Author's Note: Is it me or has this fiction been dragging? I think it has. Look, I really don't want to hold my story to ransom (aka- 'ten reviews per chapter or I won't post') but I was just wondering if people were actually reading it. Mab, I know you are, and What Lurks In Shadows, and Moonjava when she can. But anyone else? I just ask for a two word 'I'm here' review so I know.
Author's Note 2: Oh, and the fiction will get more interesting from here. Though not exactly unexpected.
"A word, mother. Lady Harenet- delighted." He offered a charming smile as he bowed over her hand, planting a swift kiss on the back.
The old fae woman giggled and fluttered just a little, clearly enchanted already. But then, she always had had a soft spot for her sister-in-law's eldest son. "Sire," she greeted, playing coy in her shy way.
"Oh no!" he laughed, "You helped me collect shells by the Sea when I was a child. If anyone has earned the right to call me by name, you have. And how have you been, My Lady? I am sorry I could not speak with you at last year's End of Year feast. There was a challenger to be looked after."
"You work much too hard, Jareth," Lady Harenet cooed, stroking his cheek affectionately, "It cannot be good for you."
"On the contrary," he replied, "I quite enjoy it!"
The Lady Pandora sat back and watched her son at work. He was charming, when he felt like it, and gentle with those he knew would be crushed too easily. And Lady Harenet was such a one. It spoke wonders that she had survived at all, given her late husband's vicious temper. Childless and lonely, it had seemed natural for the older female to turn to her sister-in-law's children to soothe the maternal instincts that had never had a chance to blossom. Jareth, as the eldest, had been spoiled rotten until Dieter.
Dieter…
"How proud your dear brother would have been," Lady Harenet was saying, "If he were only here today."
The barest glimpse of long-forgotten sorrow hovered in the air before vanishing. Pandora felt it herself. And she knew Jareth had too. They always would.
"He was always so full of life, so vibrant. He would have been so happy to be here today."
Jareth smiled a small, lopsided smile and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on the old lady's cheek before drawing back. "We must speak again, just the two of us," he suggested, "Before the end of this ball. If there is ever anything- the least thing- you require, ask any of my servants and you shall have it. Even if it is my head on a platter." He laughed at her shock, smirking mischievously as she giggled once more. "Pray excuse me, Lady Harenet, but I do need to have a few private moments with my mother."
"Of course! How stupid of me. I am sorry. Here I am, intruding again. Oh, I do apologize."
It took a while for both the Goblin King and his mother to soothe the poor thing's feelings and when finally they were alone, they shared a mutual look of frustrated affection.
"She seems to be getting worse," Jareth commented, "How is she, in all seriousness?"
"In all seriousness… she is getting worse." Pandora shrugged. "Age weakens our resolve, dear. We all get worse."
"Not you, mother. I guarantee you will be playing politics when you are four hundred and fifty."
A goblin servant knocked timidly on the door and placed the tray on the table before scampering away, though not before the King's cool eye had settled on her for an unnervingly long stare.
Pandora noticed, and her lips thinned in impatient annoyance. It was all very well to say that the goblins liked having a master, and that they benefited from a stern leading hand, but Jareth was just downright nasty to the poor things. She said nothing, however, not wanting to side-track him.
"Mother, what do you know of Luka's planned trip across the Sea?"
"Not very much. I know he is going to make his fortune, but what else is involved I have no idea. Why?"
Gloved fingers traced the rim of one cool glass in thought. "I am thinking of making a proposition to him. I mean to offer him the use of my Castle, if he would agree to assist me with Toby's situation. And then I will bear the burden of expense for him to continue with his plans when the twelvemonth is over. How does that sound?"
"Fairly well," Pandora admitted, looking surprised. Her son was not generous at the best of times. "I should think he would take it. But here? In the Castle? I thought you liked your isolation."
"It will enable me to keep an eye on those two," Jareth said, "I do not trust him."
"Jareth, Luka is perfectly harmless…"
"He almost organized a riot in his carelessness, mother. I do not approve of his relationship with Toby." He glared the stifled giggle at his pompous words. "What are you laughing at, woman?"
"You," the Lady replied, breaking out into fully-fledged laughter, "Playing the conscientious guardian."
He let her laugh, sighing regretfully at the thought of his pride. "Yes, yes, but that is not the point."
She nodded, the snood demurely fastening her blond hair back slipped just a little in her exertions, giving her a pleasantly rumpled look. For just an instant, she looked like the free-spirited young girl she had once been.
Jareth smothered a smirk and returned to his original train of thought. "The end of the ball is in a few days and I need to announce what I intend to do with Toby. It seems he is reticent about anyone except Luka, though I cannot see why. All my suggestions have been turned down. And he has none of his own. Is there no one at all?"
"There is no point in asking me, Jareth. I thought it a bad idea to begin with. I am very against the whole ordeal. I know how hard it is on young folk, and I do not see why any of us have to endure it."
Jareth rested his elbows on the table and rested his cheek in one cupped hand. "Mother, you know our society. It is either this or marry instantly. Are you telling me that you would have preferred any of your children to marry before they were ready, just so they would not have had to face those first few awkward days and nights?"
"Look me in the eye and tell me that you were a virgin when you were taken on," Pandora ordered sharply. She glared when her son had the grace to look sheepish. "I thought so. Who was it?"
"Mother…"
"I just want to know."
"I do not see the relevance right now," Jareth protested, spreading his hands in a mock-pleading gesture.
"That poor mermaid," Pandora mused, "I still do not understand why you chose her. She hardly knew what to do with you. By the end of the year, I think she had changed more than you had."
"I had changed! I was more mature."
She snorted in derision.
"I was infinitely more mature. And I chose her so that I would not have to spend all my days and nights with her. She lived underwater. I lived above. And we saw each other when it was necessary. The system worked."
"Evil creature."
"Not in the least."
"You still haven't answered my question," she pointed out, "Who was it you first slept with? Or rather, shared your bed with? Don't look so wary; I will not throw a tantrum now, will I? It has been a hundred years."
Jareth mulled over that, readjusting the pearl pin at his lapel. "A whore," he said at last, "I sneaked down to the Goblin City one day and spent the afternoon in a tavern. I ended up somewhere… rather embarrassing."
Again, his mother was struggling not to laugh, her bosom heaving as she swallowed the loud guffaws that threatened to break out. Her admired, romantic, mysterious son had had his first time in a brothel? The most available bachelor in the Underground and he had resorted to a prostitute! "S-so long as you paid her," she chortled.
"Yes," Jareth snapped darkly, flushing a little, "Now if you would kindly pay attention? Thank you. Toby needs an educator. You know him better than anyone else, mother. Who would you recommend?"
Pandora thought about it, mulling it over in her mind. Toby was… reserved. There were few people that were as close to him as Luka, and no one amongst them that she could say he was liable to be attracted to. "In another situation, I would have recommended myself," she said at last, "But in the circumstances I think not."
"I agree. Anyone else?"
"No one, really. I think Luka was the first. And Toby does care about him."
"Heavens, never tell me the brat is in love?" Jareth looked nauseated at the very idea.
"I have no idea. Toby is a very honest person, but he never says more than is strictly necessary."
Jareth rose with a frustrated growl and shook out his long coat, enjoying the way the tan and black leather contrasted with his white shirt and faun breeches. Ah yes, he appreciated the simple pleasures in life, he reminded himself with a smile. And clothing was one of the most fascinating of those pleasures. "Thank you, mother. I think I should find Luka. The sooner I get this sorted, the sooner I can get rid of those two."
"They will be staying in your Castle, Jareth," Pandora reminded him, her pink lips twitching into a mocking smile. She laughed at the arrested look of dawning remembrance on his sharp face and gestured back to the seat. "Sit down, dear. You might as well argue with me about your continued lack of a bride as talk to Luka. At least you enjoy arguing with me."
Jareth sat down reluctantly. "I had thought we were never to discuss this again."
"So you will live out all your days as a sad and lonely old fae? Will you become like Mrs. Berry and collect monsters for companionship?"
"Not at all. I can't abide monsters. That walking mountain of ginger fur that…" he paused for a moment, "… that Sarah befriended is enough trouble."
"Sarah, still. How are the dreams, Jareth? Do you still get them?"
The Goblin King cursed the day he had told his mother about those. But then he had been almost mad with grief at the time and it had seemed as good a time as any to throw his capacity for love into her face. She'd always accused him of being unfeeling and narcissistic until that day. "No," he snapped tersely.
"Dear, I can tell when you lie to me." She picked up the needlepoint she was working on and concentrated on an infinitesimal stitch. "Well?" She looked up. Jareth had already beaten a hasty retreat. She sighed mournfully over her son's display of nervousness. If it made Jareth run, the dreams had to have him in a very bad way.
The Goblin King was, at that moment, stalking through the hallways of his Castle in a slightly rattled mood. Knowing his mother knew him as well as she did was quite different from speaking about it. He did not like words. They were damning things- words. Just see how mortals used words to tear their own families apart and cause hurt and confusion! The prime example!
No, words were not to be taken lightly. He twitched his coat closer as he walked faster, as if to escape his own thoughts. Things he said could start a war or a riot, or bankrupt the country. Other words could topple a home or a kingdom. Words were deceiving. Words were open to perception. Words were… being whispered in the room he had just passed?
Jareth frowned and turned, stopped to level a suspicious glance at the door. The only people housed in this particular floor and side of the Castle were family. No one else was allowed in. And since he had seen his mother, the other people that had authorized access to the rooms were Lady Harenet and Jervohl. Both- being female- could not speak in that deep, husky murmur.
Jareth stalked to the door, taking care to be quiet. When he wanted to be, he could be nigh unnoticed even in the same room.
The words had hushed.
He shook his head and turned to leave and then heard that whisper of clothing and disturbed air. There was someone in the room. The Goblin King conjured up a vision crystal instantly. What he saw made his jaw tighten as he ground his teeth in outrage.
"Ssh! We don't want anyone to hear us," Waldo was saying, casting furtive looks around the place. Something didn't feel right. The sense of danger was growing and the merman was very susceptible to that tingle along his spine.
It didn't help matters when a terribly angry Goblin King preceded a very worried mortal into the room.
"Waldo, what…" Luka went ashen. "Toby."
The mortal looked at his stunned boyfriend, at his guardian, at the golden box in his boyfriend's hand. "Luke, what are you doing?" He didn't sound very happy.
Jareth's hand closed around the collar of the merman's retreating back and yanked him back in. "Refrain from a coward's escape."
Waldo gulped and attempted to begin babbling but Luka elbowed him in the side and shut him up before turning. The fae was not the most courageous person in the Underground and facing an enraged Jareth was like facing a wild animal. But with Toby's accusing blue eyes fixed on him, Luka didn't want to back down. He wouldn't. He was set on that. He busied himself with putting the golden box back into the drawer he had taken it from.
"And what, may I ask, are you doing?" Jareth asked quietly, circling the two of them.
Luka looked away from Toby to face Jareth. "I was looking," he protested.
Jareth slipped back the brocade cover spread on the unused bed and raised an eyebrow at the few pieces of jewellery and sundry expensive goods. "I see," he commented dryly, "Were these also meant to be returned before you left my Castle?"
Luka flushed. Waldo babbled once more for a while until he fell into fascinated silence with one of Jareth's dark glares. He twisted his webbed hands behind his back and turned to the mortal, pleading mutely with him to do something.
Luka did not. He refused to stoop that low.
Toby was uncomfortable. Out of nowhere, Jareth had appeared and whisked him away without even excusing him from the conversation he had been engaged in with Elban. The forest sprite had looked worried at the first sight of Jareth but Toby hadn't had a chance to do anything except find himself standing outside a door and then walk in behind Jareth. "Luke, were you stealing those things?"
Luka's pretty face flared into trapped anger. "You believe me capable of that? You?"
"Luke, you can just say no and I'll believe you," Toby reasoned, "Just tell me."
Jareth waited; let the two of them work it out. From the look on Luka's face, he did seem to care what Toby thought of him. But Jareth was still angry about the priceless artefacts of the Goblin Castle being robbed. Well, he was more angry about being robbed, himself.
Luka was in a dilemma. "I can't say no," he blurted suddenly, "But I did it for you."
"For me?" Toby looked even more astonished. "What would I do with a box made of gold?"
"And that does not account for the jewellery," Jareth put in, holding up a long silver rope with a prettily wrought pendant on the end. "I believe Mrs. Banner is missing this." He sifted through the tiny pile a little more. "Oh, Waldo! Your mother's prized brooch?" He held up in the light and smirked coldly at the quivering merman.
Luka didn't quiver. He had his pride. "You can believe me or not, but I need the money for this trip," he said quietly, "I need the money and my brother refuses to assist me. What else am I to do?"
"Tell me," Toby snapped, "I could have spoken with the Lady Pandora. She might have helped us."
"I would not have let her," Jareth piped up again, "Risk it on a venture that is most likely to fail? No."
"It will not fail!"
"Luka, you plan to smuggle powerstones back into my Kingdom. What makes you think I do not have the power to make sure all your effort is worthless? It would be, if I were to arrest you for it."
"Arrest?" For the first time Luka betrayed a hint of fear. Oubliettes were not pleasant places to spend the next two to ten years. "You would not!"
"I would." Jareth shrugged. "I could do so now. You were, after all, stealing."
"You have no witnesses."
"I do not need any witnesses. Besides, your boyfriend has seen it."
Toby set his jaw. He would not lie, even if he were asked to. Not that Luka had asked him, but it was something he was prepared for. "You did confess to it, Luka."
"For you," Waldo said hysterically, "He said for you. Surely that means something?"
Luka looked as if he might hit his partner in crime. Jareth looked as if he wouldn't mind doing it himself. Toby just wished the merman would stop whining.
"Toby, escort Waldo to my study, please," Jareth ordered, never taking his eyes from Luka's pale, resolute face. "Luka and I must have a talk."
Toby nodded and gestured Waldo to follow him. Stopping at the door, he looked back at his boyfriend. When Luka wouldn't return the gaze he left, shutting the door and irrationally stifling the desire to go back in and see that Jareth didn't hurt the smaller fae. He spared barely a thought for the shivering prisoner beside him, but rubbed tiredly at his forehead and wondered how everything in his neatly ordered life could keep going to rack and ruin every time he ran into the Goblin King.
Luka was noticeably absent for the rest of the festivities, along with Waldo. Servants whispered of two bags of gold and silver coin, handed over on the understanding that they left the Underground for a year.
Jareth would not have hesitated to speak- or rant- of the matter at great length if asked. But since no one but Toby knew of it, he forbore to mention it. The tall mortal was pale, quieter than usual, sterner and more politely reserved than he had ever been before. Jareth mused on that as he sat at the head of the long table that night, his fingers steepled before his mouth as he narrowed his eyes at the big blond figure sitting a few seats down to his left.
The only thing Jareth had had to say to Toby was on the subject of his upcoming coming-of-age ritual: "Find someone, Toby, or I will do it for you. And you will not like the choice."
