Chapter: What Is Said Is Said (b)
AN: Trigger warning the chapter contains adult incest and non-con. That part is marked with ####
Warm sunlight washed him in tones of gold and copper, as he stood watching the Labyrinth from his balcony on high. Bicolored eyes of gold and blue narrowed as his gaze concentrated on a single green clad vision silent progress, through the winding paths of the Labyrinth beneath him. His glove clad claws gripped the balustrade with enough strength to make his hands ache, but it did not compare to the pain in his head and chest.
Burning agony pounded behind his eyes, and echoed in his chest, throbbing to the rhythm of his pounding heart. The woman in green walked slowly, seemingly lost in her own thoughts as she moved back towards the newer parts of the Labyrinth. Growling darkly he had to keep an iron grip on himself to keep from transforming and pouncing on her, raking his claws mercilessly down her face. How dared she meet with that traitor, and. .. Fury boiled to a raging storm as he had watched her appear in the glade. It had no doubt been to conspire with the traitorous dwarf.
And he could have controlled his anger enough for her explain herself, could have. That was until, he saw her steering directly unfailingly through the winding corridors of the ancient parts of the Labyrinth, straight to where she had hidden the dying wraith. Anger reached a roaring crescendo as he watched her offer the dying murderer comfort, and though he still couldn't hear their words Jareth didn't doubt that the traitorous creature had spewed vile poison into Sarah's guileless ears. Turning towards the ethereal creature lounging languidly on his four-poster bed, Jareth ruthlessly repressed a shudder of fear as unwelcome memories were triggered by the sight. : " My... mother you were right she is not true to me, she went straight to Hoggle just as you predicted. ... "
Sadness tinged his anger tempering it, for just the shortest moment, before it roared back with renewed strength. He would make Sarah pay for her lies, and pay dearly.
" General Llagain ": Turning to the hulking man seated in one of the plush chairs, Jareth growled:" I would have the Lady Sarah escorted straight to my chambers once she returns, without any delay am I understood? "
Bowing the Orc grumbled: "Yes your majesty."
"Good now you may leave us I have much to... discuss with my. . mother."
A leering smile spread on the lipless mouth, as the general bowed rumbling " As you wish...Enjoy, your ...Discussion...".
The door closed behind Llagain with a soft thud.
Turning back to the Labyrinth, Jareth leaned against the cold stone, trying desperately to ignore the fact that he was alone with the woman who had birthed him. Something he had not been in many years, not since... His eyes flickered unconsciously to the bed, where she had turned over to lie on her stomach watching him with intent and hungry eyes.
Right at that moment Jareth couldn't for the life of him remember why they had left the map room to come here, why he had agreed to it and, why the hell had he just dismissed Llagain? What was going on with him...
He had barely thought the thought before it vanished, drowned in a ocean of anger towards Sarah.
That stuck up little cunt!. How dared she consort with Hoggle and Gafael... Had the wraith even attacked her, had she been in on it? Had it all been a plot from her side. A plot to put herself on the throne beside him? Dark voices rose in the back of his mind screaming at him berating him for being such a naive school boy, was this really what he had grown up to be? A snivelling pathetic creature begging for a mortals attention when he could have...
Turning slowly towards the bed Jareth took in the silent woman with eyes as hungry as hers...
. . .
The sun was setting in a glorious display of gold orange, light blue and bright pink with thick clouds the colour of pewter rolling in from the west. Leaning against the wide glassless window sill, Shiver sighed. Sarah had been gone for most of the day, and it would be time to join the others for dinner in just a few scant minutes. Yet Shiver had still not had a chance to explain the rules and magic behind a run or how to enter the Escher room. Rubbing his temples with the pads of his fingers, Shiver groaned as the light massage only intensified the pounding headache already building there. This would be an exceedingly long night and if he knew his king right then they would set out tomorrow to begin removing the obstacles put up by Hoggle.
" Fuck! ": Rubbing harder, Shiver wanted nothing more than to just grab his king and shake him until sense once more reigned supreme. If Jareth did in fact force his way through the Labyrinth, he might as well just slit his own throat and be done with it, because Hoggle would not let Jareth do it without resistance. A resistance that would cost them all dearly.
Silver white light flashed beside the throne, and when it faded Shiver found himself face to face with his queen once more.
" My queen... were you successful? " : Hope filled him as he locked eyes with her, only that hope died as quickly as it had been born at her defeated expression.
Sinking to the worn pelt spread out in front of the throne, Sarah shrugged:" I truly don't know... No...I mean Hoggle obviously can't just let Jareth march through him. And Hoggle just dropped another little bomb on me, there won't be anymore runners until this is over, Hoggle cant take the chance that they force him to change..."
" As you did my lady? "
Nodding she pulled her knees up and rested her arms across them:" yes... shit I have to find a way to..."
The sound of heavy boots cut her short as both turned towards the door, to watch the huge black skinned orc march into the room, at the head of a small contingent of his men.
Llagain might be an ally, but Shivers first reaction was still to put himself between his queen and the infamous white blade:" My lord this room is out of bounds for.."
" Shut up Shiver, His majesty has ordered that his little morsel be brought straight to his chambers, to be...punished ": There was a utterly derogative sneer to the orcs rude words as he strode further into the room, making space for the nine armoured and armed orcs following behind him. And that sneer made Shiver's hackles rise and the darkflame flare to life in the depths of his eyes, making his pupil glow a fiery red. He knew what it looked like in a room as dimly lit as this, and it was most satisfying to watch the white blade take an involuntary step back, and collide with the orc following on his heels.
" That is Captain Shiver to you White blade, and I would have you remember that it is MY Queen you are speaking about ": His curved smokesteel blade making a low silibrent sound as it left its sheath:" Have a care how you do so... "
A lazy smile curled along Shivers wide thin lipped mouth as he watched the much larger orc's eye twitch nervously at the sight of the naked blade:" Am I correct in believing that what you meant to say were, Please my lady would you allow me to escort you to your king who requires your presence."
Yes, Llagain was known as the White blade, but Shiver was the only knight to ever win his Crimson armour in his first year of knighthood. And it was only two years later that he had bested captain Geim, becoming the youngest captain to ever command the bloodthorns, or any of the known knighthoods. That was a few hundred years ago, and he had defended his position against all contenders since. None had ever even come close to defeating Shiver, other than Llagain.
Licking his scared lipless mouth, Llagain's eyes narrowed dangerously as he pulled himself together and strove to prevent losing anymore face:" Yes well in any case I am to escort Her ladyship to his majesties chambers. Now."
Blatantly ignoring the now fuming orc, Shiver turned and bowed to his shocked mistress, quickly noting the fear in her eyes as he offered her his arm:" My queen we must not let the king wait, come take my arm, today has been a most tiring day.
Stepping forward, Sarah rested her slender hand on his offered wrist, and silently meet his eyes. The look they shared as Shiver guided her forward through the black armoured orcs was one that plainly told Shiver that his queen was utterly terrified, not for her own safety, but something bigger, something she desperately needed to share with him, but couldn't. Not with the audience.
Well there were ways to go about that. Drawing in a soft breath, Shiver gave one long slow blink as he pulled on his inner core, reaching out with a thin bright green tendrils searching for his queens core. At first he found nothing but darkness and that confused him, but then they flared to life before him, nearly blinding his inner eye, causing his body to stumble slightly... But the sight was glorious. She was stronger than Shiver would have ever thought, and she carried not just two cores as expected, but three. Before him glowed the bright golden of the Labyrinth, paired as expected with the dark blue of their king but surrounding, suffusing and connecting those two wove a silvery white that was so her, that it defied all reason. It was an achingly beautiful sight but also one that filled him with apprehension, if he was not careful and scared her, or graced up against the blue core then he would alert his king and damn them both.
The tendrils brushed closer, barely skimming the shimmering moonlight surface, with just enough pressure to alert her to his presence and convey his intentions. And tentatively her shields dropped just enough for her to receive the message he desperately needed to convey. Locked in the message was all the knowledge of how to guide a runner. All the rules that had to be observed and tests that had to be passed for the runner to win back their child, but at the core of it he had hidden the most urgent part.
My queen, needs must that I be brief, if what I fear proves true then we will both be in the utmost danger. And if we stand united then our king may in his misguided anger kill or exile us both. Leaving himself exposed to those who would do him grave harm. To keep this from happening I fear that we must be seen to oppose each other, so that one of us will have a chance to remain by our kings side and protect him from not only his enemies but also from himself... For what must be said and done I am heartily sorry, and earnestly beg your forgiveness. Know that I only do these things for the good of our realm.
He dared not glance at her, as they walked sedately down the now dark corridors, and Sarah gave no outward sign that she had found the message now hidden in her mind. But as they turned a corner, hiding them for a fraction of a second, Sarah gave his arm a quick squeeze, and a faint nod. That was all he needed, she had understood.
And apparently she had understood enough that she too sent him a message..
Shiver, while I was in the Labyrinth I was lead to Gafael, he died in my arms, but before he did so, he revealed to me that Neither Morgaine nor Rzush knows about any of this. It is Titania and Oberon's plan to destroy the Labyrinth with war... You have to stop them Shiver, I don't know how, but we have to...
. . .
######
Soft golden light bathed the lithe pale creature straddling his hips. Her lips parted and her head thrown back as she continued sliding along his ready length. Rutting against him with utter abandon, as her long fingers tweaked and twisted her own tiny pink nipples, causing her to moan in the most whorish fashion. Her body shifted, and bright blue eyes glowed down at him, pupils huge and dark.
" Touch me ": her voice was soft but he could not keep his hands from following the unspoken demands. His fingers splayed up along her slender waist and further up her ribs to cover her small tight breasts. His rough calloused hands gripping her mouldable flesh, with enough force to leave bruises, only to be rewarded with another loud moan. Her hips shifted and Jareth felt himself slide into her soaking wet heat, with no resistance.
Tears burned behind his eyes as she began to move above him... but locked in the depths of his mind there was nothing he could do but watch through his own eyes as his body reacted to his mother's every sighed command. He was caught well and truly caught, he couldn't even look away... he couldn't...
Screaming into the silence of his trapped mind Jareth wished desperately for the burning rage to fill him and render him blind to the nightmare in which he was playing the leading role. But he knew just how futile a wish it was, Titania had pulled the merciful veil from his eyes, and now he had no choice but to face the cruel truth. He had been tricked into only seeing what Titania had wanted him to see, and now that the scales had fallen from his eyes, he found himself utterly helpless to change anything.
Staring up at the woman above him, Jareth felt nothing but overwhelming hatred, as he imagined her moaning not in pleasure but utter agony as she was impaled on a red hot spike. To think that this paragon of cruelty could have styled herself his mother... And that he had believed her vile fabrications, playing himself and his kingdom straight into her awaiting claws.
The tears he could not shed, burned even more fiercely as Jareth thought of Morgaine. The one true mother he had ever known, and how easily Titania had turned him against her. Concentrating on the movement of the shadows on the wall, Jareth pictured Morgaine as he had always seen her, pale and beautiful as she smiled at him with real warmth and pride. Goddess above but he hoped that she was unaware of what had happened to him, what he had done... Because the thought that she was caught behind the gateway, while aware of what had happened was simply too cruel.
Slender fingers grasped his chin as her voice cut through his thoughts like nails on a board, pulling him back to his waking nightmare:" Look at me Jareth let me see those eyes..."
####
. . .
She lay draped across his chest purring like a content lynx, as Jareth wanted nothing as much as he wanted to slide into a tub of boiling water and watch his own skin slouch off, taking the lingering ghosts of her touches with it. But stay she had said, and so he was caught, bound by the weave of magic that wrapped around his body and soul. As the woman who was suppose to have been his mother nestled against his naked body. And outside the day slowly bled away...
. . .
Pushing the door open, Shiver bowed lightly, as he stepped back allowing his queen to pass him and enter the quiet room, before following her and closing the door sharply in Llagain's snarling face.
Golden light filled the room that Sarah had considered theirs for the last week, playing softly over the pale form sprawled out in one of the plush high backed chair. The goblin king's eyes were cold as he focused on her, and pushed up and out of the chair, to tower menacingly over her.
Blinking slowly, Sarah had to do a double take, the loose pair of silk pants he wore left the pale skin of his chest on clear display as if he wanted to emphasise the bright red scratch marks running from his wide shoulders to vanish as they tapered down his defined abs. Marks that she had not left. Shock and rage widened her eyes, as she strode up to him pressing her finger into the deepest scratch, her voice tight and dark.
" What the hell have you DONE!? Jareth? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! "
His long powerful fingers wrapped around her upper arms pulling her in until she was flush against his hard toned chest:" Nothing that is not my right my dear."
Spitting out the words Jareth drawled on:" But that is of little consequence, my love, when held against your actions today."
His strong grip loosened only long enough for him to twirl her around, before trapping her against him with one arm as he conjured a crackled crystal with the other. Letting the crystal roll up and down his hand like a living creature, Jareth growled into her ear:" I watched you my love, as you spat upon the vow you gave this very morning. Oh but you wasted no time now did you, running straight to Hoggle... Tell me love what lie has he whispered in your ear? What poison has he spewed? "
Sarah's eyes were trained not on the spinning crystal and the undulating hand, but on the rumpled four-poster bed. And pure bright anger washed over her as she stared at the sweat stained silk sheets:" No consequence! You drag some whore to bed and you expect me to just accept it, as if it's somehow my fault? Oh you have another thing coming there mister!"
Jerking away violently, Sarah rounded on the man she had thought that she was coming to know, slapping him across the face for all she was worth:" I don't care who you are! NO ONE! cheats on me, do you hear me NOONE!.."
Rubbing his rapidly reddening cheek, Jareth snarled:" Oh so those vows must be honoured but not yours, not your word that you were with me?! Please my precious explain to me..."
" Explain what? Didn't you just tell me that you had watched me go to him, well then you bloody well know that I didn't go to Hoggle to betray you I went to try and clean this whole mess up! I hoped that I could find a solution that would end this conflict before it gets everyone killed! And then you go and do this! ! Damm you Jareth, Damm you and your idiot pride!"
" Pride!.. Pride ": The crystal flared with a burst of bright blue, becoming a three foot long serpent with a flared hood and two inch long fangs dripping clear venom. It's undulating body wound tightly around Jareth's arm with a low snarl, unlike any snake Sarah had ever heard before. Yet it still sounded less alien than Jareth's dark growl:" This! you vapid little cunt has NOTHING to do with PRIDE! This is revenge, pure and simple, I will make such an example of them that no one will EVER stand against me again! "
Oh goddess NO, he wanted to scream at her that those were not his words, that he was in here locked behind the weave of spells that Titania had spun him in. He understood it all now, the reason for the pain he had endured. It had been to weaken him, to drain him until he had been completely naked before them. Allowing Titania to use her paltry skills to complete the woven threads of power around him binding him to her word and desires, and blocking the return of his powers, keeping him too weak to resist or even feel its presence. And now he was completely and utterly helpless. Trapped within himself and forced to watch, as his body and magic acted out the unspoken orders of the fey queen.
The snake uncoiled to flare its spiked hood wider as it hissed at Sarah, preparing to strike. His instinctive response was to try to tighten his grip on slick serpent, but his hand refused to obey him, as his fingers loosened their hold on the silky skin.
NoNoNoNoNoNoNo! Not like this! Screaming silently inside his own mind Jareth fought with everything he had to break the thin filaments of power cocooning him. But it was in vain they were to well placed, too skilfully crafted, and he was too weak. And now Sarah would die because he could not...
" My lord, please! have mercy, I am certain that the queen meant no true offence, she merely spoke out of turn because of her great love for you... Is that not true my queen? ": Stepping out from his spot beside the door Shiver held up his hands, in a placating gesture, vainly hoping to defuse the situation, but...
Her eyes burned with tiny flickering flames, as she whipped her head towards him, instantly freezing him to the spot with her white hot rage and all Shivers hopes turned to ash with that one look.
" Don't you DARE Shiver! Don't you dare make me out to be in the wrong here, I try to make peace, and YOU ": spinning back to face Jareth her hand flashed out, and magic saw the withering serpent vanish in a burst of blood and ripped flesh :" You take that as an excuse to whore yourself out! And then you threaten me with a bloody snake! Again! well no more... If you want to kill your world you can do so Alone..."
Silence roared through the room, as that last word clung to the air like the foul stench of the bog.
Shivers eyes seemed to vanish, as his markings flared to become shadowy pewter grey, tinged with lines of heavy grey, showing his shock and sorrow without restraint. This was a good thing Sarah should leave. She should go back to the aboveground and the life she once knew but. .. She was their queen, and she had made his king happy... For a while. Tears burned unshed as Shiver admitted silently to himself that he did not want her to go...
Alone.. The word echoed through Jareth like a draegor's death cry, filling him with joy and pure mind-numbing agony. He wanted to scream and beg her to stay, to help him, to see that he was not the one doing this.. And he wanted her to leave, to return to her home and never look back. Only aboveground would she be safe. Safe from the machinations of Titania and Oberon, safe from HIM. Blinking slowly Jareth felt how his acceptance made Titania's weave release him slightly, just enough to let him choose his own words, but not enough for him to be able to tell her what was happening to him.
" Well if that is what you desire then you shall have it ": Jareth's voice was clear and strong, it didn't even hint at the turmoil inside him, of his burning desire to wrap himself around her, and beg her forgiveness:" Fine leave I grant you leave to exit this realm, but know that if you do so you will never return.."
Her eyes, those glorious emerald eyes that had filled him with hope and joy, now stared up at him with pure hatred radiating through her tricolored markings, as she snarled:" Oh I don't intend to return.. Love"
That was it, power flared along her lean figure engulfing her, and one minute she was there, the next...