"Will you stop pacing?" Elban asked, tugging on the mortal's shoulder to bring him to a standstill, "Really! Anyone would imagine that you were preparing to face execution!"

"I may well be," Toby growled. "Elban, I am not going through with this. Jareth can say what he likes, do what he likes- but I will not do it."

"Jareth will no doubt leave you alone for most of the year and the rest of the time you spend together will involve the two of you fighting," Jervohl commented. She picked up a glass from the tray on the sideboard and sauntered back to the table.

Elban grinned in agreement and looked at the twitching man. "She has a point. The two of you cannot bear to look at each other without fighting. Had it been anyone else, I would have suspected an attraction. Considering who it is…"

"I still suspect an attraction," Beran said dryly, eating steadily through his breakfast.

Toby glared at the lot of them and refrained from rattling the dishes as he stood up. "I need to think," he excused quietly, "If I am needed, I'll be in my room."

The three remaining Underground citizens sobered and looked at each other.

"He does seem against this," Elban said uncertainly, "But Jareth does not take an unwilling."

"Perhaps he means to keep it out of the bed," Beran suggested, "A first for him and most of our kind, I know, but it could explain why he offers himself."

"There is another reason."

They silently acknowledged the other reason. They none of them needed to invoke it aloud- Sarah. The last tangible link to Sarah and was it only coincidence that Jareth had selected himself for the task? After all, there were others and the Goblin King was notoriously selfish as far as his time and energy were concerned. He would not voluntarily waste time with someone he didn't like, unless there was a damned good reason why.

Toby had already figured that out himself, even as he paused on his way up the long staircase at the sound of a child's crying. He dismissed it a moment later. The challenger had lost the night before and doubtless the Goblin King had a new prize in his throne room. He gathered himself to continue up the stairs when a voice caught his ear.

"Here. Take him away and get rid of him." Jareth's voice.

A goblin bobbed in a bow and then nervously seized the child as it was thrust down at him. "Of course, Sire. Anyt'ing you wants, Sire. What to do with it, Sire?"

"I have no idea. Roast him over a spit if you want. Just take him away!"

Toby stared in angered shock. Roast a child over a spit! A little boy whose only crime seemed to be that he was crying a little too loud? He calmed himself and reminded his feet that they needed to keep walking upward. He would not flair up at this. He had spent sixteen years of his life as the most placid of people and in two weeks Jareth had given him anger management issues.

His feet turned around and thudded heavily down the stone stairs. His tongue loosened as he licked his lips. "Pardon my intrusion, Your Majesty, but may I have the child?"

The goblin dropped the poor boy in his terror. Jareth shot an annoyed look down and picked him up, shooting a death glare at his servant. "Leave us," he ordered.

The goblin obeyed.

The Goblin King made the appropriate soothing noises and rocked the wailing infant. Muttering sing-song nonsense in a tiny ear, he nodded to Toby and jerked his head back to the throne room.

"Ssh, little one. Nothing will hurt you," he crooned, "There is nothing here to frighten you. I have a gift for you. Here, take it." He conjured up a crystal and offered it. The boy hid his face in a white neck and continued to sob.

Toby leaned at the doorframe and watched, his seething temper warily relaxing. He hadn't forgotten that roasting comment, even if the show of caring seemed genuine enough.

The Goblin King muttered something under his breath and hefted the child better into his arms. "Here," he tried again, suddenly beginning to roll the crystal over his fingers, "Watch the pretty crystal, little one. Hmmm? See how it moves. Does it not look pretty?"

The child gulped and peeped out.

"Anyone else would look entranced by such sweet innocence," a mocking female voice, "But not our stoic King, oh no!"

Both males turned to see the blue-skinned mermaid regard them both with a sparking interest and arms folded on her silver clothed breast. "I see you have assembled an entire family in one night, Jareth," she laughed.

Toby recognized her vaguely as someone Elban had introduced him to- the daughter of someone important? Something like that. He bowed civilly and got out of the doorway. She entered and the mischievous look deepened as she took the quietened child away with a soft high-pitched squealing that seemed to delight him.

"Well, since I know which plays the child, Jareth, just who is the mother?" she continued.

"Darish, your active imagination is running away with you again," Jareth replied acerbically, "Would you like the child? You can have him for the asking."

Toby's temper flared again.

Jareth looked up to catch that angered glare and lifted an eyebrow. "I am sorry, Toby. I believe you asked for it first."

"Perfect," Darish said gaily, "Now you have the wife as well! Or rather, the husband." She eyed her host with a mock critical eye. "You would do well as the wife, however."

The Goblin King smirked and bowed. "Glad to be of service. Are you done?"

"Quite. I came to bid my goodbyes. Farewell, my love. Thank you for a wonderful time." She reached up and pressed a kiss to his cheek, tugging playfully on a wisp of his hair as she danced out of reach of his grasping hands.

"Did you take your belongings from my room?" he asked openly, "The last time you left those gilded rings behind."

"They are not gilded, they are pure gold," she retorted, "If some of us are not chosen royalty, at least we are not paupers!"

He blew her a kiss and let her go. Watching, in interest, as she curtsied politely to the mortal that stood with the child in his arms, whispering something with a last backward glance over her shoulder. Toby's face never showed an expression beyond polite amusement, but his eyes flickered oddly. Jareth was hard pressed to guess why.

"Toby," he called, stopping the large man from leaving, "I have a few words to say to you."

Toby turned. The child cooed and sucked on its fingers.

Jareth sighed and softened under the weight of that accusing stare. "There is no point in animosity or fear," he offered, "This year does not have to a burden. I can guess your concerns and I cannot promise to alleviate all of them, but I ask that you meet me halfway. We can be adults about this."

"I am an adult," Toby remarked, "And I agree. This is not an intolerable torture. We can be civil. For a year."

"Exactly," his guardian approved, stalking closer with the beginnings of a teasing smirk on his lips, "And who knows but that you might find you enjoy it?"

That was too far. "One thing, Jareth. I will be civil but you will, in turn, treat me with respect. I have a boyfriend; I do not intend to cheat on him. I know my limits and I will keep to them. I will not hesitate to leave if I feel insulted or ill-used." He left.

Jareth sighed and rubbed his eyes. In the simplest form, they hurt. His few hours of sleep had been disturbed by another of those blasted dreams and he had a promise to keep, one that- even when made to the illusionary version of his Sarah that existed in his dreams- was held sacred. "I will try to make sure he does not hate it," he said to the ceiling, "Just do not ask me to enjoy it."

His illusion of Sarah had nothing to say to him in reply.

But he kept his promise, summoning Yava with a list of orders for the night that he needed taken care of. His mother and Jervohl were both staying until dinner, and he arranged a contingent of guards to assist them to his mother's palace. As for the rest… Toby would be the only guest left by the end of the night, and Jareth could imagine that he would not like that.

So he prepared and schemed. And when he was done, he had another set of instructions drawn up and sent- via a servant- to his ward. His ward nodded curtly and waited until after the departure of the Lady Pandora and Jervohl to return to his room. A guard came for him then and led him away to the family wing.

Three-quarters of the way on the journey, Toby baulked suddenly and dug in his heels, panic ghosting over his skin for just an instant. He didn't want to go through with it. This 'educating' was going to continue for a year! How was he supposed to spend an entire year as… and he would have to…

His mind shied away from what he would have to allow Jareth to do to him; or do to Jareth, as the case would be. The mocking Goblin King had gotten him into this mess in the first place and was probably going to rub in the fact that Luka had done exactly as he had predicted and broken his heart. He would smirk and utter those sardonic comments of his; Toby just knew it.

"Sir? Sir, we has to keep going. His Majesty'll be expectin' us and- and…" the poor goblin guard leading him was practically hyperventilating at the thought of what Jareth would do to him if he failed to get Toby there by the appointed hour.

Toby spared a glance of pity for the poor creature and forced himself to move. After all, it wouldn't be so different. Luka had schooled him well in those… little tricks of his. He could simply shut his eyes and pretend that Luka had returned to him. If and when Jareth discovered that- and Toby had no doubt that he would- and decided to humiliate him by forcing him to acknowledge just who he was in bed with, Toby was quite prepared to grit his teeth and get through it as best he could.

"This way," his guide said, diving down the last corridor on the right.

Toby took careful note of the direction. He would eventually need to leave those rooms and, though he hated the thought, to go back.

The guard stopped.

There were two beautifully carved doors before them and Toby stared nonplussed from one to the other. One had a scroll on it, with the word 'library' inscribed in the fae tongue. The other held a pair of crossed swords, as if warding something off. Both doors had a wealth of beautiful things weaving around the edges.

For some reason, they terrified him even more.

The goblin guard knocked politely on the door with the crossed swords, bowed to Toby and disappeared.

The door opened.

Toby kept his head up and refused to allow himself to show the least hint of his apprehension. After all, Jareth's reputation was not as a monster- a cold person, yes, but not someone who deliberately hurt any of his many lovers.

Jareth couldn't resist a smile at the picture of stiff pride that stood at the door to his suite. But he didn't laugh. That would have been too cruel of him. So he stood back and held out his gloved hand.

Toby squared his shoulders and entered. He was almost undone when the long fingers grasped his just as he brushed past the Goblin King.

"You must be tired," Jareth murmured, keeping a firm hold of the hand in his as he moved to the door of his bedchamber. "Never fear; I won't hurt you."

Toby made some indefinable sound that might have been a sigh of relief or a snort of derision. Considering the situation, Jareth thought he was entitled. He barely let him look at the bedroom itself, knowing Toby would find it more upsetting to dwell on things in his tense state. Luckily, his plan had taken this into account.

So he led him into the bathroom and then let him go.

Toby blinked. "Why are we here?" he asked suspiciously.

Jareth gestured wordlessly to the enormous porcelain tub that took over one entire wall of the tiled room.

"You want me to… what, bathe, for you?"

Jareth sighed. If anything, Toby had contrived to think him worthy of even more imagined heights of perversity. "You are going to bathe, yes. It will relax you. Take as long as you want. The water is enchanted to stay hot so the only thing you have to worry about is falling asleep and awakening with a crick in your neck."

"And you?" Toby asked. "What will you be doing?"

"I," Jareth said gently, "Am going to be in the library next door tonight- working. If you need anything, pull the bellpull. If you want me, pull once. If you want a servant, pull twice. Is there anything else that you need, since I am in the vicinity?"

Toby took a small step towards the tub and raised his eyebrows as he saw the hot water with the steam curling off the surface. Handfuls of brightly coloured flower petals were for some unknown reason floating on the top and the entire thing smelt divine. In point of fact, it wasn't a bath so much as an extravagance.

"Is this some peculiar type of seduction?" the mortal asked.

He turned to offer a cold look only to let a gasp escape him as how close Jareth had moved without his awareness. The Goblin King smiled softly, and actually went up on the tips of his toes to press a soft kiss to his mouth.

"Enjoy," he whispered, "Remember this is only for you." And then he whirled away and walked sedately out the door, leaving a stunned silence behind.

Toby touched his mouth in shock, feeling the same spidery glimmer of feeling dust on his fingertips as he did so. He couldn't understand what the Goblin King was playing at. Was there an ulterior motive? But he couldn't think of one. Jareth wasn't even attracted to him. It wasn't as if the Goblin King needed to manipulate him to undress him.

And why go to the obvious trouble to appear to comfort him when he had nothing to gain by it? Either Jareth was playing the cruelest game he was capable of, or he actually was being sensitive about this.

Toby didn't believe his guardian capable of extreme cruelty, but he wasn't that sold on him just yet. He locked and bolted the door to the bathroom before proceeding to undress. The locks wouldn't keep someone like Jareth out if he were determined to enter, but if his attitude was serious then he would read the meaning in them.

He put one foot into the water and almost yelped with the shock. It really was as hot as he could bear it. It took him a moment to get in, but once he did… oh, once he did, he couldn't even imagine getting out any time soon. Whoever had drawn the bath had added a generous trickle of scented oil and the smell of sandalwood was soothing to his vaguely aching head.

He shut his eyes, letting his skin just absorb the satin feel of water flowing around. His fingers, usually so thick and coarse-looking for this land of artistry and beauty, actually felt delicate trailing in the water. He couldn't resist flicking them, shifting so that he could make waves that lapped and sucked softly.

But he snorted not two minutes later and lay still, chastising himself for being so nonsensical. He was a six foot three inch mortal in a world where magic and beauty spun and swirled from corner to corner; there was no way in heaven or hell that he could delude himself into believing that he could be any part of that.

Toby leaned his head back and tried to distract himself by planning for the next day. Jareth was sure to have something else deliberated for the night, but the bath was so effective that he didn't envision fighting much. The next day was important. Obviously he would practise in the morning just as he normally did- he had slipped from the habit as of late and his body was chiding him for it- and then… well, he had no idea of what to do then.

He sat up with a frown. He wasn't used to leisure and had always found himself something to do in Lady Pandora's palace. She had been poorly for so long that he had grown accustomed to being active on her behalf. What was he to do in Jareth's castle? The Goblin King was not likely to want anyone meddling in his work and so far as Toby could see, he didn't even have any work to meddle in. He simply drifted from one day to the next.

Which left him with only one option- "I will have to ask Jareth for something to do," he decided, "Maybe act as clerk or something."

That done, he relaxed again. And eventually found himself trailing his fingers in the slick water once more. Stifling the sneaking feeling of being a fool, he smiled ruefully and let his fingers have fun.

And Jareth was right- he did relax. The night stopped looking quite so black. If these little indulgences were what the fae surrounded himself with, then Toby would take advantage of his new position.

Three hours later, he roused himself from the drugging stupor to get out of the tub before he wrinkled into a prune. His body felt so incredibly heavy out of that hot water and his hands were too rough to touch his skin the way the water did.

He dried himself off and wrapped the towel around his waist, swaying slightly as he made his way to the bed. Soft, cool cotton slid against his back, but the pillow was softer still and it lulled him, inviting him to close his eyes again and drift away on the dreams.

Sometime during the night- he was not to know it was four hours later- the bed dipped on the other side as his new lover joined him. All he knew, was that he woke up and found himself being kissed ever so gently. When he attempted to pull away in irritation, a soft hand cupped his jaw and turned his face insistently back.

That hand did him in.

It was soft as the petals and silky as the water, hot and delicate and so flexible that he felt as if it was sculpted to fit exactly into position against him. He couldn't refuse anything that hand asked of him.

"You did enjoy yourself," Jareth sighed, smiling softly as he sat up and slid bared hands over the mortal's shoulders and chest. He'd made sure to take the gloves off for this.

"Where were you?"

"Exactly where I said, in the library. Why? Did you need me?"

"I just wondered," Toby yawned, his eyelids still too heavy. He shifted restlessly and twisted, trying to find a comfortable spot.

"Is something wrong?"

"The towel's wet."

"Let's get it off you, shall we?"

Toby just nodded and fell back to sleep again, only to wake with a start when those hands slid down to far more interesting places. "What the hell?" He sat up and attempted to pull away.

Jareth stilled him by wrapped an arm around his neck and clambering into his lap, drawing him into a long kiss that distracted him from the hand working steadily between their bodies.

Toby struggled at first, but melted soon after, lifting his hands to run up Jareth's sides. He still wasn't very awake and the Goblin King easily brought him to orgasm, swallowing the hoarse groan as it fell from Toby's tongue into his mouth. He pulled away when they were done, very well satisfied with himself. The first night had gone as he had intended.

"All right, Toby. All over," he whispered, "Lie down." He pushed at the broad shoulders and got off his legs. Toby obeyed soundlessly, blue eyes bright and dazed, slightly filmed as the long lashes dropped lower. "Go back to sleep."

The dreams pulled Toby away again and he drifted off to sleep with a vague sense of that towel moving against him once more and a pair of delicate hands stroking over his skin.

Jareth grinned at the sight. It was distressingly easy to seduce the man; he simply had no idea about what was being done to him. Not that the fae was complaining! If this year were to be spent in any kind of amicable accord, Toby would have to stop believing that he would be hurt in some way.

The Goblin King stripped down to his breeches but left those on. There would be no sense in gentling the mortal at night only for him to wake up and tense instantly at the thought of what he might have done. At least if his partner was still covered in all the ways that counted, he might not commit murder.

They didn't touch as they slept. They were not, after all, there for the emotional side of sex.