The world moved in mysterious ways.

Toby was discovering things that he had never really thought about before. He was a pragmatic sort of person; he did not spend long moments of his time in contemplation of nature. The wind was either there or not. A bird was as a bird should be. A tree had always been a tree.

Before.

Before he had been blinded.

Strange things were beginning to class together- the taste of dry wine and the sharp prick of a thorn. Toby had never compared wine to vegetation before.

Yet his ears strained to catch the smallest slip of feet over the Castle's stone floors. Faint traces of a thousand living smells made his nose twitch in the Goblin City. The fermented taste of that crushed root had lingered on his tongue for two hours after he had left the healer's new hospital. And his skin was much too sensitive!

Toby was quite nervous about this new development. It upset him. Crowded places were far too overwhelming for this reason; they gave him headaches when he tried to concentrate on all the new bits of information that hammered at his brain.

So he escaped company as often as he could. He spent time with Serenity or with the other koerns. Mostly he spent time by himself in the Castle's extensive grounds, concentrated on forcing his eyes to read a book that Jervohl had kindly enlarged for him with her powerstone.

It was a restful place to be. And if his mind wandered away from the book to the rustling of the grass around him, he never let on. Listening to life had never been one of his hobbies before; he was not about to own to it now. Every so often, he would sternly take himself to task, say a few pithy things to himself and squint at the book again. Books were good. They were tangible. They were black and white and occasionally they had some disturbingly artistic illustrations.

He was just blinking at what appeared to be a cat-like creature with horns disappearing into a rain of sickle-shaped bits when the Lady Pandora hailed him cheerfully.

Toby attempted to get up.

She pushed him back down again.

"How are your eyes?" she asked gently, "Are they better?"

"A little." He put the book away and smiled fondly in her direction. She never really stopped being a mother.

"Good." The Lady was silent for a while. "I spoke with Elban a minute ago. Jareth is still pressing them to speak."

That was a new turn of events. "I thought Beran had returned to Fair Havens?"

"He came back this morning," Pandora replied ironically, "I think he means to stay here this time."

Toby bit his lip to keep from laughing. It wasn't a humorous occasion to know the two were having such a hard time. It was obvious they were in love. But sometimes love was not enough. He said so, trying to keep as objective as he could.

"I cannot agree. Love is everything one needs."

They had had this argument before. "Love is not enough when you are starving in a shack at the edge of a barren wasteland."

"No one asks you to stay in a shack at the edge of a barren wasteland," Pandora pointed out, "In the Aboveground, perhaps, I would agree with you. But in the Underground? No one starves in the Underground. Everybody in a five-mile radius will offer you support if you fall on hard times. And if the village or community in which you live cannot support you, the Goblin King will." She thought about that. "Or should."

Toby nodded and smiled again. "What about a love that is not acceptable?"

"We accept love as love. There is no barrier between races or genders. You know that firsthand. Even social classes or family ties do not count in love. Unless it is between two family members."

"I see. What if… Jervohl was to make her life with Gildred? Would people support them? Or would the prejudice against wrong-doers extend itself to her? If Jareth were not her brother, and Gildred were deposed, would the Goblin King step forward to lend his assistance?"

Pandora sighed and shook her head ruefully. "Who knows? If he can gain more power from Gildred by doing so, he might. He has no real finer feelings."

"I disagree." Toby startled even himself with that. From the blurry look on his foster mother's face, so was she. No one was really in the habit of defending Jareth. Demurring about a turn of phrase or an unseemly vehemence was normal, but not outright defence.

Toby patted the book and tried to think of how best to explain himself. Not that he needed to. He could clearly change the topic and Pandora would no doubt just dismiss the entire thing in her motherly way. But his conscience would give him havoc for leaving the matter so unsettled. And he really didn't like lying to the fae lady.

"I cannot agree with that," he elaborated bluntly.

Pandora raised an eyebrow and settled her skirts. "Why not? You have seen him. He treats everyone he meets on his or her usefulness to himself. I love my son dearly, but that is the truth. He is very matter-of-factly selfish."

"Not really. He is self-absorbed. I do not think he means to be selfish."

"He is," Pandora repeated, shrugging her shoulders to emphasize the simplicity of her conviction. "He has never done anything for anyone else. Not unless it has benefited him in some way."

Toby tugged on his earlobe for a moment. "I wish I could explain," he sighed in exasperation, "I wish I could actually show you what I mean to say."

It was very bad business making a wish in the Underground. The Wishing Lands. The Goblin King looked up from Gonzo's explanation of why it was necessary to spend unnecessary amounts- in Jareth's opinion- on private bodyguards for the King and his immediate family. What with all the unrest and rumours…

Toby continued in the same agitated vein, not sure why he needed to get this said, but certain that his recently skewed vision of the world was to blame. So he explained things as best as he could, pointing out that Jareth was perhaps self-absorbed and aloof and a little power-hungry, but ultimately did know right from wrong and really, was it so bad for someone to twist things a little so that right could be of some practical benefit instead of just a moral decision?

Pandora stared. Those blue eyes were looking at her, wider than usual because the pupils were still badly dilated. Toby never used his hands when speaking in normal circumstances; he was now using them fluidly and continuously. He even- and Pandora was certain she was imagining this- looked flushed and distressed at having to do so.

"… though I can understand just how frustrating he can be. I still have not figured out why he wants me to meditate every morning," Toby finished. Then, overcome by embarrassment, he buried his head in his hands and let out a heartfelt groan.

The Goblin King was amused by the entire situation. He banished the crystal and stood up abruptly. "No bodyguards," he ordered, "Have my mother and my sister assigned two of the best warriors each; aside from that let it rest."

"But what about Mr. Williams?" Gonzo asked quickly, knowing his King well enough to know Jareth was about to vanish out of the study.

"I doubt he shall need much guarding," Jareth replied seriously, "It is not him they want." And then he vanished.

Gonzo huffed tiredly and rested his head against the back of the chair. It had been a trying morning. It always was when he had to pin Jareth in his study and force him to do a little work. No matter the delegation, the Goblin King's signature was always needed and Jareth never gave his signature unless he fully understood why. At least most of it had been rushed through this time. The dwarf huffed again and set to work planning the rest of the work ahead.

Pandora scowled at her son as he appeared, trying to tell him silently to go away while persuading Toby that hiding in his hands was not the best way to spend such a wonderful afternoon. But Jareth only shook his head and directed what looked to be a genuinely concerned glance at the mortal. Pandora let it go.

"Toby, would you please look up and speak to me?" she eventually pleaded.

"No."

"You will have to lift your head some time, dear. It might as well be now. Come along. We can talk about this in a reasonable manner," she offered.

Toby lifted his head and fixed a dryly accusing glare at her. "You have been talking to Dr. Beck again! Honestly! As if the solution to every problem may be reached by talking."

Pandora rolled her eyes. For just as instant she was tempted to flounce to her feet and leave Toby to wallow in whatever fit he had dug himself into. "Well, if the wisdom of my years is of no use to you…"

"No, no! I apologize, My Lady. I did not mean to denigrate you."

"Denigrate? Toby, does a young man your age really use words like that?"

"The young man does, if he is me," the mortal snorted, "The other fools can hang themselves on bad grammar for all I care."

Denigrate! Jareth shuddered just out of sight. Even in the Underground speech was not so formal. The first thing he had ever noticed about the blond was that damned stilted speech. And then that damned formality. And overall the general boring conventionality that clung to Toby like a cloud. He said the right things, he made the right gestures, and he wore the right clothes… the man never seemed to have any spark of life in him! Only, Jareth had thought he was improving- not quite so stiff or formal. Relaxed enough to have been open with his emotions and open with his opinions and in certain ways quite good company.

Jareth closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Things were becoming unnecessarily complicated.

Toby's ears were giving him trouble. He could see things, certainly, but not well enough that his other heightened awareness shut down. And he could distinctly hear vague sounds that were completely different to the other sounds he listening to day after day in this secluded little spot. He turned his head back slightly and said, "My Lady, you could have told me that he was standing right behind me."

The gamble paid off. Jareth made his way over to them and sat down, eyes fixed on Toby's face.

"Thank you," he said simply.

The mortal cocked his head in surprise and blinked blue eyes. "Whatever for? I have not done anything." And then intelligence asserted itself. "Oh. The, er… you heard everything?"

"A lot," Jareth admitted, "Enough. Mother, did you never teach our young friend that it is dangerous to make wishes in the Wishing Lands?"

Toby coughed and buried his face in his hands again.

Pandora giggled and got to her feet. "I am going to leave the two of you alone now," she asserted, "But please- for my sanity if for no other reason- do not have another fight. I really cannot survive another one. Do not fight; do not injure each other; do not, for the love of mercy, raise your hands to each other. Because if you do, so help me, I am still capable of smacking the both of you!"

Her dire warning delivered, she proffered a kiss to both fully-grown males as any good mother did and wandered away to stick her nose into Elban's situation. She hoped both her sons would find a way to mend a few of the differences between them.

Toby squinted at Jareth and felt relieved at the look of general good humour on that face. Jareth's ill tempers usually made Toby retaliate. Strange, that; he kept himself in check with almost every other person.

The fae smirked and just watched the delightful ebb and flow of colour in Toby's face. It was good to see him react to something. Good to see his impulses had not died away! A brief comparison with another animated face from the same family and Jareth wondered just how anyone could ever freeze like that. How could one control one's impulses?

"I apologize if I said something out of line, Jareth."

The Goblin King almost groaned and fell to his knees begging heaven to intervene. "For the last time, will you stop apologizing?"

Toby lifted his hands in a surrendering gesture. "I was only attempting to…"

"Do you think you have said anything wrong?" Jareth demanded.

"Not really, but there might be certain…"

"Then rest assured that I will tell you if I feel insulted or misunderstood." The Goblin King sat back with a stern expression on his face and then expression melted away again and that smug smirk was back. "No one has ever really done that before."

"Defended you?" Toby asked. He wondered if that had been at the heart of the coldness- the belief that no one really bothered to think anything good of him.

"Oh no, not that! I do well enough in that department," Jareth laughed, "I meant tried genuinely to understand me. And then to explain it to my mother."

"Oh." Toby felt a little foolish. He had gotten carried away, obviously. And like Dr. Beck, the Goblin King had posed a fascinating enigma for him to study. Lately, he had begun to wonder if Jareth didn't just act as he did and let everyone else think what they liked. Very much like the irritating new world around him that assaulted his ears and tongue and skin and nose. They were there; if people wanted to really know them, they could. If no one asked, it was just the wind and the rain and the plants and the stones.

"You know, Toby, I have never considered you a perceptive man," Jareth ruminated, head cocked like an inquisitive animal, eyes bright in the sunlight, "And yet you seem to have quite a good grasp of human nature."

Jareth was agreeing with his perception of him? Toby gulped and licked dry lips. What was he supposed to say to that? And why the hell was he so nervous!

"At the risk of sounding smug and condescending," this was said in all seriousness so Toby let it go, "you are right is a strange and convoluted way. But only partially."

"Glad to know," Toby finally remarked, "I thought you were busy this morning?"

"I was. Until a very interesting wish was made and drew my attention to this fine spot. When did you find it?"

"A long while ago," Toby evaded, "It is a close distance to the Castle so I do not need help getting here and back again. Why?"

"I just wondered. Alright: I am going to make an exception for you. I am going to explain the reason that I asked you to meditate every morning. Firstly, it was not a meditation; if anything, it was a period of reflection. Secondly, you were never meant to do anything; you were meant to sit on the ground and just exist. I specified 'the ground' because it brings you closer to the earth and opens you up to another set of experiences. Is this making sense?"

"You wanted me to reflect on something and you wanted me to sit on cold, damp grass to do that." Toby didn't look particularly impressed. "What was I reflecting on! Not my numerous blessings in this land, please, or I will personally throttle you."

"Ah-ah-ah!" Jareth wagged a finger at him. "No threats. We are supposed to be behaving with civility."

Toby barked a harsh laugh and glared.

Jareth ceded reluctantly- "I was not asking you to reflect on your numerous blessings. Whatever those are. Why would I? And where did you even think up such an idea?"

"It would be a long story," Toby dismissed caustically, "Continue."

"Toby, do stop ordering me around. Unlike the goblins, I do not worship at anyone's feet." It was mildly said, but the sharp incisors were just a little pronounced in the smile and the eyes had grown dark and cold. Jareth meant every word in the fullest sense.

But Toby was not spineless, nor was he in the mood to be particularly meek. The thought uppermost in his mind was that he did not worship at anyone's feet either, even if the person was the Goblin King and the most powerful entity in the land. Jareth was just a male fae. Toby had never seen any reason to make an exception in Jareth's case.

"This conversation is done," the mortal said, rising to his feet and making to leave.

"Sit back down, Toby. We are not finished."

"I say we are."

"How confusing have you found all the new sensations?"

Toby paused in mid-step.

Jareth got up too and stopped just a few inches behind him. Close enough that his skin began to react to the mortal's closeness. Close enough that he was sure the hairs on the back of Toby's neck would begin to prickle. "The world can be a frightening place without sight, yes. But your other senses must have awoken- your hearing, your sense of smell… Tell me truthfully- because you are an honest man- does the magic not leave you breathless at times?"

Toby shook his head but said nothing.

"Never once?" Jareth asked, frowning a little. This was worse than he had thought. He had expected the mortal's sharp intelligence would adapt much quicker than this. It almost made him pity the man.

"Never once," Toby said dully.

"Then I am sorry for you." The words were compassionately said. "Perhaps I misjudged."

"Misjudged what? That I would like not being able to see my way? Jareth, I am not some project you can experiment on! I lost my sight and I faced never getting it back. You have never once apologized for it and you now have the gall to stand there and tell me that you thought in your egotistical way that this would all be for the best. Are you insane or do you really never just take the time to think of another person's point of view?"

Jareth was flustered. He had expected an attack, but not a defeated resignation that sounded more like a monologue than an actual query. He had pushed too far. Again! He was doing this much too often lately and it scared him. His abilities were better than this! "It was partly your fault," he began.

"And I accepted the blame for it," Toby interrupted relentlessly, "But the proper thing to do would be to apologize for your part in this whole mess. I provoked you; I freely admit that. If I have not said it before I am sorry for calling you a whore or for assuming that I had any right to pass judgement on you. But I never caused you lasting harm and you almost blinded me."

Even the air seemed to grow silent.

"You should know how this feels, Jareth," Toby added, "You almost lost your vision too."

"It was an accident," Jareth snapped, "And I was sensible enough to see my part in it. Had I behaved differently, my eyes would be fine."

Toby turned around then, folding his arms across his chest and his eyes narrowed to try to watch the Goblin King's face. He grinned ruefully, hearing the illogic that Jareth probably wouldn't admit to. "It was the worst fight you ever had with your brother. You were forty-two and Dieter accused you of beginning a rumour about the love of his life. He threw a viper at you and the viper spat poison into your eye. You would have lost both if Luka had not yanked it off you by the tail."

"Is that what your boyfriend told you?" Jareth said bitterly.

"Yes."

"You believe him." It was a statement of fact. Jareth was not going to explain himself. Let the legends and rumours continue; they never bothered him.

"No. Luka has lied to me in the past and I will not believe another word out of his mouth until he returns to me and shows me that I can trust him again."

Jareth looked at him. There was no question in Toby's mind that the other fae would return, or that the other fae would return to him. It was a perfect example of that faith in the good of all living beings. Perfectly stupid, but Toby was young and ever so slightly idealistic. Jareth had already heard that belief used on his tarnished persona and if Toby could manage to humanize him from the garbage whispered behind his back, then Luka would pose no problem on that score. Luka was to be a hero, then.

But Jareth was also a honest person in his own way, when he saw that lying would not work. And Luka had managed to surround himself with lies to the extent that Toby might prove a hazard when and if the traveller returned to his homeland.

"The true story," the Goblin King said, "Is much simpler. Dieter was in love. The mermaid he loved was a tart and shallow with it. If she cared for him, it was more than I could say of her. Elban, ever the peacemaker, tried to tell him very carefully to wait before declaring his intentions for the whole world to hear. I told him flatly she was a money-grabbing little water snake. We argued. We came to blows. He hit me and unfortunately he damaged my eye. There was no viper. There was no poison. Luka would not have interfered for love or money and Elban knew us better than to do so."

"That is the whole story?" Toby demanded.

"The whole story."

"Your left eye is discoloured and slightly awkward because of your brother's fist?"

"We were argumentative," Jareth shrugged, "My entire family is. To this day I could walk into my home and present my mother with any number of suggestions for her health and well-being, most of which she knows she needs, and she will still fight me to the bitter end. Jervohl and I both have a temper like the Lady herself."

Toby smiled at the dark sally, turning things over in his mind. It pained him that he felt no surprise at hearing Luka had lied to him. He had not thought about his boyfriend with any kind of true emotion for days. It had just… melted away in the happenings. "Thank you for telling me," he sighed.

Jareth laughed, a loud peal of laughter that wasn't particularly encouraging. "Don't thank me just yet," he chuckled, "I have some more news for you."

He took the glove from his left hand and summoned a crystal, flicked it away and then summoned the crystal again. This time he took it from the air and let it dissolve in his hand, leaving behind a sheet of heavy cream paper. He lifted it to Toby's gaze. "I recently received some very disturbing news, Toby. Sit down if you would like."

"I would prefer to stand." Toby could not see very much more than colours and blurred shapes, but whatever he could see was boding no good. He preferred keeping his height advantage; it intimidated people into keeping their distance.

"As you like. This is from Merilin. The elf I recently met with on account of Madigh's interest in Jervohl. Do you remember? Good. He writes very two weeks, usually with little or no new information. Until this." He held up the paper again and watched Toby's hand twitch. "Luka has taken it upon himself to be of assistance to Madigh."

Toby did falter. The stern mask of blankness broke for just a second to pure disbelief and then horror before he wrested it back into place. He did not go weak in the knees and he did not sway on his feet. What he did do was clench his fist and swallow the urge to demand to see the letter. Merilin had to be lying. The elf disliked him- the feeling was mutual- and perhaps Luka might be a little silly at time, but he would never do something this stupid? Luka would indeed do something this stupid. If he felt it justified. If he felt slighted. If he wanted to appease his hurt pride. And he would think Jareth was responsible because that was the way Luke thought!

"You really are telling me the truth," Toby asked, "If I find out that this has all been a lie then I will make you pay."

Jareth once more wished that Sarah were there. She likely would have protested a lot and then talked very fast as she coddled her baby brother- never mind he was six foot three and broad with it- and gotten through the situation a lot better than the Goblin King ever could. Toby would not have suspected Sarah of subterfuge in the first place; so likely she would have had to defend her mate from… what was he thinking! He was not Sarah's mate! She was dead, for pity's sake! He had watched her die and watched her been buried and why the hell was he standing still and living in a dream?

"It is true," he acknowledged, "I waited a week to test its validity. Luka never went near the Sea. He went to Gildred's lands."

Toby's jaw tightened. He did not appreciate looking like a weak fool. "Does Gildred know?"

"About a plan to have Jervohl closely monitored in the event of perhaps killing or injuring her in order to create upheaval in the political system of the Underground?" Jareth sounded amused. "Not at all. If I am any judge of the matter, Gildred would have anyone threatening Jervohl torn limb from limb and then burned until their bones blacked. He loves her, the fool. I have no idea why."

"He does?" Toby was startled by that.

"Yes, he does," Jareth retorted, "He is due to arrive at the Castle next week to tell her so himself. If I can have Elban and Beran sorted by then, it is to be hoped that the next six months will proceed for us uninterrupted. Which is a good thing, because I am growing very tired of this constant need of yours to take offence to everything I say!"

"I do not take offence to everything you say."

Jareth reminded him of twenty petty arguments in the last six months with just a look. He did not need to say anything. Toby was honest to himself even and he could remember them all perfectly well. The mortal flushed a little and growled something unintelligible.

"What was that?"

"I said- you've made your point. May I go now?"

"No. As I said, we are not done yet."

Toby raised an eyebrow and made a conscious decision in his mind to stay. Staying because he was ordered to would only serve to send him stalking in the opposite direction. Jareth quite simply had that effect on him. "Yes, Sire. If there is anything I can do."

Jareth gave up. He waved a dismissive hand and flopped down on the ground. "Why do I bother?" he said out loud.

Toby sat down and looked enquiringly at him with all the innocence of a newborn lamb.

For the first time Jareth did not trust that look. It had all the markings of a wolf in sheep's clothing. "The only reason I asked you to reflect in the grounds every morning is so that your stifled senses could be opened up. Admittedly, that is an exercise only taught for the year in which you are converting, but the idea is the same. Seeing is not always experiencing. Otherwise, it is just a vision. Dreams are visions. They are not reality. And yet you see them. The difference between a dream fruit and a real fruit is the taste and the smell of it, the feel of it sliding down your throat. "

Toby looked down at his hands.

"You, brat, are so locked away in some futile attempt to play a particular role that you never stop to experience things as a normal human being." Jareth was being severe. But it was the truth and he saw no reason to sugarcoat it. "I do not know what made you that way. Talk to Dr. Beck if you need to. Personally I detest the man and can quite understand why his patient wished him to the Underground, but you needed to bring yourself back to the world." His lips twitched. "Clearly it has not worked."

Toby grinned back and shook his head. "Why did you not just say all this before?"

"It is more dramatic when someone discovers it for himself," Jareth allowed, "The person suddenly jerks upright and stares wildly around. Mostly, they fall over in hysterical laughter and then burst into tears. I find it funny."

"So you set me up for my good and your amusement," Toby surmised.

"Really, is it so bad for someone to twist things a little so that right can be of some practical purpose instead of just a moral decision?" Jareth pointed out.

Toby laughed at hearing his own excuses on Jareth's behalf echoed back at him. "You are a bad influence," he said severely.

"Toby, I am no influence at all," Jareth promised you, "You see me as you want to see me."

The mortal quietened down and this time it was his turn to direct a searching stare all over the slender figure sitting comfortably slumped before him, chin cupped in one delicate hand and eyes as serious as the smirk was humorous. "You really mean that, do you not?"

His only answer was a sparkling smile full of unspoken promises. Simply because Jareth was like that. He was a flirt and he loved a good joke and he loved knowing things other people didn't. And he acted like that because he was a tease and he loved people knowing that he knew. Simple. Or complex. Jareth was nothing like he was and everything as he seemed and quite possibly a range of other people that Toby would never meet. Too many shades of too many people to count; contained in one pretty body.

Oh yes, that was what Jareth reminded him of- the Underground. And not the people, but the wild, untamed, ever-changing flamboyance of the Underground.

Toby couldn't help smiling at his dizzy imagination taking off. Nothing wrong with a little imaginative thinking, was there? Besides, the Goblin King had openly expressed concern that the mortal was too stodgy. Toby was duty bound to do something about that.