Okay. I know I said that I was going to post ASAP but I had a REALLY hard time with this one. Don't ask why but I couldn't even bear to send it to a beta because I was worried about changing much of it. So, here you go and the next chapter is almost done. I swear.
Chapter Five: Meeting Marshall
Marshall, the Prince of the Labyrinth, stood next to the large double-doors watching the throng of people file about chatting animatedly. His long blonde hair was highlighted with red, matching his cape and tights. He looked almost exactly like his younger brother Jareth. Except for his cold red eyes.
Marshall flicked a stray string from his tunic and looked around in boredom. The woman hanging on his arm looked up at him. "What is the matter, my Lord?" she asked. Marshall looked down at the woman – his current lover.
"No, Janise," he said in a cold voice. "I am just waiting for my dear brother to show himself. Apparently he has already managed to tick off the High King. I must give him credit. His arrogance seems to get him more and more attention." He shook his head, looking away from the woman. "And I heard murmurs of a new lover. I am highly eager to meet this young woman."
Janise nodded and adjusted her dress so her breasts were accentuated. She knew what would happen to her if she lost her standing as Marshall's mistress: she would be sent to work in a brothel in one of the lowest kingdoms, left to fend for herself. As she fanned herself, silently cursing the mask that she was wearing, the low hum of people talking in the ballroom ceased. Looking over, she saw the large doors opening slowly. Feeling a tremor go through her companion Janise knew instantly who was behind that door. She was right.
Jareth, the King of the Goblins and the Labyrinth, walked through looking elegant. His mask was black as were his boots, cape, and tights. His tunic was a deep blue color. Janise felt the familiar fluttering in the pit of her stomach as she looked at the man but reminded herself to continue calmly fanning herself. When Jareth turned around and offered his hand to someone Janise craned her neck to see who was with the king. When she saw the woman standing with him her mouth dropped open and her fan paused. The silence in the room was potent as Jareth and Sarah walked through the doors into the ballroom. A small dwarf stood in front of them and he took a deep breath into his tiny little chest.
"Announcing King Jareth and Lady Sarah," he bowed low, his little black overcoat brushing the floor, and moved out of the way. Janise took a sidelong look at Marshall and felt her heart drop. From the look on his face she would be heading back to the brothels if this Sarah gave in to her escort's will. Janise prayed to the Nameless-Ones that the girl would not abandon her virtues for this man.
Nadia stood behind her lady and smiled in satisfaction. Sarah had decided on a shimmering pink color for the dress. Nadia had flushed in pride when Sarah donned the long dress and posed in front of the mirror. They had decided that a simple half-mask would do. It was a cream color with silvery pink lining the edges and light purple ribbons hung from the corners. They had had to ask for assistance from someone else to get the hair down but it, too, was gorgeous. It wove lightly, hanging around her face and half-way down her back. Nadia had to admit, though that the most satisfactory part of any of the preparations was Jareth's response to it. Chuckling at the memory of the man's reaction, Nadia drifted behind Sarah and once they had passed through the doors she moved to press herself against the wall. She smiled once again as she saw Jareth's brother standing and staring at Sarah. But her face dropped as her eyes drifted over to the High King. He was staring greedily at Sarah and Nadia had heard enough from her fellow maids that once the High King set his sights on something – or someone – he never gave up. Nadia made a mental note to mention this to Jareth.
Jareth scanned the throng of people below him as he led Sarah down the stairs. He made a note of where his brother and his whore were standing and then where the High King was. Once he had figured out where those two were – thankfully on opposite sides of the ballroom – he found Selwin and Fala. The pair smiled at him, both obviously amused. Jareth glared and pointedly looked at Fala. He still hadn't gotten back at the man for interrupting his time with Sarah.
Once they had reached the bottom of the platform Jareth raised his arms and smiled at his guests. "Welcome. I know that we politicians are notorious for our long, grueling speeches but I'm hungry so let's make this short." He paused as a ripple of laughter passed through the room. "I will just take this opportunity to welcome the High King and his son Prince Selwin. And a fond welcome to my dear friend Fala, King of the Vampyres. Finally I want to introduce to you my Honored Guest Sarah, the Defeater of the Labyrinth." A chorus of gasps and muttering filled the room and Jareth sensed Sarah tense beside him. He smiled down at her and then turned back to the crowd. "All that aside: let's eat." He chuckled and motioned with his hand. A large table appeared in the middle of the room, covered in platters covered with foods of all kinds. Jareth heard Sarah inhale deeply and squeezed the hand which he held in his own. "Let's eat," he whispered in her ear. "I put you through a lot a few hours ago. You are going to regain some of your strength before tonight." He smirked as Sarah made a sound of protest and he pulled her forward toward the table.
Sarah stood against the wall, listening to the soft music that was emanating from a source that she could not find. Jareth was off somewhere doing who-knows-what and Nadia had already found a dancing partner. A few men had already asked Sarah to dance – plus one woman – and she had refused all. Many of the guests were wearing grotesque masks and vulgar outfits and Sarah felt extremely out of place in the ballroom. She was reminded of the ball that Jareth had shown her in her dream except the embarrassment was much more acute. Slowly, as she stared off at the swirling figures Sarah realized someone was talking to her. Standing in front of her was a tall, handsome man dressed in red. Sarah felt her eyes widen as she looked up at the man in front of her. Remembering to curtsy clumsily Sarah smiled up at him.
"Sorry, my Lord, but I must have drifted off," she mumbled. "What did you say?"
The man smiled down at her and Sarah felt a blush rising to her cheeks. "I was merely asking you to dance, Lady Sarah. That is your name, is it not?"
Sarah nodded. She shot a glance out into the crowd and, failing to spot Jareth, she took a deep breath and looked back up at him. "I would be delighted to dance with you. May I ask you what your name is?"
The man's smile widened and he offered her his arm. "My name is Marshall." And he led her out on to the dance floor.
Fala, King of the Vampyres, watched Marshall dancing with Sarah. He sucked on his lower lip in concentration. The prince was obviously intrigued by the woman, as Nadia had pointed out to him earlier, and Fala knew that nothing good could come of that. Keeping his peripheral vision on the dancing couple, Fala tried to locate Selwin or Jareth. Not finding either of the two within a time span that allowed any kind of comfort, Fala headed out onto the dance floor to break up Marshall and Sarah before something bad happened.
Marshall smiled smugly down at the woman in his arms. As soon as he had seen her enter the room with Jareth he knew that he wanted her. She was still a child by any standards but one could tell that she was passionate and Marshall knew from experience that she would make a wonderful mistress with a little training. Her figure fit comfortably in his hands as he spun her around and pressed her subtly closer to his body. She blushed periodically when he would say something that struck a cord and when she laughed it was with modesty – something that Marshall encountered very rarely – and when she saw a couple engaging in the back of the room she looked away with innocence – something that Marshall hadn't seen in his women for years. All in all Marshall wanted this woman badly. And the fact that he would have to fight to get her just added to the intrigue. His eyes flicked over the girl's head to check and see if his brother was back in the ballroom – he wasn't – and he saw Fala making his way resolutely towards them. Muttering something inaudible Marshall smiled down at Sarah and leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"Why don't we go out onto the balcony? It's getting a little hot in here and I would like to continue our conversation." He smiled beguilingly and Sarah, after a moment's hesitation, nodded in agreement. Marshall clasped her hand in his own and led her out through a side door. As he stepped out into the cool night air he waved at the door and it locked silently. Bringing Sarah up to the railed edge of the balcony Marshall let go of Sarah's hand and instead rested his arm around her waist.
"So where do you come from, Lady Sarah?" he asked softly as he propped himself on the railing.
Sarah shrugged. "Uh…you haven't been there, I'd expect."
Marshall smiled. "Try me."
"New York," Sarah said absently. Marshall cocked his head in curiosity.
"Really? That sounds familiar. Where in the Underground is that?"
"I don't know," Sarah sighed. "I'm not all that great at geographical stuff. Jareth would know."
"How long have you been with Jareth?" Marshall asked, trying to keep the question sounding innocent.
"Not long. A few weeks, I think. Or…" she blushed heavily, fiddling with a lock of hair. "I guess you could say just about a day."
Marshall nodded, noting this. If she hadn't been with him for long then she was less likely to be one-hundred percent loyal to him. He allowed himself the pleasure of tightening his grip around her waist. "Are you officially declared lovers yet?"
Sarah's mouth opened slightly in embarrassment as she looked over at the man beside her. Something wasn't right about him… "No. Not really. At least…well…how do you define 'officially declared'?"
Marshall shrugged. "I don't know. Has he told you he loves you? Has he claimed your body yet?" Marshall knew he was being overly forward but he wanted this woman and this was probably the only time in a long while that he was going to get a chance to be with her alone. Turning his full body to the girl's he pulled her in close, inhaling her sweet scent deeply.
Sarah was blushing and fumbling for words but Marshall rested a finger on her lip and lowered his face inches from her own. "Don't be so embarrassed, darling. It's just a simple question." He eased her body closer to his and pressed himself against her. She was struggling to get away now but he just smiled and lowered his finger. "I want you to tell me the truth. Does he make you feel this way?" He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her full on the lips. Not waiting to ask permission he forced her mouth open with his tongue and pulled her body closer to his own. He groaned heavily as she struggled against him. This was definitely going to be fun. His hand slipped from her back up to her breasts and he cupped them as he continued to kiss her fiercely. His enjoyment of the moment was cut off short when the door behind them banged open and something rammed into his groin. He pulled away from Sarah with a string of vulgar curses and doubled over, holding himself in his hands.
A hand grabbed the back of his neck and he was lifted off the ground. A low, angry voice penetrated his mind as he struggled to get loose. "Don't you ever lay a finger on her again."
Marshall stopped struggling when he recognized the voice. Chuckling, he swallowed hard. "Keep a better eye on her, dear brother, and maybe I won't. She was perfectly unguarded in that room back there. Just waiting to be taken and taught how to please a man."
A fist rammed into his jaw and Jareth dropped him. Sarah was standing above him fuming. Her shoe was pressed against his throat and she was breathing heavily. Jareth came into Marshall's line of vision then. He eased her away from the man on the ground, muttering things in her ear gently. Slowly, very slowly her breath became regular again and her anger seemed more controlled. As she and the King turned to go back into the ballroom, however, she leaned down to look Marshall in the face, a sweet smile on her face.
"For your information, My Lord, no one has the right to claim me." Standing slowly, she walked around him, giving him one last kick. Marshall silently cursed his bad luck as the door closed again, leaving him alone on the balcony.
Jareth held Sarah against his chest possessively in the corner of the ballroom. He was breathing heavily and ignored her protests. "I'm fine, Jareth," she was saying reassuringly as she tried to ease his arms from around her. "I took care of it. I got a good one right between the legs, in case you didn't notice. I think I may have even castrated him. You don't have to get so uptight. Just take a deep breath, stop trying to squeeze me to death, and look at me." As she said this she slowly rubbed his back. He took a deep breath and stepped away just enough so he could look down at her face.
"I swear to you, Sarah," he growled angrily, "that if that man ever sets one finger on you ever again he will die a slow and painful death." Jareth pulled her back to his chest and buried his face in her hair. "Don't ever go out alone with any man alone ever again. No one except me, Selwin, and Fala can be trusted. Promise me."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Come on, Jareth," she muttered into his chest. "You're overacting. I took care of him. I would have hurt him more if you hadn't come up." She smiled into the fabric of his tunic. "He's no different than the perverts in my school."
Jareth growled again and Sarah found herself in her room. Jareth let go of her and began to pace around the room. "Sarah," he said, obviously trying to contain his anger. "That man is much worse than anyone you have ever met before. If I hadn't gotten there at that moment, mark my words: you would be in his chambers and out of my protection. After that you would be in a living hell, unable to escape."
Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "Well, sorry. I wasn't really in my right mind back there, you know. It happened so fast and I wasn't even paying attention half of the time that I spent with him. I was too preoccupied with agonizing over certain things." She glared at Jareth who had stopped pacing.
"Like what?" Jareth asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Like…well…like the simple fact that I am only fifteen and I got laid a few hours ago. It kind of wasn't the way I was expecting to lose my virginity, you know. No," she chuckled wryly, turning to sit down on the edge of the bed. "It REALLY wasn't the way I wanted to lose it. How do I know that any of this isn't just temporary? How do I know that you aren't going to get bored with me? I am only FIFTEEN. My god, Jareth. I had sex with a man how many times older than me after knowing him for how long? A few weeks tops. I know that there are women down in that ballroom that would give their lives for what happened. I couldn't stop thinking about how easy it would be for you to just drop me like a rock and move on to some robust woman who wouldn't have any qualms about sharing your bed. THAT was what I was thinking about." Sarah ended with a suppressed sob as she covered her face with a pair of gloved hands.
Jareth stared at Sarah with his mouth slightly open. She was shaking with sobs now and when he reached out to touch her she flinched away. Jareth felt his stomach fall and he knelt beside the bed, his hand stroking a stray lock of hair. "Oh, my dear," he whispered softly; soothingly. "I love you. You know that, darling. I was afraid when Fala told me that you had left the ballroom with Marshall. I was afraid for you. I was afraid of what he would do to you if given the chance. I didn't mean to be harsh." He moved his finger so it was under her chin and he tilted it up and looked into her eyes. His thumb rubbed her jaw line gently and smiled tentatively. "Are you terribly angry with me?"
Sarah took a shuddering breath and thought for a moment. Then she shook her head slowly, bringing her hand up to press his to her face. "No. I'm not angry at you. Although," she smiled slightly, "I wouldn't mind taking a hit at that Marshall guy."
Jareth chuckled and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "And you know…if you're worried about age I can always do this." When he pulled away and Sarah looked at him she frowned in surprise.
"Wow," she muttered. He looked younger – about nineteen, maybe – and she blushed as she felt heat coursing through her body. "Wow."
Jareth laughed again, pulling her mask off with his free hand. "Does that make you feel better?" When she nodded dumbly he leaned in, brushing his lips against hers. "Now to solve the problem of you not being completely satisfied with our earlier exploits…" Sarah smiled nervously as he leaned in and kissed her again full on the lips. She closed her eyes and let herself go.
Marshall glared out at the darkened labyrinth as he massaged his thigh. Janise was next to him shooting nervous glances his way and it was starting to get aggravating. "What do you want, Janise?" he snapped. She flinched.
"N-nothing, my lord," she whispered and looked away from him. Growling in the back of his throat, Marshall gripped her chin and turned her back to face him.
"Answer me, wench," he said through gritted teeth.
"I was just thinking, Lord. I am sorry I displeased you." Janise was shaking slightly as her master's grip tightened.
Growling in anger Marshall shoved Janise aside, sending her sprawling to the ground. He sat back in his chair and played with a lock of hair hanging in his face. Finally he looked over at Janise – still on the ground – and nodded in admonition. "I will not punish you further," he growled. "Send for Lawrence. He said that he wished to speak with me when my time allowed. And I do believe it does at the moment."
Janise nodded and pulled herself off the floor. "Yes, My Lord."
Well there you go. I am going to go and start typing but I want to extend a warning. The next chapter MAY be a little over T so bear with me if I have to change the story rating. :-) Well, thanks again to all my wonderful readers. You will hear from me soon.
Shigure
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