A slender hand grabbed the collar of his armor and he snarled as he was pulled around. Finding himself facing Sarah, he squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the blood thirty feelings racing through him. He never saw Sarah put the shield around them, but when he opened his eyes, he found them safe inside an iridescent bubble. She was panting from exertion, as was he, and for a long moment they simply stared at each other.
Finally, she spoke, her voice slightly husky. "Jareth, when this is all over, you owe me big time," she managed her words between deep breaths.
He lowered his eyes, casting his gaze away from her. They were safe for the moment, shielded by the woman he loved. A woman he was terrified was going to tell him that after this was over, she would go home, would leave him. He took a deep breath and released it.
If you love each other, why can't you trust each other?
He didn't want to talk about this, not now, when so much was at stake, but she was forcing the issue. So he decided that he would set aside his pride and trust her. Even if it took her away from him. "What boon would the lady prefer," he asked quietly, unable to meet her gaze for fear of what he would see there.
He missed her wild smile. He was forcing himself to focus on the sounds of battle around him instead. Besides, she wasn't talking yet. Her other hand came up to rest upon his shoulder and finally her voice met his ears. "A lifetime of incredibly fantastic sex," was her answer and before he could feel shock at what she'd said, her lips were upon his and her tongue pushed into his mouth.
Chapter Seventeen
It took several moments to register the words, and several more to feel her lips pressed earnestly against his own. To him, it was as though his soul were being consumed by her, taken as something that was no longer his own, but now was hers as well.
The noises of battle faded at the feeling of her mouth on his. His sword fell from his hand in his shock, and he immediately gripped her close to him, pouring out more of himself, and accepting all of her that she gave. After that brief, searing, invasive kiss, she retreated, one hand behind his neck, the other resting at his shoulder. "Sarah?" he asked in a whisper, scarce daring to hope that she had meant what he thought she'd meant.
She just smiled up at him, that wild, wonderful smile and pulled him down. He met her kiss, his arms slipping around her back, his mind racing with the possibilities, even as he responded to her. Her own arms wound around him, grasping him closer as if she couldn't get close enough, even with no space between them. Their lips retreated briefly so they could gasp for air before meeting once again. Her mouth parted in invitation and he slipped her his tongue, tasting her deeply. Her own came forward, caressing his then chasing it out of her mouth and invading his own.
Around them, the battle raged on, and Jareth knew that in one corner of his mind, but the vast majority of it and his blood supply was very interested in his lady's extra curricular activity. He withdrew, attempting to reinstate reason, but Sarah kissed him deeply once again. Seconds before her lips met his, he caught fears that somehow mirrored his own and he suddenly realized that she was afraid as well. She was kissing him to keep him from saying something that would make the possibility she'd shown him impossible.
He gently bit her lower lip, sucking it into his mouth before releasing it and holding her back just enough to look at her. She leaned forward to kiss him again, but he maintained the distance. "Stay with me, Sarah," he half begged, letting her hear all the pleading and longing that he'd been feeling. "Take what I offered you nineteen years ago. If you leave me again, I'll go mad."
His voice was no louder than a breath, but she must have heard him because her eyes lit up with joy and warmth. The same painful hope that was filling him. "Yeah," she whispered back, and his joy surged forward and left him in a laugh that was crazed with relief. He cupped her face between his hands carefully, leaning down and kissing her full on her lips.
Finally they broke apart and he bent down, picking up his sword from where it had fallen. She had retrieved her own blade and when he turned towards her, grabbing her arm gently. "Thank you, precious," he said, his voice sincere.
She flashed him that brilliant smile and she set her hand over his. "Thank you."
Just as she prepared to drop the shield surrounding them, he leaned closer to her ear. "I'll make sure we have a proper opportunity to celebrate after this messy affair is over with," he promised, noticing the faint blush that was coloring her cheeks.
"I'll hold you to it," she countered, and then they split away from each other, heading head first into battle once again.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.
Fachen was just as unpleasant as Erin recalled him being when she was staying under Bram's roof. The sword he held was dripping with blood and it caused something dark and furious to fill her. The goblins that worked in the castle, all the women and children, had been hidden away in the catacombs beneath castle, well out of the way of the battle, not because they couldn't fight, but to protect the next generation. She realized that now. Always, on television and in movies, war was glorified, but the reality of what happened during such things were only settling in now.
She heard Kieran shift behind her but couldn't afford to spare him a glance. It was the first lesson she'd learned in all of the martial schools she'd forced her mother to pay for. Never take your eyes off the opponent. So she slipped sideways, giving Kieran space to move if he needed to, but she never looked away from Fachen's sword.
Fachen was larger than her and from his size, stronger as well. Hopefully, she had him beat with fighting skill and agility. There had been a flicker of fear when she'd first acknowledged him, but now he looked confident and was smirking with evil intent. No question why he was there in the first place.
"You know, my dear child. You don't have to die. If you'll just let me deal with the traitor behind you, I could let you marry me. We could unify these two kingdoms...make them great..."
She could hear the magic in his voice, knew he was trying to wrap her in some kind of spell, but couldn't for the life of her figure out what that was. Kieran snarled something behind her, and she held a hand up, wincing slightly. "Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick," she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. She glared at Fachen. "Whatever you're trying wont work. My brain doesn't even recognize the image you're trying to put into my head."
"Well, if you're sick, that will make my job easier as well." He lifted the sword, preparing to swing it at her, but she wagged her finger faintly.
"You can't kill me," she said, something flickering into the back of her mind.
"Oh, I assure you, I can-" he stepped towards her menacingly, then spoke again. "Just do as I say. Take the offer-"
Just fear me, love me, do as I say-
She inclined her head, suddenly stunned. "Words..." she breathed, popping up off the bed so quickly, she startled both Fachen and Kieran behind her. She paced, her eyes still on the sword, though her mind was years away.
"Erin," Kieran asked, his voice laced with concern. "What's wrong?"
She stopped, the final piece of the puzzle clicking into place. Words have power here. With words, her mother defeated the Goblin King. "Through dangers untold...and hardships unnumbered..." She lifted her face, completely surprised, looking Fachen in the face. "You can't kill me," she said, her voice victorious. "If you could have, you would have done it the second you walked into the room." She walked towards him, her mismatched eyes shining with a victory she knew was hers.
Understanding flickered into Kieran's eyes, but Fachen's were still blank, unknowing. "I assure you, that's not the case. It had been my plan from the beginning to force you into a marriage with me. Then Oberon would not be able to contest my presence in the Goblin Kingdom-"
"But Oberon doesn't know I exist," Erin said calmly. "So that reason doesn't work. Marriage would give you some manner of power over me and this kingdom, however. So after marrying me, I'm sure that I'd be dead within a year." She shook her head, pacing back and forth in front of the bed, her lips curling into a knowing smile. "If you can kill me, go ahead. Kill me."
Kieran gripped her arm and she gently set her palm over his. The nurse was snapping at him to lay down and let the lady deal with the intruder.
Fachen lifted the sword, moving towards her.
"You have no power over me," she said, her voice calm and collected.
"Yes I do," he snapped, holding the sword against her skin. His muscles bunched, but the sword didn't seem to move. "What...?"
"You don't understand. You're standing within the Labyrinth." Erin lifted a gloved hand, pushing it away with the padded palm. "The Labyrinth that my mother conquered. Her blood is in my veins, along with that of the Goblin King. That's why you have no power here. As long as one of it's sovereigns stands within it's walls, the Labyrinth will protect them. And because I'm the daughter of it's champion, I know the 'magic words'."
"I've had enough of this!" Fachen lunged forward, swinging the sword at her neck, obviously hoping to take it off in one swipe.
Erin leaned back, using her palm to deflect the blade upward. Her other hand came down on it and she spun, pulling the sword out of his hand easily. She pointed the sword at him, and gave him a very cold smile.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.
Something had happened, Sarah realized, watching every single person on the battlefield freeze. Power was washing over her, and she could almost hear the words spoken without being there. Jareth pushed his way towards her, his face concerned. "Something-"
She held up her hand, her head tilting slightly. "No power over me," she whispered, eyes widening. She turned towards Jareth, her jaw dropping. "Someone said the words."
"Erin," he said, and a crystal was in his palm. She could see her daughter reflected on the crystal and she was holding a sword and wearing a very cold smile. She lifted her face, seeing the king wearing a tight smile. "Someone taught our daughter a certain set of words, apparently."
She lightly elbowed him in the ribs, even as the movement began once again, this time horns sounding a retreat and people pouring away from the Labyrinth in droves. Jareth held up his hand as his troops made to chase. "Let them."
Just as he spoke those words, however, a whirl of fire shot up at the edge for the trees and it began to reek havoc on the troops, moving in a straight line at them. Enemy troops began running sideways to escape the inferno, and Sarah felt the urge to do the same, but Jareth just held her at his side. He was still looking at her, his expression now exasperated. "Sarah-"
She pursed her lips, mildly annoyed with the man. "You know I had to say it back then."
"I know," he agreed.
"Shouldn't we move," she asked, her eyes flitting towards the whirl of fire moving towards them.
"Moving at this point would be ultimately fatal, because the person causing that would think we're an enemy as well." He turned towards the fire, and lifted a hand, speaking one phrase she couldn't understand. The fire shot towards his hand and in the middle of the flames was a mature woman, who appeared just past the prime of her life, wearing long robes of dark green. "Mab," he greeted calmly, if not cautiously.
"That's Mab?"
"Not as Kieran and Erin would recognize her," he said calmly. "They thought she was at the end of her life. Illusions are good for that." The woman approached them, and Jareth extended his arms, as if to hug the woman, only to get slapped in the face. "Ow!"
"Jareth, if anything happened to those kids, I'm going to mince you and then stew you and then serve you to Bog Rats!"
"They're fine," he half-complained, half-laughed. "Mab, this is Sarah. Erin and Kieran are-"
A horn trumpeted, and suddenly more troops were pouring onto the field. For a moment, Sarah thought the attack was renewing and she and Jareth both shifted into positions of readiness, except these soldiers were collecting the stragglers of Fachen's troops, chaining them together. Moments later, a tall man with flowing blond hair stepped out of the shadows, an arrogant look on his face.
"Shit. I didn't expect him to get here so quickly..." Jareth muttered.
Sarah glanced at him, questioningly. "Who?"
Jareth winced faintly. "High King Oberon... I was hoping that this would be over fast enough that while he would be filled in, he wouldn't be able to step in." He glanced towards her and spoke softly. "Leave the talking to me, precious. Oberon may be among the Seelie, but he can find insult in the most innocent sentence and he's not above punishing a mortal woman. Just this one, leave the talking to me."
Mab watched them in curiosity but Sarah focused on the man before her. "Jareth, lets clear everyone out of here as quickly as possible so that we can have that nice 'quiet' celebration, okay?"
The Goblin King smiled broadly at her, then began walking swiftly towards Oberon. Sarah fell into step slightly behind him and gasped in surprise when he caught her hand and tugged her up so she was at his side once again. "My equal, remember, darling?"
She gave him a faint smile and then turned a more serious expression towards the man they were approaching.
"You know, ser, if I had needed help with the battle, I would have sent word," Jareth said as they came within polite distance. Oberon's troops looked at Jareth in disdain. A few started to draw their swords.
"You will address his highness properly, cur!"
Sarah felt her ire rise, but Jareth just gave them a biting smile before looking towards Oberon once more. Oberon was not looking at Jareth. He was looking at her. With interest that made her stomach churn with nausea. "I suppose you will just have to give proper payment for my intervention, then Jareth."
The goblins snarled at that, and suddenly, they were surrounding herself and their King. All of the troops looked down at the small creatures in surprise, because they were aiming sharp, pointy weapons their way. Sarah glanced towards Jareth once again, seeing a biting smile on his mouth. "Your highness, you would do well to place your interest elsewhere. This woman is the future queen of my lands, as well as the mother of my heir."
"Half-breed children cannot inherit a fae kingdom," Oberon said, his lips curling into a half-sneer.
Sarah would have gone for the bastard if the man at her side hadn't slipped an arm tightly around her waist. "The Goblin Kingdom is not a fae kingdom. Hence the name." Jareth chuckled behind her, his lips grazing her temple. "As ever, the Goblins chose their own ruler; there have been fae and goblin and mortal, but they've always been chosen by the denizens of the Labyrinth and the Labyrinth herself."
Oberon snarled softly something in another language.
Sarah glanced back at Jareth in surprise, and then smiled at him. "For my will is as strong," she breathed softly.
"And your kingdom as great," he agreed, obviously very amused.
"Where is the orchestrator of this little coup," the High King snapped, glancing around the area.
Sarah froze, glancing back towards Jareth. "Shit. I'd forgotten."
Jareth straightened, looking back at Oberon. "We'll deal with that gutless bastard ourselves. You're not the law here, Oberon. I am." He extended his hand to Sarah and with a whirl of smoke and a brief crushing sensation, they began to disappear. "Didymus, you and my precious' other knights are in charge."
Then they vanished from where they had so briefly stood before the High King of the Seelie.
They reappeared in the corridor near the room Kieran and Erin had been in. "Are you allowed to speak to him that way," Sarah asked, staring up at him, bewildered.
Jareth gave her a tight-lipped smile. "He cannot punish someone for honesty. Even if he's insulted that I wouldn't hand over my hard won prize to him."
She would have gotten much more intimate with him right there, but suddenly, noise broke down the hall, and Jareth's head jerked towards the door. Before another thought pass through them, they were moving towards Kieran's room.
.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.
Obviously, the words she spoke were true, because after she'd claimed Fachen's sword and passed it off to Kieran, she found that punches and kicks did not hurt her. However, in spite of that, she was still hurting. The first hit that did it had knocked her into the bed post.
The man grabbed her and threw her at the wall and Erin realized in worry that she didn't have time to correct herself and that this was going to hurt. A lot. She vaguely heard a voice cry out to her and another object, but she was trying to think of how to protect herself. She forced herself to relax, tried to curl up to protect her head, even as she felt herself hit and she cried out in startled pain.
Fachen stood, wiping blood from his lips from a good left hood she'd given him. "Looks like words are just words," he laughed in a snotty manner. "Well, Kieran, you can just sit back and watch as I slowly tear her apart!"
Erin wanted to say something rude back to him, but she could hear a heartbeat under her ear, and felt warmth around her even as she dropped to the ground. She quickly lifted her head and saw Kieran behind her, looking pained and pale. Fury shot through her and she grabbed his tunic. "You said you wouldn't jump into danger!"
Kieran's golden eyes opened, looking at her with deadly seriousness. "I also made you promise that if you were in danger, you had to let me help you," his voice was hoarse from pain, but he had that stubborn look on his face that she was finding more and more familiar.
There was an angry shout, and Erin turned around, in time to see Fachen bearing down on them, looking wild with rage, almost beyond sanity. He lunged down at them, and she felt Kieran shift and she moved to stop him, her hand wrapping around his. To her surprise, the sword was still in his hand, and Fachen fell on it, impaling himself on his own blade.
Erin felt a shudder rip through her and she tried to heave the blade away from her, but it only drove it deeper into the body with a sickening slushy crunching noise. Blood was sliding down it, dripping onto her white pants leg. Muddy eyes that had been glaring down at them were wide with shock and the spark of life in them was fading.
The door burst open and she could hear the voices of her mother and father, but couldn't speak, because she was too busy staring into the eyes of the man who wanted to kill Kieran and herself. She was shaking and she knew it and she couldn't move, couldn't say one word.
"Erin, let it go," came her father's voice gently. "Let it go." Warm hands covered hers, pushing life back into herself, and she dropped her hand away, and Jareth pushed the now dead body away from her. Mismatched eyes that were like her own, yet different, peered down at her.
"D...Dad?"
"I'm here, Erin. You're alright," he said, his voice soothing. His teaching voice.
She turned to the side, searching wildly for her mother. "Mom?" Her voice was rising in pitch. She knew on some level that she was in shock and was about to break, but she couldn't stop it. Her mother's warm green eyes met her own. Another hand on her free one.
"It's okay, baby."
She twisted around, to look at Kieran, who was pale, his face tight with pain. He gave her a faint smile, and then his hand covered her eyes and she was pulled against his chest. She gave a tremble. "Let it go, Erin," he whispered softly against her hair and she felt the first sob well up in her throat. Tears wet her eyes and she clung to the hands of her mother and father as Kieran hid her tears of relief – tears of shock and fear and the loss of innocence.
Finally, she began pulling herself together, her trembling slowing and she lifted a hand, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Everyone's okay?"
Her mother looked towards the man at her side and there was a warm smile on her face. "Better than okay, honey..." Sarah Williams looked towards her and Erin realized with a flash that sometime between yesterday and this morning, they had reached some kind of agreement. "Erin, would you like to stay here? In the Goblin City? Your father and I talked and...we want to try to work this out."
She thought for a moment she was going to cry again. She swallowed hard to keep them at bay before speaking. "Of course I do. I want you to be happy, mom."
"How nauseatingly sweet," came a voice from the door and Erin felt her protectiveness well up and she turned towards the speaker and snarled at him.
She heard breath whistle between her father's teeth, even as she glared furiously at the interloper. The man was tall, blond, and had a smug and superior look on his face. The man gave her a look of complete disdain. "So this is the half-breed child. I had heard rumors, Jareth. I had hoped they were lies. A dream born child of a mortal woman and one married to the son of my enemy no less."
Erin glanced towards her father. "This is High King Oberon," Jareth explained in a weary voice. "Although why he was able to get into the castle is beyond me."
A wounded Alastar, supported by an irritated woman with gray-streaked dark hair walked in. "That would have been me. He said that he was seeking you after you left the field. My apologies. If I'd known you were having a quiet moment to regroup with your family I would have detained him for a moment."
"It's fine," Sarah said quietly, then stood.
"I need someone to take back to stand trial for this mess," Oberon said in a cold voice. "Who was the person who waged war on the Goblin Kingdom?"
Jareth sighed heavily. "The orchestrator of this mess has been slain attempting to murder my daughter and her husband. So your courts are going to have to deal without the public execution. I know Tatiana will be disappointed, but unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about him being dead."
"I'll have to take the next best thing, then." He looked towards Kieran and Erin was on her feet with the blade in her hand before anyone could speak a word.
"You touch him, I'll gut you. I don't care who you are." Kieran set hands on her shoulders and she felt that he was standing behind her. "Kieran, sit down, you're still hurt!"
"She's got your stubbornness, love," Jareth said, sounding almost amused.
"Well, I hope she doesn't have the ability to call the cleaners, or this could get ugly quick."
Oberon frowned down at her, the disdain on his face slowly melting into rage. "You would dare threaten your king?!"
Erin smiled, revealing teeth that were slightly pointed. "You're not my king. As you so kindly pointed out, I'm half-mortal and the daughter of the Goblin King. That makes me his vassal, as well as Kieran's, since he's now an Unseelie King. You have no POWER over me, High King or not!"
Jareth chuckled. "She says that so often. Learned it from you, I suppose?"
Sarah snorted softly, as she watched the little drama play out.
Oberon was fuming and Erin was seething. Jareth decided it was time to step in since everyone else was staying well enough away from the two fuming immortals. "Oberon, just let it rest. Kieran started this whole thing at the behest of his father, Bram – may his soul rest in peace – and since then, he's done me several favors, the largest of which was reuniting me with my lover. I bear no grudges towards those who were acting on the orders of Fachen, who had staged a coup in his own territory and killed Bram. Just let this go. There's been more than enough bloodshed today."
"The Seelie Kingdom demands action and reparations to prevent this from happening again!"
Sarah sighed impatiently and Erin's eyes flickered towards her mother, wariness filling the girl. "Mom?"
Apparently, the tone in her own voice drew the attention of every single male in the room. Mab, wisely backed away a step, dragging Alastar with her. Jareth's eyes moved to Sarah who had a hand to her forehead. "Sarah, precious, are you alright?"
"I'm tired," Sarah said, her voice quiet. "Tired of hearing Seelie and Unseelie and reparations and war and all this other stupid SHIT that I've been hearing since this loud-mouth showed up acting all high and mighty just because he's Oberon, king of the Fair Folk." Her voice gradually raised in pitch and Erin wisely lifted an arm, backing towards the wall and forcing Kieran back with her.
"Shit. Mom's on a tear."
Jareth gently set a hand on her arm. "I know, darling. Just a few more moments and we'll go have that celebration we were talking about earlier."
Sarah didn't appear to hear him. Her eyes were focused on the High King who was starting to look uncomfortable. "He comes onto the Goblin King's land, which straddles the border, defending both from the other, and acts like he's got the right to demand the lady of the Goblin King, the right to take liberties in lands that don't belong to him." She stepped away from Jareth, towards Oberon, her face now dark with fury. "It was our lands that got attacked. Jareth sent you a courtesy notification, so that if we failed, you'd be aware of what was coming. But we stopped them. I'm standing here, trying to deal with my daughter's shock at her first kill, covered in the blood of my enemies, wanting nothing more than to take a bath and then spend the night in my lover's bed, and you're here acting like my son-in-law should pay the price of his crazy father and power-hungry secondary relation!"
Oberon backed up a step, obviously surprised by this display of temper. His eyes flickered towards Jareth. "Deal with your woman, Goblin King!"
Jareth lifted his hands in surrender. "Deal with her yourself. I'm not the one who pissed her off."
Sarah took several breaths, then turned towards the door, where a few of the goblins who had crept from their hiding places were looking at her, chewing on their fist in worry. "Normally, I'd suggest Jareth hang you by your ankles over the bog, but I'd rather not completely screw over the peaceful relations with the fae kingdoms and that of the goblins." Another deep breath. Erin could see that her mother's control was reinstating itself. "Goblins, would you do me a huge favor?"
They looked up at her, eyes bright. "Yes, Lady."
"Escort King Oberon to the edge of the Labyrinth, so that he may collect his troops and take them back to their homes. Release the prisoners taken. They should not be punished for following the orders of their leader." They looked bewildered, and she smiled gently at them. "Please?"
That word caused every goblin standing in the doorway to preen like they'd just been told that they were the best soldiers in the realms, and they began tripping over each other to get to Oberon. Erin smiled fondly at the creatures, and saw her mother wearing a similar expression. Oberon snapped that the first one that touched him would be kicked so hard they'd be able to see the bog before they crash landed into it, even as they hustled him out of the door.
Once the man was out of the room, Jareth let out a rough laugh, and wrapped his arms around Sarah's waist. "I take it back. The next time you want to tell off the High King, feel free!"
Sarah scoffed, which eventually turned into a chuckle. Then, she lifted her gaze, looking around the room, at Alastar, who was being treated by the goblin nurse who'd been quietly watching after Kieran, at Mab, who was fussing over the man as well, then finally at her daughter and the man who had kidnapped her. The pair were talking quietly. She could see Kieran was fussing over the bruises on her daughter, over the abrasions and cuts.
"He really loves her, doesn't he," she said quietly, a faint smile on her face.
Jareth's arms fit snug around her shoulders and his cheek rested against her hair. She could see the shiny areas on his armor interspersed with streaks of dark, brown-red blood on the gauntlets he wore. She gently set her hands over his. "Yes, he does. But he's going to have his own responsibilities for a great while, and Erin has to learn to control her magic before it begins to control her."
She leaned back, smiling at him. "Why do I have the feeling that keeping her here is as much for our benefit as for hers?"
He glanced towards her, smiling faintly. "I missed twelve years of my daughter's life. I'll be damned if I'm going to let some newly made king take her away from me before I get a few years. Husband or not."
She chuckled softly. "I do insist that he be present for the wedding, at least."
Jareth looked like he got struck over the head with a lead pipe. "Wedding? Whose?"
"Ours, you idiot," she said, reaching up and tugging on a strand of his hair.
The goblin king looked ten feet tall, like he was about to soar into the sky or burst into an explosion of light. He did neither. Instead, he turned her in his arms, lifted her off the ground and spun her around until she swore at him soundly. "Come on, precious. You can give me the details. After our celebration...which at this rate is going to take several hours."
Sarah's eyes widened and became a bit dark with desire.
He laughed, and with a puff of glitter, they disappeared from the room.
Erin looked up as they went, and Kieran did as well, glancing at the glitter that drifted down to the ground. "Where did they go," She wondered, ignoring the goblins that were clearing Fachen's body away. The room stank of blood, and she realized that Kieran was going to need a different room until this one was properly cleaned.
Kieran smiled, watching the last pieces of glitter drift to the ground. "They've gone to celebrate."