Chapter: Returning What Was Taken
The noon light set the kings mane of unruly gold alight, and made the shimmering midnight blue cloak look like liquid sapphires, as it streamed out behind his wide shoulders. Jareth sat atop his huge black prancing warhorse, flanked by the seven knights of the bloodthorn order, each on their draegor mount, and each flying the banner bearing the Labyrinthian goblins sigil.
The gates leading to the Great Plaza opened on silent hinges at his command, revealing a huge open area surrounding a large stone plateau. The milling throng parted without a sound, creating a path for their returned king leading him to the ancient stone steps onto the plateau.
Keeping his expression schooled into the haughty image of the terrifying goblin king, Jareth nudged his mount forward, entering the plaza.
Pandemonium erupting the second his mount stepped into the great plaza, as every creature cheered their king in a cacophony of noise. To hell with it, he was not made of stone, and the love his subjects were showering him with at that moment would be enough to melt the skin right of a jabberwocky.
Raising his hand Jareth waved to his people as a wide genuine smile threatened to make his head split in two.
They were all there, the fireys that he had already restored to their flaming glory, were perched on the tall stone columns dotting the sea of life, their light casting a golden glare on those standing closest to them. The golden skinned Gnomes with their enormous noses and brightly coloured garb, each one proudly holding the staff denoting their particular skill, be it the chalice of the alchemists, the hammer of the smiths, the sextant of the inventors or the crossed cutlery of the cooks they were all here.
Even the monsters, that motley band of strange creatures too rare to form specific groups were here, lead by the huge orange stone caller Ludo.
Each one standing tall proudly displaying their scales, fur, horns or whatever else distinguished them from the rest of the Labyrinths denizens.
Reining his mount in Jareth stopped the procession with a small wave as he spotted a tiny red furred figure, sitting proudly astride his shag rug of a... well he guessed that it could still be called a mount even in its current fuzzy form.
Meeting the tiny knights stalwart gaze, Jareth bowed slightly, before addressing the Llwynog knight. " Sir Didymus, I am very pleased to see you here this day, come attend me.."
It was like flipping a switch, the second Jareth spoke there was silence as deep and as resounding as the cheers, and all eyes turned to the diminutive Llwynog as he bowed deeply before urging his shaggy mount along the path that had opened as those between the king and knight pulled back.
Drawing even with his king the flustered Llwynog bowed once more, nearly toppling himself off the dog in his eagerness. Hiding a soft chuckle behind a rather unconvincing cough Jareth smiled graciously while the knight straightened himself before addressing him.
" Sir Didymus it is an honour to meet you, I hear great things about you, I hear that you defeated many of my Draegor knights during your storm on the goblin city with the lady Sarah."
" Aarhm uuhm... yes well my Liege, I most heartedly apologise for that atrocious debacle, but I found myself unable to allow myself defeat, it was after all a lady's brother who where at stake, and well you grace hath given the order for us to aide the Lady's passage through yonder Labyrinth, should we encounter her."
Nodding Jareth stared ahead at the teeming sea of life." Rest easy Sir Didymus you acted with honour, and I intent to rectify the fact that I did not reward you properly back then."
"Sire? "
"Yes Sir Didymus, I have a very special assignment for you, if you should choose to accept it... But for now I would be honoured, if you would please fetch Ludo and join my honour guard by the plateau."
Shock made the tiny knight gape up at his king in utter disbelief, straining to decipher whether the fickle monarch was indeed joking or utterly serious.
" My liege art thou certain, for I must confess that I am thoroughly unworthy of such an exalted gesture."
Reining his mount in once more, Jareth leveled a stern look at the fox, and raising an eyebrow in an questioning gesture he drawled languidly:" Sir Didymus did I just hear that right, are you questioning the judgement of your sovereign lord?"
By Gaia, holding the smirk hidden as he watched the fox stutter and stammer a reply that wouldn't insult him was all but doing Jareth in. But he was the goblin king and he couldn't very well laugh at the foxes consternation, at least not in public. So biting hard on the inside of his cheek, Jareth said sternly.
" Go Sir Didymus and return with Sir Ludo."
Smiling softly to himself, Jareth nudged his mount forward once more, leaving the still stuttering knight behind to do his bidding, as Jareth and his Bloodthorn knights continued their journey towards the plateau some three hundred feet further in.
Labyrinthian goblins made up the vast majority of those assembled, and as the roar of voices resumed it was their nasal greetings that drowned out all but the haunting cries of the rock callers, and the screeches of the fireys.
The crowd was held back some twenty feet from the stone by a line of armed knights in armours of dark blue, deep green and golden yellow.
The knights of Midnight, the Glade and the Labyrinth.
None of these proud knights stood more than four feet tall, most only three, and the sight of their stunted stature made guilt flare once more, as Jareth dismounted and handed the reins of his mount to a squire in muted yellow livery.
Seven years...
Squaring his shoulders, Jareth let out a shuddering breath as he silently eyed the fifteen steps leading up the massive stone. It had not been more than a few hours since he had hurriedly knit his shattered body back together, and it was still far too fragile to put that kind of stress on his brittle bones. And that left him with only one choice, magic.
Power curled around his body lifting him a few inches off the ground, not enough for everyone to notice but enough for him to glide up the steps painlessly.
The sight of every inhabitant greeting him, was enough to take his breath away, and fill his heart with a joy that felt utterly alien, and more that a little frightening after. ...
Raising his hands, Jareth. ... Froze and stared as the enormous gates he had just passed opened once more, and a lone female entered riding a horse that looked like living silver and moonlight, its long billowing mane shimmering in the golden sunlight. And even though she was more than nine hundred feet away, Jareth knew, he could feel her like a persistent thrumming in his bones, her power new and ancient all at once.
Silence fell as she urged her mount forward, through the path that opened through the crowd.
She was Sarah the Goblin Queen and Mistress of the Labyrinth, a natural power all of her own, like a barely contained storm as she drove her mount forward in a tightly controlled gallop.
Smiling in surprise, Jareth watched the relaxed way Sarah sat astride her mount, her seat was graceful and her hold on the reins light yet still strong enough to keep the huge war horse under easy control. A feat that Jareth knew from his own experience, was no mean one with a creature as headstrong and fierce as Icewind.
And Sarah, oh goddess! Sarah, she was dressed in a creamy white armour that mirrored his own, yet still remained sculpted to her lean figure. The leather cuirass flowing out, and becoming a full skirt of buttery leather of the same white as the armour. The skirt had been slitted to allow her to ride and move, and as a nice bonus were now revealing her long slender legs encased in knee-high boots of pale gold plating just like his own black. Her wounded shoulder had been cleverly hidden from view by the single pale gold shoulder guard, that also served to fasten her billowing cloak of shimmering gold. The white of both mount and armour serving to make her naturally milky skin seem like alabaster, and her flowing ebony hair like stray strands of night. The effect was to make her look like some feral beast carved from the pages of legend.
The goblin queen.
Gliding up the steps in that barely contained storm, Sarah smiled at him, her emerald eyes glowing with her own power and... love? Staring into her eyes, Jareth felt as if the ground had opened beneath his feet, and were threatening to pull him down. Swallowing with a suddenly arid mouth, Jareth drawled." My lady, you are the very vision of the queen we have all longed for, come greet your subjects. And let them properly greet you. "
His hand shook ever so slightly as he took hers and raised it to his lips, pausing only to note that he was pressing his lips against her naked skin.
" You are trembling Jareth, are you in pain? the healers said that..."
" Hush I am fine, and this is not the place to discuss my health, your subject are waiting.. your majesty."
Her eyes widened slightly at his somewhat formal tone, then a soft smile crept across her face turning the corners of her soft lips up, as she gave a shallow curtsy.
"As you wish your majesty, as you wish."
Sweet gods he wanted to kiss her, but the voice in the back of his mind screamed." You don't deserve her, look at her, she is a true queen, and what are you? a weak pathetic mongrel, how dare you even..."
Sweat beaded his forehead as he swallowed the burning thoughts back down, refusing to acknowledge them, yet he was still shaken. Running his thumb over her knuckles, he let out a shaky breath and lifted his eyes to meet hers again, only to find them brimming with concern.
" Jareth? "
Nodding he had to try twice before he could make his lips form the words he wanted and not the utterly pathetic :Please hold me, I hurt in every way, please hold me and don't let go, please please please...
" I'm fine, it is nothing but a muscle cramp. come my lady"
Leading her to the raised centre, Jareth offered her his hand as she stepped up, marveling once more at her quiet grace. Standing beside her, he smiled as her slender fingers laced themselves with his, silently sharing her strength with him.
"Denizens of the Labyrinth I give you , the Lady Sarah, champion and mistress of the labyrinth, your queen."
It was pandemonium, as every creature big or small raised their voices in greeting of their queen, with as much enthusiasm as the had just greeted their long lost king. Letting the roar of joy roll around them for a few minutes Jareth smiled widely before finale raising his hands and silencing the crowd, with a gentle gesture.
Smiling to herself Sarah couldn't keep her eyes from him, as he stood beside her, in the full glory of the Goblin King. He was the very image of the terrifying king, yet he somehow managed to exude an air of caring, compassion and... shame. Jareth's shoulders slumped as he took a single step forward, and his eyes filled with the dark light of pain.
His voice was carried to every creature on soft winds as he fell to his knees with his head bowed and spoke quietly.
"I have failed you all, and for that I can but hope to one day make myself worthy of your love once more, as of yet I can not even begin to dare believe that you would forgive me."
Stunned silence exploded into a flurry of voices all asking questions, all demanding to know why he would say such things. And Sarah's heart bleed for the proud king as he knelt before his subjects, pouring out his heart. Nothing she could say would ever erase the guilt he felt, but she could let him know that he was not alone. stepping forward she rested a gentle hand on his shoulder, letting him know that she was still beside him, that she wouldn't go anywhere.
Glancing quickly up as her, he smiled sadly, with pain filled eyes, before continuing.
"I have little to offer you but this". Holding out his hands, crystal after crystal, materialised and rolled off his fingers to float out over the suddenly silent plaza in rapid succession. Six dozen crystals floated out in an evenly space pattern, as Jareth rolled gracefully to his feet, stumbling slightly in the process.
Shuttering as he held out his hands once more, Jareth closed his eyes and angled his face up at the clear sky, breathing in the clean air. This would cost him more than he wanted it to, in his still weakened state, but he dare not delay any longer.
And then he started singing, power swirled in the syllables of the ancient Welsh words, as they rolled of his lips in a low caressing tone.
The words held no meaning to her, yet in them, Sarah saw the pride of a king for his people, in those undulating notes, she saw the love of a father to his children, and the hopes he held for their happiness. It started like a hum at first, a soft insistent sound, as the Knights of the Bloodthorn joined in, their backs to the stone, their heads thrown back as they raised keening yet strangle haunting and beautiful voices in reply to their kings song. The images in Sarah's mind changed, they grew feral, and wild, they became sweeping vistas of ancient forests ripe with prey, and packs of wild things hunting through the night, as Goblins danced around bonfires.
The vision changed once more as Ludo and the host behind him chimed in, the song violent and hard, yet still loyal and warm. They hunted in the dark caves, and shallow waters, they pulled unwary travellers to their doom, and carried lost children home to loving arms through winter gales, they were violence and hope in form.
Group after group joined in until every being but Sarah were singing, their voices rising and falling in a hymn of life. Turning slowly to face her, Jareth reached out for her, his eyes glowing like embers with the strength of the spell he was weaving. Her hand was cool against his black gloves, as he pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her waist, his power washing over her like a wave of sunlight. And gasping with the pure sensory joy of it, Sarah raised her own voice into the choir, the unknown words spilling from her, as her voice soared alongside Jareth's.
The crystals burst spilling silver and gold dust out over the singers, enveloping them in a blanket that looked like it was boiling. The song rose to a crescendo, and then the groups of singers stopped one by one until only their king and queen remained, their voices soft as they too let their song trailed off into silence. And the glittering blanket seemed to be absorbed into the changed bodies of the crowd.