Yeah right. Damien, I am not stupid. Something happened, didn't it? She told us you may participate in the mating ritual. Did you?" Sarah asked him as she stood in front of him.
"Xen told you that, did she? Oh, I participated. I did not drink the drink they brewed, but I did mate. With her. With Xen," Damien looked down at his baby sister and wondered if he has seeded Xen. That was what she had wanted right? His bloodline?
"Why didn't you stay with her then?" Sarah asked her son.
"I took advantage of her. That poor girl, everything she has been through, everything that was done to her. When she was intoxicated…I took her. I may have even gotten her pregnant. That was her goal in the first place I guess. Then she told me she loved me. Right before she passed out she told me that. Do you know what they did to her?" Damien asked his mom softly.
"They did the foulest things anyone could ever do. They raped her, tortured her, beat her. If she conceived she will be happier than a pig in mud, Damien. She came very close to not being able to bear children, you know," Sarah told Damien.
"And I just took advantage of her," Damien swore he would not cry, but his voice became hoarse, betraying his sadness.
"She chose you, Damien. That potion does not make it to where the drinker does not know whom they are choosing. She could have had anyone, but she wanted you. Why can't you accept that?" Sarah asked, feeling sad.
"Why would she want me?"
"Oh, Damien," Sarah sighed, finally realizing the problem, "That's the real reason. You do not know how anyone could love you. Look, you are only 18. It takes time for this to sink in. We all love you"
"I know," Damien said.
"Damien, the light cannot exist without the dark. Passion cannot exist without reason. All three of you have different qualities. I have told you this before. Phoenix represents passion. Eamon represents light. You represent darkness. You are all three different extremes. But that does not mean that you do not have a little of each other's qualities within you. Phoenix has a bit of darkness and light. Eamon has a bit of darkness and passion. And you, my son, have a little of passion and of light. The dark cannot exist without the light. They are two sides of the same coin. You could not love Xen without being able to feel some light, and you could not have made love to her like you did without some passion. But darkness is what led you to her. Darkness is not all bad. You can sense the ones who need you most. Their pain draws you to them. She needs you," Sarah told Damien.
"I never said I loved her," Damien narrowed his eyes as he handed his little sister back to his mother.
"Oh please. So obvious," Sarah smiled as she held Ophelia over her shoulder. She turned to go, "How many days did it take to get here this time?"
"Without her, only two," Damien said. Sarah walked to her room, dropping off Ophelia in the nursery.
"Message for you, my love," Jareth said, holding out a small roll of parchment.
"I think I know whom this is from," Sarah said as she unfurled the parchment and read the letter:
"Queen Sarah – Hope this finds you well. Your errant son has left my kingdom, as I am sure you are aware by now. I want you to know I did not want him to leave, and I am coming to fetch him. By the way, I repealed the law saying that the Queen of the Trees cannot marry. What a silly little law that was. Please send someone to meet me inside your western border. I am just traveling with Xdrea, and I really should have an escort in my "condition". See you soon! – Queen Xen"
Sarah laughed as loud as she could and handed the letter to Jareth. Jareth scanned it and then joined her in her laughter. Jareth grabbed his queen and danced her around the room in a quick waltz.
"Grandparents, Jareth. We are going to be grandparents," Sarah gasped as she hugged him around the waist.
"Ah, the years wear on, don't they my love?" Jareth sighed as he kissed the top of her head.
"I don't know about you, but I still feel as young as I ever did," Sarah said, and she smirked at her husband.
"Care to make a wager?" Jareth asked Sarah.
"No, no wagers," Sarah said as she sent a crystal to Aidan to meet Xen and Xdrea. She grabbed Jareth's hand and led him to their bed.
"What a pity," Jareth gasped as his wife pulled him down onto the bed.
a/n: I personally love my grown up and married sarah and jareth. I think that, over the years my story spans, they have tempered each other. He has given her sarcasm and wit she has given him a little softer edge and a little whimiscality. I do not want to give anything away, but by the time the epilogue is over for this story, it will have been been 30 years since Sarah ran the Labyrinth. I worked it out in a timeline. Also, it is noteworthy that I have worked up a family tree and said timeline. When the story is fully over (all three parts plus the epilogue) then I will be willing to email any of you the timeline and the family tree. You can look on my profile for my email address. But not before then….it will all be spoiled if you read it before then.