AN
I hereby issue an official tissue warning for this chapter.
Chapter 55 . : On Raven Wings
"Hey there you are, that's it breathe, come on. Yes one more come on. Yes ... Can you hear me Lilly?"
Yes, she wanted to say yes but her throat burned and her mouth didn't seem to work right? Why wasn't her mouth working right? She couldn't remember and yet. Straining against the fuzzy blanket that obscured everything in her mind but the pain, Lilly finally managed to reach into the cloudy darkness only to instantly regret it as vivid memories of Whiteblade forcing the impossibly wide length of his member past her lips and into her throat choking off her screams as the rigid girth caused her jaw to fracture and dislocated flooded her mind.
No! It was nothing but a memory nothing more the beast was dead Shiver had killed him, Lilly was certain of it, wasn't she? Hadn't she seen it ? Hadn't she?
"Lilly, Shit! Lilly! Alderthorn, quick get me some water, ": The shift from the world within Lilly's mind to the realm of reality had left Sarah reeling, yet the sheer terror rolling off of Lilly in all but tangible waves quickly had Sarah grounded and ready to act as Lilly gagged and fought the congealing blood in her throat.
"Breathe Lilly come on you can do this. . . . ": Sliding a still weak feeling arm underneath Lilly's neck, Sarah ignored the shocked look on Alderthorn's aged face as she snatched the glass of water he was handing her out of his hand and held it against Lilly's cracked lips.
"Here let's rinse out your mouth, Yeah there you go come on": Keeping her voice soft yet firm Sarah coaxed Lilly into drinking enough of the water to clear her mouth and wet her throat, enough to wash the terrified look from Lilly's starburst eyes, and replace it with one of exhausted pain tempered by relief.
"Sarah?. . . .": Forcing her stinging lips to form the words Lilly groaned out: "Did... we ... did we win?... ...Are they ... gone?"
"No not yet, but soon.": Wiping the sweat off of Lilly's forehead Sarah realized that others would most likely have lied to Lilly, tried to reassure her and bolster her calm, but that was not the type of friendship that they shared. Between them there were no lies, no sparing of each others feelings, not now not ever, and so Sarah told Lilly the full truth: "In two day's Jareth will face Oberon, if the goddess wills it, it will be over then, and then we'll all be safe. But don't worry about that now, you need to rest and. . ."
Lilly's hand was cold and moist with cold sweat as she gripped Sarah's arm interrupting her with a fervent: "Dead? Is .he... dead?"
"Dead? Who Lilly?"
The effort of speaking left her dizzy and panting yet Lilly was desperate to know whether it had been nothing but a dream, or if Didymus were truly dead. And so Lilly forced out: "Didymus. . .. is he? ..."
Great goddess but Sarah wanted to lie but Lilly already knew, so there were no point: "Yes, he is dead... he ..."
"No ": Lilly interrupted quietly: "Not... Dead... ... Home ... finally.. . . home..."
A faint smile lifted a little of the heavy grief that darkened Sarah's heart and soul as she recognized the truth of Lilly's words. Pulling the soft clean blanket up to cover Lilly's still wounded body, Sarah nodded quietly: "Yes you are right he is home now, where he belongs, and ... so are you, now sleep and let your body heal. We need you, you know."
"Yeah... I know ... ": Letting the heat of the blanket wash over her and soothe the dull ache that still remained in her body: "Tell. ... Shiver... to go be ... useful... and not .. hang around... while..."
"While you sleep?": He was trying to sound normal, to mask the fear that coloured his markings black and yellow and mixed with the swollen bruises that covered his face. Looking pained Shiver tried to smile only to give up as he took Sarah's place by Lilly's side kneeling awkwardly on the cold boards that made up the bloodstained floor. Taking her hand into his own bandaged fist Shiver spoke softly: "I thought I had lost you... that... He ..."
Blinking back glistening tears the tall goblin struggled visible to put words to the fear he had felt at the sight of her horrendous treatment.: "That he had k ... taken you from me."
"He couldn't... you and ... Didymus wouldn't... let him... You saved me. And now I... won't... leave you... But you have... to go... help.. Jareth.. before he fucks it all... up.": A crooked grin lit her face despite the obvious exhaustion that still lingered there, leaving her markings pale and washed out, and the bruising even more pronounced. Yet the fact that she did it was enough to make the grin spread to Sarah and Shiver lifting a little of the worry that filled them to bursting.
"I know. . .": Goddess, Shiver didn't want to leave her but Lilly was right so much depended on the next few days and if Jareth was to defeat Oberon then he would need all the help and support they could give and that meant that Shiver couldn't hide here by Lilly's bedside no matter how much he wanted to. But getting up and walking out of the tent was the hardest thing he had done since watching Jareth bleeding to death in the snow. And yet he did it with his head held high.
. .,. .
The light of the full moons filled the cleared square with its bright blue, casting ebony shadows on the countless pyres that had cropped up like miniature mountains. Walking through the silent crowd gathered around them Jareth and Sarah looked every bit the fairytale rules that any human who saw them would think them to be. Moonlight shimmered on their armours giving them an otherworldly glow, a glow that was only enhanced by the flicking four coloured flames burning in their eyes illuminating the intricate patterns surrounding them like masks, making their unfathomable power plain for all to see.
"Four, they have four cores... Look at their markings... Four..."
Four, the word rolled around the otherwise quiet plaza like a silent thunderclap as it traveled from mouth to mouth, and it should, no being had ever commanded that much power, no ruler had ever commanded more than three at most and those rulers were also here standing at the head of their nightgoblin horde.
Gliding through the crowd Sarah struggled desperately the keep her tears from spilling down her face thinking that it would not be appropriate, but as they neared the Pyre and caught a glimpse of the still figure resting at its peak she stopped caring. To hell with propriety, there lay Didymus her friend, her family, the knight who had always come to her side as she called them through her childhood mirror. The knight who had always known just how to brighten her mood and come through ready to meet the world again. Didymus... Tears had flowed then, clear and scalding hot soaking her face, and inadvertently proven that her intricate four hued markings were truly markings and not makeup. But more than that it underscored the loving nature of their new queen, showing her stunned subjects her true nature.
"Look she cries ": They whispered, with awe in their voices.
"She truly cares ": Whispered others.
Yes she cried as she moved ever closer to pyre and details began to crop up, details like the way Didymus white cloak highlighted the warm gold of his fur, and the way his lips still curled in that little knowing smile of his, as if he was laughing at some secret joke, a joke that he would never again share with anyone. That thought broke her, and sobs of true anguish shook her lithe frame as Jareth gently wrapped his arm around her offering silent support despite his own soul wrecking grief.
It seemed like it took forever but finally they reached the small platform overlooking not just Didymus large pyre but the dozens upon dozens smaller ones surrounding it. Rubbing her eyes with a shaking hand Sarah gazed up at Jareth seeing the tears that wet his face: "You're crying..."
"Yes ": There was no shame in that one word as he admitted the obvious: "He was my friend, and here around him lies countless victims of my weakness and my parents cruelty. Yes I cry and there is no shame in it, not any longer. The spell has been broken and this is the blood soaked birth of a new dawn."
A sad half smile curled his lips despite the tears that still washed down his cheeks: "And a birth is a bloody bittersweet thing. Now come let us send Didymus home to the family he has mourned for too long and then rejoin our own."
The steps moved slightly beneath their feet as they scaled the platform to greet the three Llwynog who stood ready with an unlit torch resting in front of them. Ardian, Einhart and a tall female with fur as black as Einhart's stood quietly as the royal couple crested the rise. Bowing with all the formal grace of his position Jareth said: "I come to honour my friend and comrade in arms. His life has ended and it is time to send him through the veil on fire's wings. "
Returning the bow with a deep curtsy the tall female answered: "Great lord and king thou doth us honour by thy presence. Thou doth bring honour to the memory of Didymus our commander and lord. "
Shaking his head sadly Jareth said: "No He honoured me by his friendship, and I am forever changed from having known him, and I will treasure the lessons he taught me when no other voice could reach me... He was and ever shall be my friend."
Holding out his naked hand Jareth, couldn't ignore the gasp spreading through the crowd as light caught his golden claws and made them glow. Yes they all knew that he had them, how could they not, it had been Titania's favourite curse for millennia. But it was one thing to know it was quite another to see them brazenly displayed as Jareth called the torch to him and held it up as bright blue flames burst into life at his unspoken command.
Holding the blazing torch high Jareth turned from the three foxes to face the crowd as he spoke in a sorrow thickened voice: "We stand here to bid our comrades and families farewell. We have all lost and if the fates are unkind then we may lose even more, even as I speak now there are thousands of Labyrinthians who fight for their lives, praying that their wounds are able to heal and that they may return to you, to us and live long lives. For those who lie behind us those worries are now over. For them there is no more pain, no more suffering for they are in the arms of our great mother, and there they are safe."
Drawing in a deep breath the goblin king visibly steeled himself as he continued: "Behind me lies Didymus who has been ever my faithful friend, his wisdom will follow me and all he touched for eternity, and his name will ever be synonymous with honour, courage and chivalry!"
Turning back to the pyres Jareth's voice rose as he cried: "Great mother hear me! I offer to you these lives that they may rest in reward for the service they have done. I offer lives cut too short and I beg of you that they be given grace and joy in the realm beyond the veil. Let fires wing carry them to you and their deeds be sung in the voice of crows."
Fire bright blue and hotter than any natural flame leapt from the torch in an azure explosion simultaneously igniting every pyre in flames as tall as a goblin, as clouds of midnight ravens burst into the night sky each one carrying a scrap of cloth or a lock of hair in their scimitar beaks. Letting the dead torch fall to the platform as his arms dropped to hang limp as his sides Jareth watched the ravens with bated breath as they spiralled upwards into the star studded sky, hundreds of birds blocked out the shimmering heaven and swirling nebulas. They waited, every creature in the plaza waited with bated breath for a sign that Gaia had heard them and would grant her mercy to the dead. And then as Jareth was beginning to lose hope, the sky erupted in a shower of bright falling stars illuminating the entire realm in their silver light as they fell to the ground like glowing snow, covering everything in a fine glitter restoring a little of the realms fairytale aura. And as suddenly as it had started the nightfall dark again stealing sight for a short fear laden moment. But that too passed leaving the crowd silent.
"Great mother! Thank you, Thank you for your mercy ": The words flowed easily from his lips but Jareth's heart felt like frozen stone as flame born wind lifted Didymus battle stained cloak like wings as the blue fire roared up to engulf his still flesh: "The mother has spoken and taken those we love to their rest..."
Turning to Sarah he took her hand, gently squeezing her cold fingers as he continued: "Now let us fill the night with tales of remembrance and songs that they may hear us and know that they are never forgotten..."
The cry that rose from the crowd was deafening and filled with the defiant spirit that was the spirit of the realm.
Keeping his voice low enough that only Sarah and the three foxes heard it Jareth whispered: "Rest in peace Didymus you have earned it. And may you live eternal in your loved ones arms..."
. .,. .
The camp seethed with life as creatures of every kind danced around the massive bonfires that turned the night into day and cast long shadows on the dancers. Swirling his ruby wine around his bright silver goblet Jareth drew in it's sweet and hearty aroma before drinking deeply. This was a goblin wake, and not the sombre veneration of death that humans seemed to prefer but a wild celebration of life, the lives lived by those whose flesh had now become ash, the lives still lived by the dancers, simply Life in all its aspects. Stretching out his long lean legs Jareth watched as Rzush threw back the wine in his tarnished glass in one great gulp, and grumbled: "This wine is good, almost as sweet as human blood..."
"Yes ": Jareth agreed with a far off smile: "But it lacks the copper tang.."
"Aye that is true ": Smacking his lipless mouth in a display of satisfaction Rzush changed the subject, gesturing towards Sarah as she twirled around the massive fire where Didymus pyre had stood, surrounded by countless creatures from the Labyrinth, the nightgoblin and the unseelie realms: "She dances like the queens of old, all wild abandon and fire."
"Yes": Letting that one word roll lazily off his tongue as he lounged more at ease in his throne, Jareth smiled as the warmth of the nightbloom wine spread throughout his weary frame, relaxing him and dulling the harsh edge of grief. Rzush was right Sarah did dance like a pagan queen of old, her lean limbs graceful as she swayed like the flames in front of her. Yes she was nothing but grace and fire, but it was dulled by the ashen tang of grief, a grief that Jareth felt keenly through their link and it's knife edge sliced his own heart even deeper than his own grief. Yes he missed the thoughtful wit of the red furred knight, his piercing gaze as he stripped false pretences away with a few well placed words, granting a greater understanding of one's self. For the last ten months Didymus had been a friend beyond all others wise and compassionate as Jareth had struggled to restore what had been stolen millennia ago, Didymus had been all that and more and as the time had come for Jareth to repay that immeasurable favour Didymus had died... His life given that Lilly could live and know true love. A final sacrifice so perfectly in thread with who Didymus was that it seemed almost ridiculous
Raising the goblet to his lips again , Jareth drank long and deep, and as he lowered the goblet, the first line from and old Scottish song spill out.
Of all the time that e'er I had
I've spent it in thy good company
A sad smile, if that was what it could be called on red caps strange waxy white face, curled Rzush's cruel lips as he raised his glass and ground out:
And all the harm that e'er I've done
I pray it was to none but me
It was the old way, to offer up a song to those who had passed. Songs holding a magic of their own, a magic that filled Jareth as he gave it life in its full glory, his voice rising and falling.
And all I've done for want of wit
To memory now I can't recall
So I'll fill for thee this parting glass
Good night and joy be to you all
Her voice was sweet and clear as she left the dancers and walked towards him, letting her voice mingle with his, and causing a hush to fall over the wake:
Of all the comrades that e'er thee had
None are more sorry for thy going away
And all the sweethearts that e'er thee had
They would wish thou one more day to stay
But since it falls unto my lot
That I did rise and you did not
I'll gently rise and I'll softly call
Good night and joy be with you all
Raising his goblet Jareth saluted the still burning pyres as Sarah bowed to him and accepted a wine filled goblet from a dark skinned gnome with gilded glasses and a bloody bandage covering the ruined mess that remained of the left side of his face. And raising her goblet to mirror her king Sarah tipped it spilling the ruby liquid onto the frozen ground offering it up to the dead, as she sang with Jareth.
A man may drink and not be drunk
A man may fight and not be slain
A man may court a pretty girl
And perhaps be welcomed back again
But since it has so ought to be
By a time to rise and a time to fall
Come fill with me the parting glass
goodnight and joy be with you all... ...
The last words of the parting glass flowed from their lips as the royal couple joined hands and stood for a moment, completely oblivious to the hundreds of stunned onlookers as Jareth rested his forehead against Sarah's and sighed deeply, grief etched in every line of his face. Reaching up Sarah drew her fingers through his hair, gently caressing his neck in a stunningly familiar fashion, one that no one but those closest to him had ever seen their imposing ruler allow. But then most had thought him dead and no man would return from the doors of death unchanged, and so they remained quiet as their king pulled away from the mortal girl who was so much more than what she seemed and gently led her by the hand into the darkness surrounding the tents...
. .,. .
The soft light of dawn washed over the sweeping camp and it's tired occupants as they either curled up to sleep on the cold ground around the still smouldering pyres, or stumbled through the slick mud on their way to their tents to sleep the exhaustion from their aching bodies, and the keen sting of grief from their equally aching hearts.
Moving as gracefully as the deep ache of his bruised body would allow, Shiver passed through the pale blood tinted world, much like the wispy wraith's who stood guard over the sleeping host.
The sweet perfumed smoke from the many pyres still obscured the sky and muted the blood coloured dawn light, making the camp look like a giant dead beast left on the battlefield. Shaking the unpleasant image from his mind Shiver headed straight to the healers tent, with a strange sense of foreboding hounding his steps. Despite the assurances of Alderthorn that Lilly was already healing , Shiver felt a powerful need to see for himself, as if she was calling him through their newly formed bond, calling for help... Screaming in fear. Fear that had Shiver sprinting through the fading night in response.
The tent that had been a glowing beacon of hope was suddenly very dark and far, far too quiet and utterly devoid of the guards who had stood as silent sentries at the door, ready to defend or assist as needed. The men chosen were loyal and would never leave their post unless lives were at risk, so to find the post's abandoned was not a reassuring sight.
Pushing through the slowly wavering curtains that served to block out the frigid dawn wind, Shiver froze in place. On the outside the conjured tent was large, making it easy to find, but inside it was enormous, row upon row of silent beds spread out in front of him their occupants all deathly still, no one withering in pain or moaning in agony all of them every single creature lay with their glassy eyes open and staring sightlessly at the ceiling above, as treant healers stood frozen at the bedsides of those still living their bloodied wooden hands clutching their silently withering victims as their barbed thorns pumped the virulent poison into defenceless flesh.
Dead they were all dead! Terror gripped him as he realized the horror of what he was seeing, men, women and even children lay dead in the one place where they ought to have been safe, killed by the very hands that should be healing their hurts...
Killed as he stood watching frozen in place by sheer shock. But he was a warrior and warriors did not survive by freezing in place, they acted.
Howling in fire fueled fury Shiver drew his twin blades from thin air, charging the nearest Treant hacking it's poison filled arms off in one jarring strike, sending the gnarled limbs skittering along the blood stained boards that made up the tent's flooring. He hadn't killed the traitorous cur, nor did he mean to, oh the treant would die along with the other of his kind who were nothing now but filthy murderers, but it would not be now. Striding forward with deadly intent the lord commander sent out a wordless call to arms summoning all those bound to him through oath and blood, calling them to the tent to rescue as many souls as possible as Shiver himself rushed past the vile creatures pausing only long enough to shatter the limbs of any treant who happened to come within his reach as he rushed through the tent guided by the building terror that was quickly morphing into a fiercely explosive rage, that truth be told scared Shiver as he picked up his pace and burst through the heavy cloth that served as a door into the room where Lilly was resting , and froze in place.
Lilly, sweet, brave, loving, wounded Lilly knelt on the crumbled remains of her cot clutching her glowing shadowsteel sword that still dripped thick amber sap as she snarled at the savagely pruned treant like a rabid dog: "No! You will not hurt us.. You fucking weed! You...".
The rage burning out at the cowering healer was strong enough that he ought to have been engulfed in flames. And yet Alderthorn still managed to hold his own as he staggered back clutching the weeping stump that had once been attached to the quickly wilting limb laying on the ground. Shaking himself mentally Shiver leapt forward putting his own body between the maimed healer and his raging wife. The ancient body creaking as Shiver planted a heavy battle worn and mud stained boot in the centre of it's narrow gnarled chest slamming him to the floor causing deep fissures to open in Alderthorn's desiccated bark as Shiver ground out: "Stay down or I shall keep you from ever rising again."
"Do it": Alderthorn hissed: "I matter Not! I am but a means to a glorious end. An end that shall see us made Gods once more. Living Breathing GODS."
The healer moved quickly, his intact hand lashing out to launch poison filled thorns at the crouching woman and her protector, and by all rights they should have hit their target, but Shiver was too fast. Instincts honed to a razor edge by centuries of battles had him pulling Lilly into the protective circle of his arms as he used the wide expanse of his armour clad back to shield her, a pained grunt escaping his tightly clenched lips as a single thorn pierced through the skin at his neck.
Pushing Lilly to the safety of the ground Shiver spun to face prone healer: "So you think to be a god! That will never come to pass! And you... shall pay !"
The smoky blade in his hand rose and fell, severing the other arm in a spray of thick amber and noxious violet venom.
The thorn in his neck burned and sent pangs of pain down his back, letting him know that it was pumping it's potent load into his body even as he growled darkly: "My men are disabling your traitorous followers as we speak and as Lord commander I bind you to endure the just wrath of our lord and king. Today you will no doubt pay the ultimate price at His hands but at this moment you are mine and you will pay for the pain you have caused to my mate."
The poison burned as it ate into his flesh, but Shiver ignored it as the first haunting tree breaking in the wind screams filled the tent letting the goblin know that his men had arrived and were indeed reaping justice on the treant's. A cold hard light filled Shivers normally warm fluorescent green eyes as he raised the stained blade again, bringing it down on the thick stumpy leg of the healer that Shiver had always trusted, he had trusted Alderthorn to heal them and keep them alive, he had trusted him to keep them safe and soothe their hurts. To save them.
And that was what made the betrayal so cruel to Shiver as he hacked away at the withering healer heedless of his piercing tortured screams of terror, as the poison made the world go all fuzzy and undefined at the edges. The fact that this Creature had done all that he had, after he had soothed their hurts, healed their wounds and held their lives in his gnarled hands. Alderthorn had done all that and more, and they had trusted him to do it . They had trusted him. And he had betrayed them all in the most cruel way imaginable. By killing women and children Alderthorn had exhibited an unfathomable evil and Shiver felt no remorse as he watched the limbless creature lie moaning on the sap covered ground.
It was done, Lilly was safe and the lives of the innocents killed been avenged as well as he would be able before the poison finished it grisly work. Turning from Alderthorn Shiver flashed a pale sweat soaked smile at her: "You are safe now... he will never hurt... .. Hurt ... ... you again... I."
The blade slipped from Shiver's fingers as the curtain was ripped aside by the familiar hand of the Goblin king. Pushing into the small room Jareth exclaimed: "Great goddess Shiver!"
He wanted to answer Jareth to lie and tell him that he was fine, but that would have been a steep lie, as his world lost all focus, and he crashed heavily to his knees, sliding slowly into Lilly's lap as harsh cramps shot through his muscles. The last sound to penetrate the woollen darkness was Lilly's voice screaming his name.
"Shiver oh sweet god, No no No, Shiver, Please! Look at me! Jareth what's wrong with him?! Oh god."
Rolling Shiver to his back, Lilly searched his slack features for any trace of consciousness as she shook him by his shoulders, desperately calling his name.
"Shiver ! No look at me! Don't you dare die on me! I won't let you ": The thought of using magic had never been something that Lilly had considered doing, yet when Shiver lost consciousness she acted instinctively quickly peeling the thorn from Shivers quivering flesh covering the tiny wound with her palm and pushing that strange living power curling within her chest out through her palm and in through the seemingly inconsequential pinprick left behind. It felt so natural as she pushed the living energy into Shivers blood seeking out the cold cruel liquid as it did it's evil work, burning the poison as she went. Closing her eyes so as to not be distracted Lilly stubbornly chased the evasive poison burning it drop by drop before it could harm Shiver more than it already had. Because there was damage done, muscles weakened and wounds opened beneath his skin causing thick pewter blood to pool and form big dark bruises on the skin above, damage that would leave its mark on Shiver for a long while but that was a price well worth paying.
It felt like it had taken hours when she finally withdrew her hand and power from Shiver's clammy skin and faintly twitching muscles to watch the sickly green ichor as it trickled thickly from the tiny wound, but it couldn't have been more than a few moments if she was to judge by the look on Alderthorn's face as he lay helplessly staring up at them from amidst his shattered limbs on the sap and blood soaked floor with both horror and awe on his gnarled face.
But that mattered infinitesimally little as Shiver's bright green eyes slowly inched open, showing dazed and bloodshot orbs: "Shiver? Are you awake? "
"Hmm Lilly? .. .."
"Yes": Joy set her starburst eyes ablaze and surrounded them in pale rose swirls lending her the first glow of spring: "I did it ... you're okay ... you're okay now."
Her hands shook ever so slightly as she gripped a discarded rag and wiped the lean length of his neck clean of the sticky poison.
"Lilly? . . . . I thought ... Please...are you? ..."
"Am I what? Okay? yes, I'm good, Didymus ... He... ": The joy wilted tempered by the bitter knowledge that her very survival had come at such a terrible price, and yet she couldn't banish it. It was as if Didymus was there beside her whispering his approval at her actions, still proud of her.
"Didymus ... He's ... ": Shiver's voice was hoarse and strained as he struggled to tell her a truth he could not know that she already knew.
"He is... home…": A single tear trickled down her cheek as a sorrowful smile ghosted over her pale lips, barely touching the shadows in her eyes.: "He sent me home, and he himself ... he didn't die, he went home too."
"Home?"
"Yes, Home... And it is as it should be. Now rest. Come morning there will be much to do and too little time. And I most definitely plan to scream at you"
Nodding faintly Shiver, barely managed to murmur a soft: "Don't leave". Before his eyes fell closed as exhausted sleep claimed him and sent him reeling into the soothing oblivion.
He was safe! And so was she, the beasts who would have caused them harm dead or incapacitated. They were all safe, her hand drifted from Shiver's warm skin to her still taut belly as if she could somehow feel the two tiny lives already, as the strain of all that had happened in the last two day's caught up with her, and sent her sliding slowly down to rest her head on the cold steel of Shiver's chest plate, as the sweet relief of sleep claimed her too.
. .,. .
She slept like a babe in arms as he glided from their shared fur nest silent as the moonlit shadows that slowly traveled the length of their unnecessarily opulent tent home. Dressing himself in his dark goblin armour with nothing but a stray thought, Jareth bent and kissed Sarah's lightly frowning brow, leaving behind a weave that would keep her from noticing his absence until the sun or possibly suns rose to light the day in a few fleeting hours. Pulling the sleep warmed furs up higher around the love of his exhaustingly long life Jareth smiled one of those truly happy smiles that he had only rediscovered in the last few months. Love was a wondrous thing, it had him creeping out into the near dawn of the silent camp so that Sarah could sleep a few precious moments longer but also so that she need not face what their actions might have cost Fiora.
Letting the tent close behind him with nothing but the soft whisper of cloth against cloth Jareth drew in a deep breath as he summoned a perfect shimmering crystal passing it over the back of his hands before letting it shatter at his feet, and envelop him in a cloud of bright golden glimmer.
To travel through the veil between and around the underground realms was at the best and calmest times an unsettling experience and to travel through the churning maelstrom created by the newly opened gate into Sarah's newly created world was high on Jareth's list of things he would rather not repeat anytime soon. But he had no immediate choice but to shake the unsettling sensation away and move on with the task he was there to perform.
Power flared as he moved silently from the shadows where he had appeared and into the dancing light of the slowly waning fire that burned low in the centre of a charred tree trunk.
This was the ruined remains of the once lush and almost endless Central Glade here Hoggle had lived since the very first day of the Labyrinths existence, here Jareth had played and laughed before Titania's web robbed him of his innocent youth.
Sighing as the memory of that carefree time clashed with the horrific truth of the burned Glade, Jareth shook himself physically as if shaking off water, memories would do no difference now, only action and with that thought ringing through his mind the goblin king stepped up to the flickering flame and thrust his naked hand into the dying light.
"Fiora I call you forth, hear the call of your brother and king and obey. "
Nothing… silence, thick and heavy filled the smoke choked area as oppressively as and roar of sound could have done. Unconsciously holding his breath Jareth stood like a statue staring into the sluggish fire, as fear threatened to choke him. Was it too late? Had the drain been too much for the bright spirit? Had she burned out before he had had a chance to restore that which she had given. Or had she given too much, leaving herself too little to survive even this short while...
"Fiora? ": Whispering her name softly, Jareth licked his suddenly dry lips as he pulsed magic into the dying flame: "Please Fiora hear me and heed my call. Fiora!"
Her name left his lips in a desperate cry, a plea for the bright spirit to defy the terrifying odds and appear at his bidding as she always had. A plea for... well to be honest it was a plea for things, or rather this one thing to remain the same. Unlike everything else in this realm. He needed. . . ...
Flames bright red and violent in their intensity erupted from the stump, engulfing the entire world around Jareth and turning it to burning blood.
Relief and fear warred within the goblin king, but he pushed back the fear as he called out triumphantly: "Fiora! Hear me now, I come to return that which was given! Come and reclaim your power, reclaim your inner most flame!"
"Master... King... brother, Yes we hear thee, and we come as called, we come to thee..?"
The triple figure of the labyrinths fiery heart seemed to glide from the billowing flames that flooded the scorched glade creating wavering ghosts of what once stood proudly here, to stand before their king. Keeping his hand within the fire Jareth had to keep himself in an iron grip as memories from the years of torture resurfaced and threatened to shatter his hold on reality. He wanted to run, to leave the cool crystal in his hand and flee, he wanted, what he wanted meant nothing, the needs of the realm outshone the needs of it's king.
"Then open your heart and reclaim that which is yours ... "
Power flowed again, the power to destroy, to ravage with furious flames and the power to nurture and create, entwined and combined into a force so strong that it would devour the world if not held tightly reined in. Closing his eyes Jareth opened his soul to her, pouring out the magic she had so willingly surrendered, returning it to her cold and darkened triple core, reviving it much like water poured onto a wilting field. It was fire and it should by all rights have burned him, it should have seared the flesh off of his bones and yet it filled him with no more that the comforting warmth of home and hearth. Releasing the pent up breath he was holding Jareth sighed softly as he opened his eyes to watch the intensity of the fire wane yet the flames remained bright as they went from consuming to caressing, as the power that fed them evened out and the flow diminished from raging river to gentle stream.
Done, it was done. The power given had been returned and the burning heart of the realm reborn, and as the twin forms materialized at her side Jareth pulled his now empty hand from the flames, flexing as he banished the ghosts of his far too recent past: "Fiora thank the great mother, for awhile there I feared that I had come too late to return your power."
A strange expression darkened the triplicate faces as she/they nodded in unison: "For a moment I believed the same, yet thou art our king and once more thou have saved us."
Falling to their knees the triple creatures spoke in a tone of deep reverence and urgency: "We art in mortal debt onto thee Lord, but as thou art king so art we to those who dwell in our flaming world. As you must leave to tend to us so must we to tend to those beholden to us..."
"Yes": Acknowledging the truth of their words Jareth nodded and smiled reassuringly: "Yes go see to those whose flame wanes and once your task has been accomplished return to us. I have a task that I would ask of you."
Bowing in perfect synchrony the three women said: "As you wish our lord."
Gone, one second they were there, bowing and showing their obedience, the next Jareth found himself blinking away the residual shadows left in his eyes by the light that had vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. The glade was dark once more, it's charred stumps nothing more than shadows against the pale beginnings of dawn, as the suns began their slow journey across the sky. Turning to face the triple suns as they peaked over the horizon, washing the sorely tried realm in their dusty rust red light, Jareth couldn't help but feel a deep seated relief wash over him, life was returning to the realm flowing not through this burnt out husk but through his and Sarah's cores, and once he had defeated Oberon there would no longer be a need for even that. The magic flowing from Sarah's world didn't truly need to be filtered in the same fashion as the raw power siphoned off of the aboveground did. It...
The silent call to arms ripped through the silent air like the keening death scream of a dying rockcaller, snapping into action his hands moved at their own accord calling up a crystal and rolling it over and around his hands as he allowed the message embedded in the call to fill his mind and guide him as he dropped the crystal and let it whisk him through the turbulent veil.
Darkness materialized around him as he glided from the shadows with his twin blades glittering unsheathed in his hands. The healers tent lay silent before him, bathed in the blood red light of dawn as scores of armoured warriors rushed towards it, summoned by the same call as their king. Jareth rarely ran, but the urgency and message embedded in the summons had the goblin king running full out desperately hoping to not be too late.
The heavy flaps that served as tent flaps had been ripped clean off by the rush of warriors in their fervor to save lives and avenge those for whom it was too late. He was not the first to arrive and in some ways he felt strangely grateful for that fact as he first laid eyes on the seemingly endless rows of corpses. Screams like those made by trees felled by lightning filled the still air, but the dead was not the cause off these screams, moving past the groups of warriors who were dragging withering logs past him as the treants were found and fallen upon by the furious warriors. Warriors who lacked a central figure, Shiver...
Vanishing his blades and gripped the shoulder of the closest warrior, Jareth paused only for a split second as he realized that the creature who bowed in obedience before him was a seelie fey, and not the Labyrinthian he had expected to face. Jareth, returned the bow with a curt nod: "Where is the lord Commander?"
The warrior was not young yet his hand trembled like an unbloodied youths as he addressed his new king, pointing to a half closed opening: "He is in there Sire. I know no more..."
Fear paled the already fair skinned male, giving Jareth a glimpse of the fear that had ruled the fey's lives for far too long, and it filled him with compassion and a need to ease that fear and instill a sense of safety in the obviously tried seelie.
"I thank you brave knight, I am in your debt."
Clapping the Knight's shoulder reassuringly the goblin king hid the frantic fear that had his heart threatening to rip from his chest behind a calm kind smile: "You serve us well."
Moving past him before the cracks in his mask became visible, Jareth gripped the cloth serving as a door and pushed through.
The tiny room reeked of sickly sweet sap and blood, treant shards littered the floor and the nauseating sap dripped from Shivers blades as the tall goblin swayed dangerously on his feet his blades clattering to the ground as his fingers lost their strength.
"Great goddess Shiver! ": it seemed as if time had been sped up and disconnected from reality as Shiver's eyes rolled back in his head and his body crashed boneless to the slick sap and splinter covered boards. Lilly moved with more speed than Jareth had ever seen her before, as she ignoring her own battered and bruised body launched herself the two feet that separated her from Shiver, landing on her knees she scrambled the last few inches crying: "Shiver oh sweet god, No no No, Shiver, Please! Look at me! Jareth what's wrong with him?! Oh god."
Rolling Shiver to his back, Lilly searched his slack features for any trace of consciousness as she shook him by his shoulders, desperately calling his name.
"Shiver ! No look at me! Don't you dare die on me! I won't let you." : What happened next took Jareth as much by surprise as it did Lilly as the lithe girl quickly plucked the poison thorn from Shivers bruised and discoloured neck, and gripped the goblins face firmly in her elegant hands. Light rusty red like the light that washed over the Labyrinth simultaneously flared from her palms, and on the heels of that light came power, not the burning volatile power that washed through the stones of this realm and passed through the cores of its monarchs. No this magic was far older and infinitely stronger, as Jareth already felt on his own body. This was a power born by the love that existed between those destined to be together. The love of fate.
And it was awe inspiring as it flooded the pair burning the poison from Shiver's flesh even as it was doing it's devastating work on him, dissolving the muscle tissue as it struggled to reach his faltering heart. The power worked in waves pulsing from Lilly's hands and into Shivers body, where it congealed around his heart protecting that vital muscle from harm. It was over almost as fast as it had begun, one moment Shiver's skin glowed like a trapped star the next he seemed to collapse in on himself as Lilly's hands left him and his swollen eyes crept open.
"Shiver? Are you awake?"
"Hmm Lilly? .. .. "
"Yes": Joy set her starburst eyes ablaze and surrounded them in pale rose swirls lending her the first glow of spring: "I did it ... you're okay ... you're okay now."
Her hands shook ever so slightly as she gripped a discarded rag and wiped the lean length of his neck clean of the sticky poison.
"Lilly? . . . . I thought ... Please...are you? ..".
"Am I what? Okay? Yes, I'm good, Didymus ... He..." : The relief and joy in her voice wilted becoming hushed and soft with sadness
"Didymus ... He's ... ": Shiver 's voice was hoarse and strained as he struggled to speak and tell her what had happened to their friend.
"He is... home…": A single tear trickled down her cheek as a sorrowful smile ghosted over her pale lips, barely touching the shadows in her eyes.: "He sent me home, and he himself ... he didn't die, he went home."
"Home?"
"Yes, Home... And it is as it should be. Now rest. Come morning there will be much to do and too little time."
Nodding faintly Shiver, barely managed to murmur a soft: "Don't leave". Before his eyes fell closed as exhausted sleep claimed him and sent him reeling into the soothing oblivion. Relief chased the shadows of sadness away leaving her face soft as she folded in on herself and curled around Shivers as if using her own frail body to protect his.
Magic still glowed on their skin but it made more of a sun kissed touch now than the bright glare that had just bathed them. Shaking off the lingering thrall that their magic spread, Jareth moved to kneel beside the pair, gently running his fingers through Shivers sweat soaked dreads as if he needed to reassure himself through touch that his son still lived, before he called in men to carry them to safety. And it was pure relief that flooded through Jareth as he felt Shiver stirring beneath his hand. Reassured Jareth rose and turning to lay utterly frigid eyes on the withering stump hissing: "I care nothing for the reasons for your treachery. Had I been your sole target I might have been lenient but not now, no"
Alderthorn attempted to speak but Jareth was in no mood hear anything from the treacherous cur. Holding up a single finger Jareth sighed a cold: "Sssch". Watching in satisfaction as the treant's mouth shrank and vanished leaving the once loved and respected healer unable to utter anything but frantic muted screams.
Turning from the more and more panicked treant Jareth call out: "Guards come I have need of you."
Four warriors in sap stained armours seemed to materialize before the echo of the words had died down, two that Jareth recognized as squires of now dead knights and two who still wore the armour of the white hunt and the look of uncertain fear in their eyes. Nodding his acknowledgment of their swift obedience Jareth gestured to the two squires: "See that this and all other logs are brought to the pyre site, and have them stacked to serve as wood for the pyre of their victims."
Grim smiles curled their lips as both youths bowed in obedience and swiftly gathered up the now screeching former Healer, whisking him away as Jareth turned to the two former seelie warriors: "For you I have a special task, gather two more and have them help you carry your commander and his mate to the command tent, there you will see them installed in the room beside my own, are you clear on this task? "
The fear seemed to lessen a little as they bowed far deeper than their goblin counterparts and spoke in unison: "As you command high king."
Great goddess but he hated that title, it represented everything that he wasn't but had had forced upon him. In due time he would do away with that hated title but the time was not ripe yet. For now he had use of it for the tasks he had yet to perform, tasks involving the rulers of the other realms.
. , .
The Rulers seated around the table looked grim as Jareth held out the oddly innocent looking crystal.
"Tomorrow I shall face the vile traitor who has brought Nothing but pain and suffering to our realms. I will bring him to heel and once I do, this is where they will face their punishment."
A collective sharp breath moved around the table as the weave of the spell became visible in all its perfect justice. To be trapped in that orb would be to have your consciousness weighed and judged by the word of the goddesses law, and the crimes committed would be repaid in kind sevenfold.
Letting the orb float above the table Jareth continued: "I have woven this spell to make them face the crimes committed not just against myself but to make them face the crimes they have committed against every single being of the Labyrinth, I ask of you as rulers of your own realms to give up the crimes committed against not just your persons but against those in your care. Let them face the horror that they forced upon others and be cleansed through this."
It was Neuru who spoke first, the spidery queen unfolding as she hissed: "Yeeessss thisssss isss all fiine, Jareth, high king. But in time they sssssshall be releasssed and then we sssssshall face the wrath that they feeeeel. Theeen how sssshall weee prevail?"
Nodding Jareth reached out, flicking through the golden strands of magic that made up the spell: "Fear not Great queen only when they are truly repentant and prepared to abandon their vile ways will they be released, and once the day comes that they are released they will be stripped of their magic, and their immortality.. They have proven that they are unworthy of the lives that they have lived and the privilege they were given. As rulers we are the servants of the people we rule, and they have abused that role. Therefore they will be mortal and powerless, left in the mortal realm that they so desired to rule, to live out a single life span, before returning to the great mother. As is the law of the Goddess they shall suffer sevenfold what they caused others to suffer."
Stepping forward Sarah rested a hand on Jareth's shoulder adding the weight of her approval to Jareth's words through her mere presence.
"We understand your reservations towards this plan, and we are prepared to listen should any of you have a better suggestion, but if not then this will be the plan we follow.": Leaning on the table Sarah ignored the soft tickle of her feather cloak, she had worn it to mirror Jareth's ivory outfit and the jet black of her feather cloak blended perfectly with her hair and she could not deny that she looked like the pagan goddess Jareth professed her to be. Hell she even felt like it as magic coursed through her, to manifest as thin ribbons of shimmering emerald light interwoven with the golden bands of the original spell.: "But until I hear a better plan then I Sarah Queen of the Labyrinth, high queen of the underworld rightful ruler of the earth realm, bind my fate and those of the realms in my charge to this plan. When! The goblin king brings Oberon to heel we shall be safe, our realms free to prosper and grow as the mother goddess intended for us to do."
Rising like a shadow Morgaine towered over the table despite barely reaching above Jareth's shoulder, what she lacked in height she more than made up for in sheer presence as she too held out her gnarled hand and let strands of deep midnight join with the emerald and gold.
"So too do I pledge, for life or death, we of the unseelie realm shall stand by our king and queen. We follow you my son to the bitter end if need be."
"Aye ": He was a mountain of white flesh and massive muscles as he towered over everyone: "I Rzush do so swear that we too shall abide by your side. Wife?"
Her alien face gave away nothing as Neuru held out a clawed hand releasing strands of blood red magic.
Taking Sarah's hand Jareth smiled in relief as he hid the weave of the spell once more and signaled for Sarah to take the crystal as it descended to rest on the blackwood table: "I give this in trust to my queen knowing that the challenge I face tomorrow may render me incensed even though I shall win. And I charge you as my kin to aide her as she carries out my will and word. The Labyrinth and the realms it divides are wild places and the traitors are born of those wild places, I have no doubt that they as is their custom will strive to evade paying their due, and that is where I shall need your strength."
Rzush was first to nod his enormous head and ground out: "Again brother of my flesh you have my sword and her magic."
Followed by Morgaine's husky: "As ever son you have my full support. I vow to you that I will hold Titania and Oberon accountable for the damage done by their hands. And I vow that I shall never be blind to their evil again."
A genuine smile lit Jareth's tired and sad expression as he shared a meaningful look with each ruler: "I am in your debt, and I swear that I shall repay you all for this. But for now I must leave you, the duel is as you know at dawn tomorrow and I have much to prepare..."
The empty tent was blessedly quiet, as Jareth turned to Sarah and wordlessly wrapped himself around her, drawing on her silent strength. Great goddess but he longed for the simple life in their lodge, the quiet day's of healing as he found his way to the man he was without Titania's venomous voice directing his thoughts and choices. But he was king and these realm's quite literally depended on him to exist.
Drawing in a deep breath Jareth couldn't help but smile as he realized that her hair still smelled fresh as if she had just bathed in the river running past their lodge, and then run through the flowering meadow. Obviously he was not the only one who missed those carefree days.
"Your hair, it smells of flowers and crystal water fresh off the mountain..."
Her nod only served to rub her lush mane of unbound midnight strands against his cheek, drawing a soft sigh of longing from him, and a soft chuckle from her.
"I know, magic is a wonderful thing. And like you I already miss the time we spent in our lodge. I want to go back there... I want to bury Didymus ashes there."
Thoughts of the red fox knight filled Jareth with strangely conflicted emotions. The loss of what had become a staunch friend hurt more than words could ever describe, and yet at the same time there was a deep and soothing relief in the knowledge that Didymus had finally been granted the peace he had so desperately longed for.
Three thousand years was too long to be alone.
"Do you not think that he would rather be buried alongside his family, in the clearing they called home? "
Turning slightly in his arms so that she could hold up a bright crystal Sarah said: "Yeah I thought about that, and I while you were mopping up the remains of Alderthorn's betrayal I spoke with Ardian. Did you know that Didymus raised him? "
Shaking his head, Jareth remained silent simply enjoying the warmth that radiated from her as she continued: "Well it turns out that they weren't buried. Their bodies were harvested and the clearing razed to the ground. No Ardian agreed with me that it would be better to bury Didymus in a place where he had known happiness, with these."
The crystal spun, floating up from Sarah's hand to become a tiny pile of mismatched items. There was a simple silver ring with a smooth turquoise stone, a faded purple ribbon, a wooden spindle, a small copper sword and a little carved draegor.
They were small utterly insignificant things but Jareth could almost see the shadows of those who had loved them, hovering above them, and Sarah was right these memories of joy should not be tainted by the pain of their deaths. They deserved to be laid to rest in a place where Didymus had known happiness, in the hopes that they could somehow feel that happiness wherever they were now.
"You are right, the man we knew deserves be laid to rest where he knew only freedom. We will take him home with us."
"Thank you Jareth I knew you'd understand."
. .,. .
Pain, the dull aching pain unique to fever stricken muscles filled him as the world began to push in on him demanding that he return from the quiet darkness of unconsciousness. But he was dead wasn't he? The venomous sap in Treant thorns had no antidote, no remedy, and yet...Blinking against the probably dim light, that nonetheless insisted on cutting through his brain like feysteel arrows, Shiver tried to make sense of the fact that he was waking up.
The last thing he remembered had been Lilly cradling him and speaking words that escaped him. And yet here he lay sore and arching, but warm and alive with Lilly sleeping safely in his arms.
"Shiver are you awake?"
Jareth, the voice of his father was soft with worry as he settled on the edge of the large unfamiliar bed.
Clearing his throat burned as if he had swallowed burning embers but the cloying taste of blood and bile were too vile to ignore as he pulled himself up into a somewhat sitting position.
"Yes, but .. How? ... I remember my body failing, and Lilly calling... my name."
"She healed you... using the magic held within you're newly formed core and that indomitable human spirit of hers, she did the impossible...again."
Resting the back of his hand on Shiver's mercifully cool forehead in a gesture familiar to all parents, Jareth continued: "She forced the poison from your flesh and rebuilt much of the damage. Then..."
Chuckling as if he didn't truly believe what he was about to share Jareth said: "She healed herself..."
"She what?!. ": It was all he could grind out as he stared in disbelief at the peacefully sleeping woman beside him. The pale frail looking female who though bruised and sickly looked far better than she had just... Blinking owlishly Shiver realized that he had no idea how much time had passed since his unfathomable escape from death.
"How long...": Great mother but it hurt to speak, not his throat but the muscles where the thorn had pierced his skin. Clearing his throat he pushed through the burning pain: "Have we been... a sleep?..."
"A few hours, no more. The duel is not until tomorrow, and that is good, for I will need you to stand as my second if you are able."
A faint nod was all that Shiver could manage in reply to Jareth's request as the strain of the past day's tribulations forced his eyes to close as exhausted sleep claimed him once more.
Pulling up the warm fur to cover Shivers, once again bandage covered chest, as he had done so many times in a far too distant past, Jareth whispered softly: "Sleep my son, and may your dreams be sweet and light."
And leaning down Jareth pressed a soft kiss onto Shivers furrowed brow, just as he had when Shiver had been nothing but a child. It didn't matter that the man lying before him was almost seven hundred years old, to Jareth, Shiver would never be anything but his son.
. .,. .
The snow had begun to fall in heavy sheets again as Jareth strode confidently through the camp, followed by a stammering Bolton who was fighting the cold by covering himself in a multitude of coats and blankets, turning himself into a scavenger like figure.
"But ...But Sire to put a Goblin in such an exalted position...is... utterly... unpresidented.! Please my lord I... I beg thee to reconsider this ..."
Spinning on the heel of his boot Jareth towered over the pig faced goblin: "Enough Bolton I have made my decision clear and I will not hear another word about it, now go draw up the required documents, so that they are ready for tomorrow. Now!"
Holding up a clearly dismissive hand Jareth cut off the butler before he could express his displeasure further, and the look in the goblin king's eye's clearly conveyed that there was nothing more that he wanted to hear from the goblin, and that any further disobedience would result in nasty consequences. It was a good look, one that Jareth had spent centuries on perfecting, and it sent Bolton scurrying off after having performed a flurry of exceedingly deep bows.
Waiting until the butler was out of sight to allow himself a satisfied grin Jareth chuckled. Bolton was a good man, he was just a tad bit overzealous where etiquette and decorum was concerned and though it had its uses it was not always so. And this was most certainly one of those cases.
Facing the brisk wind again Jareth let the keen sting of wind driven snow wash over him and clear out his mind as he continued his walk towards the centre of the great plaza. The coming time would be trying enough without Bolton's resistance on his mind, the last thing Jareth needed as he prepared to face the man who had betrayed him was to feel that there was no support from the court he called his own.
No. Pushing the gnawing voice back before it could gain a new foothold, Jareth shuddered viciously. This was a voice that belonged to his past, defeated by Sarah and expelled from his mind along with the spell that had birthed them, and he would not allow them a new foothold. Not now, that he had fought so hard to become the man he was always destined to be. Not when...
Stopping dead in his tracks, Jareth felt overwhelmed by the sight in front of him, and saddened beyond belief as the loss they had suffered was put into stark relief. So many lives had been lost, to Alderthorn's vile evil. Not just the two hundred and eighty three souls betrayed in the healers tent, but nine hundred forty one souls from all races of the underground. They had fallen prey to a cruel plan aimed at him, and that thought left him feeling frozen inside as he watched the last blood hued light spill over the massive pyre that cast its shadow over the circle marked out with the still withering trunks of the treant's responsible for the deaths. Three hundred logs made up the circle and each of them seethed pure hatred as they watched him approach them. They were all kin of Alderthorn, Elder tree's with furrowed and gnarled trunks weeping thick sap blood where their soft white heartwood protruded from the stumps that remained of their limbs. They were all there every member of the Alderthorn clan, from the youngest sapling barely old enough to shed the shackles of the soil from which they had sprouted, to the ancient Elders who had lived long enough to have seen the Labyrinth being born. Each one guilty of a murder or the attempt of one and much as it pained him to eradicate a complete clan Jareth understood that he had no choice in the matter. They had chosen to follow their clan head into this scheme that had only one outcome, and now they would pay for it.
Turning to one of the sombre silent guards Jareth asked: "Have the tokens been placed within the pyre?"
The russet skinned goblin bowed reverently as his king addressed him: "Yes my lord, some fifty were unplaced, as there are no living relatives to do so, but the Queen has placed those herself so that they too would be remembered in the heart of our realm."
Nodding grimly Jareth spoke softly: "That sounds very much like something the Queen would say. And I do find that she is most often correct."
Unsure how to respond to his king's musings the goblin simply nodded politely and returned to his apparently dead eyed watch as Jareth moved past him to fix a cold glare on the once benevolent and familiar face that shot daggers down at him from it's perch amongst the withering logs that were his entire clan.
"Alderthorn... ": The horror of the Treant's deed left Jareth feeling as if his inside had been turned to ice and then smashed against stones. So many had died, and more would follow in this senseless war. And yet Jareth still saw the healer who had been almost as constant a presence as Hoggle had, a caring shadow always dousing him with ... potions and tinctures... liquids that always left the vile taste of iron in his mouth and pain in his stomach.
"You tried to kill me as a child, all those potions you fed me... they were meant to weaken me so that Titania's spell could take root in my mind. She betrayed me through your aide... you that I trusted, you who had vowed to protect me. Well Now you will die, paying the price for your betrayal, you will die never knowing whether Titania and Oberon will be triumphant. You will die and with you, your entire line, from the youngest sprout to you their ancient Sire, you will all burn! Nothing but logs for the fire. You will be remembered as no more than a cruel murderer, and then you will all be forgotten..."
The forced muteness of the Treant might rob him of a vocal reply but his eyes showed the hateful truth clearly as Alderthorn glared down at him with pure undiluted venomous hatred. There was no doubt that he was right, the hatred leveled at him said as much. A cold smirk tinged ever so slightly with sadness curled Jareth's lips as he ended his tirade with a quiet: "You have failed, even if Oberon wins tomorrow you and your kin will be naught but ashes before the first blow is dealt. No matter the outcome you will not see another night."
Meeting the burning gaze of Alderthorn, Jareth gave a shallow mocking bow: "Now I shall bid you Farewell, may you have a pleasant night... for tomorrow you burn."