Elban was not particularly happy to be where he was. He was comfortable, well-fed and quite sleepy, but the bed was so empty. The room was too… big. There was something missing.

He knew what it was. But did he really want to go to all the trouble of swallowing his pride and going back to the same old routine? No. No, he did not. Beran needed to learn that he wouldn't stand to be a doormat for anyone. He was tired of waiting all day with nothing to do. He was sick of the chauvinistic attitude that said he had to play the feminine role simply because he had chosen to live on Beran's territory. Bloody alpha males! He was sick of them.

And now that he thought of it, he'd been surrounded by them for most of his life. Elban twisted around to the other side of the bed and curled into the cool sheets. He had grown up with Jareth and Dieter, both alpha males if he had ever seen one.

The fights! Oh heavens, the fights! And that one not too long after Dieter's first hunt, when they had come to blows. Jareth had almost lost his left eye in that fight. And there had been nothing he could do about it. The best thing for the both of them had been to stand back and just let them work it out.

Jervohl was never that bad. She was an intelligent female with a core of steel, that was true, but she could listen to sense as well. Elban respected that in her. Hell, he had done it most of his life. Patching up quarrels, pampering egos, scolding and cajoling and pleading- he had done it all. And for what? For people he cared about.

"And then they go and cheat on me," he muttered bitterly to the pillow. The pillow never replied.

But Jareth certainly had something to say when a distraught dwarf demanded entrance to his Castle at three in the morning. Even the servants were blurry-eyed at that time of the day and no one was making any sense whatsoever. And the little goblin standing in the doorway found himself kicked out of the way.

"What do you want?" the Goblin King demanded, fully dressed and frighteningly upset about it, presence filling the entire entrance as if to bodily throw Beran out again and slam the door on him. "Do you know what the fucking time is?"

"Elban is here," Beran interrupted desperately, "I need to speak with him."

"Come back in the morning," Jareth said brutally, turning his back again and gesturing to the guards.

The guards on night duty came forward instantly, nauseatingly alert. One held a spear and the other two got ready to grab and haul.

"Jareth, this is important!" Beran shouted, "Where is he?" One of the guards laid a hand on him and he whirled and punched him in the nose. "Don't even think of it!"

It was really much too early in the morning. "Beran, if Elban has stayed a few days more than he said, that is still no reason to come parading through this Castle and punching my guards," the fae remarked. He looked contemplatively down at the guard nursing a bleeding nose. "You. Get up and get that taken care of. The lot of you get out of here. You're all confined to quarters."

They bowed- as well as they were able in metal armour- and scrambled away.

Jareth watched them go and then turned back to the uninvited guest breathing hard in front of him. He raised a hand and tucked loose strands of blond hair behind his ear in resignation. "Come with me. The entire universe does not want me to sleep so you might as well explain yourself. Let me add- this had better be worth it."

Beran nodded and followed silently, almost running on his stumpy legs to keep up with the Goblin King's long-legged stride. "Elban left me," he snapped abruptly.

Jareth barely reacted. He merely said, "Tragic," in a particularly bored tone and left it at that until they reached his study. "In. Sit."

Beran sat as ordered.

The Goblin King paced in front of him for a while. After two rounds, he looked at the dwarf in silent reflection. After four, he deigned to speak. "Give me one good reason why I should not throw you into an oubliette for this."

"Because that would be stupid," Beran pointed out blandly.

"You realize that this is against the code of conduct in our society, do you not? I have not invited you here at this hour. I have asked you to leave and you have refused. You demand entrance to my Castle and you physically abuse my guards. I could make an example of you."

"Do whatever you want," Beran sniffed, waving the pettiness aside with an impatient hand, "Just let me speak with my mate."

Jareth nodded faintly in decision and summoned a crystal. He dropped it to the floor and it flitted through walls on its way. "He will be here soon enough."

The crystal returned in exactly five minutes, tinged green with forest magic. It contained a message. Jareth picked it out of the air and unlocked it mentally.

The crystal had two words to say- "Go away."

Beran sagged.

"Done. Now will you leave?"

"Jareth, he is my mate. He has chosen to live with me. I have the right to speak with him."

The Goblin King chuckled. "Oh, I think not. He has refused to speak with you. Neither you nor I can force him. Now leave."

"Have you no heart?"

"Plenty of it. When I am not sleepy."

Beran snorted and stayed exactly where he was, glaring at the desk as if about to do the graceful wooden furniture some injury. Not that the desk would complain too loudly, but it would be bad form to mangle someone else's property.

"Beran, why did he leave you?"

"I do not know," the dwarf said bitterly, shrugging helplessly against the question, "When I went home two days ago he was gone. I rode to see the Lady Pandora and Franja told me she was here. I came as fast as I could."

"I see. You really have no idea." The fae did not believe a word of it. A seemingly strong relationship did not break apart for no reason. It was impossible. Even Elban was not… it finally registered what exactly it was that Beran was doing there. "Has he ever mentioned leaving you before?"

A big head nodded once.

"A complete break?"

Another nod.

Jareth sank into the other chair and groaned, rubbing his face to rid himself of the all-consuming need for sleep. Everything had to happen in the morning, did it not? Why not the afternoon? Beran could have gotten here anytime after eleven in the morning and Jareth would have been quite happy to listen. But he was barely coherent let alone in any mood to put up with all this. And he had his own problems without having to cope with Elban and Beran's issues.

"Have you slept for the past two days?" the Goblin King asked.

Beran shook his head. "Not really. I can't sleep." He looked singularly embarrassed about that fact.

"Bed's too empty," Jareth interpreted, "I understand. Come with me." He stood up and gestured to the door. "You can sleep here for whatever remains of the night and then try your luck in the morning. I suggest, however, that you do not punch any more of my guards."

"Your guards should not be so easy to punch," Beran snapped.

"I agree. Which is why I confined them to quarters. Juko can scream at them for it at a more reasonable time in the morning. I might even ask Jervohl to train them. Yava!"

The goblin came at a dignified trot, hastily dressed and her hair messily tied back with a ribbon. Jareth kindly said nothing to her about her obviously sleepy irritation.

"Beran is staying here tonight. Give him a bedroom," Jareth ordered, "Beran, good night. And dare you make another sound until I am properly awake and I might yet order you thrown into the Bog."

"I thought you would throw me into an oubliette?"

"No. Another sound and it will be the Bog. We both know how sensitive Elban's nose is. He won't have you back if you smell of the Bog."

Beran growled beneath his breath at the snide threat and followed after the housekeeper. Yava was not in the mood to make him welcome. But that was alright since Beran was not in the mood to take cheerful welcomes very well. Likely he would have hammered his fists against the wall and screamed from the frustration of it.

He found himself deposited into a bedroom on the far side of the Castle and left for dead. He didn't care. He would prefer to be dead. So he paced.

Up and down. Up and down. Side to side. Around again.

"Bloody stupid sprite," he grumbled to himself, "Always running off in a temper. Always taking offence. Too bloody temperamental for his own good!"

It had been sweet when Beran had first seen him. Exciting. Elban had shown every emotion he ever felt. The sparks had lit like a wildfire when they had met. Not that Beran ever claimed that Elban was boring. On the contrary. But the excitement was too wearing after a while and with a business to run and an estate to manage, Elban was not helping matters with his constant demand for attention. Talking the forest sprite out of a sullen fit the first time was cute, the fourth time was understandable, the eighth time was just infuriating. And when it reached the four hundredth time, after thirty-eight years together, he couldn't stand it any more.

But for all that he would fall apart if that sweet face was not home at the end of every day. If Elban left, then Beran would do something drastic. He just knew he would. Besides, Elban rarely lost his temper in a serious way. He would pout or sulk for an hour or so, but he was more likely to apologize than Beran. And then he would be a ball of sunshine, tumbling around like an affectionate puppy wanting to play.

Beran missed that.

He looked at the bed but felt no compunction to lie down on it. It wasn't his bed. Moreover, it did not have Elban in it. There was always something appealing about having a pretty little forest sprite to sleep with. And Elban talked in his sleep. The night was too quiet without that soft voice murmuring a few words or sentences.

Beran would not sleep in any bed until he had his lovely sprite back. He was determined on that score. A host of Goblin Kings could attempt to throw him out of the Castle and he would only keep coming back. No matter what. He would do it. And for now he would sit in the window and watch the sun rise.

Merilin watched the same sun rise for the second dawn a row and dispassionately noticed that it was four whole minutes late. And it was a boring sunrise. He finally picked up his pen for the forth time and set it firmly to paper.

He might as well let Jareth know. The elf smirked slightly to himself. And this would certainly get his own back on Toby Williams. And without insulting any member of his family as well! Oh, but this was perfect news! Now he just had to play his part properly…