Excentricaluli-Thank you. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much. Enjoy!
Well, in this chapter we find out what Jareth and Sarah name their daughter! I hope you like the name. If not, I'm sorry. I actually looked up names, and their meanings. I REALLY like the name, although, it's not my favorite name. I wasn't going to put my favorite name because I didn't want to inject my own personal favorites into the story. Hope you love the name! Oh yea, by the way, all of you who review and view and read my story, are AMAZING! I still appreciate it so much. :) You guys are the best!
Jareth had had enough with his brother acting like he was entitled to whatever he wanted. Life didn't work that way. Sure, that's what Jareth had done at first, but at the moment, he didn't feel entitled to anything. Except maybe Darins death. Which he had already planned on doing. There was no way that Jareth was going to allow Darin to live now. Not when he had tried to take Sarah away from him more than once. Just the fact that he thought he was going to lose her forever because Darin put her in harms way, had made Jareth see red. There was no life without Sarah. And now, no life without his daughter.
Jareth stood up and faced Darin after giving Sarah and the baby a kiss. "Dear brother, what makes you think we'll all be dead?" A crystal appeared in Jareth's hand. "I have a strong suspicion that you will be the one who dies."
Just as Jareth threw the crystal, Darin ducked and ran at Jareth knocking him over. Darin punched Jareth in the face and Sarah screamed. Rowanda held her down. There was no way she was going to allow Sarah to interfere. At least not at the moment. Not when she just gave birth. Rowanda herself would have interfered, but she just wasn't strong enough at the moment.
As Jareth and Darin were still fighting, Esmerald was pleading with King Abott to stop them. There had to be a way to make everyone stop. Peacefully. With no death. Esmerald most certainly did not want to lose any of her children. Especially one of her sons. Maybe they could lock Darin up in the dungeon until court had come along. After all, trying to take another's wife/betrothed was a severe penalty in the Underground. That's when she heard the scream and saw the smoke. No one could see through the smoke. They all awaited eagerly while the smoke disappeared.
The only person who was left standing there was Darin. Sarah's heart stared racing. Where was Jareth? What had happened to him? Darin started laughing. "One down, three to go." Darin walked over to Rowanda and threw her to the side. "You're the easiest to kill. So I'll save you for you last."
King Abott stood in front of Esmerald. "Son, this is not what you want to do. You do not want to kill your parents. You will regret it."
Darin laughed. "I shall kill anyone who stands in the way of me having Sarah."
"She is not yours to have!" Everyone turned around to see Jareth standing there.
Before Jareth could even do something to Darin, something happened that he couldn't explain. Where Darin had just been standing, a pile of dust had formed. Jareth gave everyone a questioning look, and everyone shook their heads no. So what could have happened? How did Darin turn into a pile of dust with no help from any of them? It made no sense.
Someone cleared their throat and Jareth watched Artemis appear before him. "I am sorry, but I had to. He was not going to steal another man's woman. I was not going to allow it."
King Abott came forward and grabbed Artemis by the shoulder. "What do you mean? My son has tried to do this before?"
Artemis nodded. "Do you remember Tonasia?"
King Abott nodded. "She was Darin's betrothed."
Artemis had assumed that Darin had never told them the real story. Here was his chance to do just that. "No, she was my betrothed. Darin met her once and decided that she would be his. Darin somehow made her forget all about me." Tears came to his eyes. "He asked her to marry him, and she said no. That she felt like she belonged with someone else. So he killed her. He admitted it to me."
No one said anything for a long while. It took a while to sink in. Darin wasn't the sweet son that Esmerald and King Abott had remembered. How had they not noticed that he had changed so much? Why had he changed so much? What made him think he could steal other peoples betroths?
"I do not want to believe this." Esmerald said. "At the present moment, my son is dead! I do not wish to listen to this for another moment." Esmerald turned to King Abott. "I'm going home to grieve for my son. Whether you come with me or not, that is up to you." She turned back to Artemis. "I shall never forgive you!" Just like that, she was gone.
Rowanda stood up and ran to Artemis and gave him a hug. "I understand that you had to do this, I do, but I wish we could have handled it differently."
"Do you swear it on your life, that this really happened Artemis?"
"I do uncle Abott. I swear it on my life."
King Abott wrapped Artemis in a hug. "I will talk to Esmerald. She's just upset right now. She will understand and come to terms with it." King Abott turned and faced Jareth. "For now, I think it is better if you all stay away from your mother. She is going to need some time to process this all." Then he was gone.
"Does he mean me also?" Rowanda looked confused. "I have nowhere else to go! I have to go back. That's my home. There's no way they can kick me out. I live there."
"You can stay with us." It was the first time that Sarah had spoken up since Darin had shown up. "Jareth and I have more than enough bedrooms. Besides, this will give us time to really get to know each other, not to mention you get to spend a bunch of time with your niece."
Rowanda squealed and then bit her lip. "Jareth, is that alright? Can I stay here for a while?" Jareth pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. After a few minutes, he nodded. "Yay!" Rowanda got down and sat beside Sarah and the baby. "So what's her name?"
Sarah and Jareth hadn't even thought of names. It had never crossed their minds. Not even when they found out that she was expecting. Sarah looked at Jareth and they locked eyes. What would they name her? Sarah didn't want too much of an exotic name. Not when their baby was going to meet her family also. And she would definitely make sure of that. "What about, Amelia?" Sarah asked Jareth.
"God no, that's dreadful."
That was a bit harsh. Considering it was a name that Sarah had ALWAYS loved. "What about Valentina?"
The look on Jareth's face made Sarah realize that he didn't like that name either. She groaned. Just as she was about to suggest another, he put his finger up to his mouth as if he was thinking. "I like it. It means brave. Our daughter will be brave. Brave, just like her mother was and is."
"Then, that is our daughters name. Valentina." Sarah cradled Valentina in her arms. "Welcome to the world Valentina. I'm your mommy."
"Mother." Sarah looked up to see Rowanda caressing Valentina's head. "Around here, the children call their parents mother and father." After seeing the look of disapproval on Sarah's face, Rowanda backed up a little. "I mean, you can have her call you mommy if you want. After all, she is your child." Embarrased Rowanda stood up. "I'm just going to find a room to stay in for a while."
"I should be going. I am going to have to make amends to aunt Esmerald. I will have to figure out how though. In the mean time, have fun with your beautiful daughter." Just like that, Artemis was gone.
After Jareth had the doctor check Sarah out, with much chagrin from Sarah, they spent the night together. All three of them as a family. They hadn't had time to set up a nursery fro Valentina yet, to which Sarah was actually over joyed. She didn't want to be away from Valentina for a long time. She had never known love could be this strong. Not even when she realized that she loved Jareth. This love was so much stronger. It almost scared her.
The next morning, Sarah woke up to find Jareth and Valentina missing. Panic set in. What if Darin wasn't really dead? What if he was just playing dead so that he could strike again? Maybe he had lured Jareth out of their room and killed him then stole Valentina. What if he was waiting for her to leave the room and attempt to take her again? All of those thoughts kept running through her mind. Sighing, she got out of bed and headed to throne room. Which is where she found Jareth holding Valentina. It's also where she found a new throne in the throne room. And it wasn't hers.
"Good morning love. How did you sleep?"
Sarah walked over and grabbed Valentina from Jareth, craddeling her in her arms. "Fine. Until I woke up and found you both gone." Sarah walked over to the stairs and sat down on them, considering she still didn't have a throne. "What is the matter with you? I thought Darin had faked his death and killed you then taken Valentina."
"I assure you, he is gone. He will not ever harm this family again."
How did his brother dying not impact Jareth? It didn't seem to impact Rowanda either. The only one it seemed to really impact was Esmerald. It just didn't seem right. No matter how many arguments Sarah and Karen had, she would still be upset if she had died, or killed no less. She was still family. "It doesn't bother you?" Sarah asked as she was staring into Valentinas eyes. "You know, your brother being dead. It doesn't bother you?"
"No. Not in the slightest." Jareth got out of his throne and walked over to Sarah. "Us Fae, only some of us actually have feelings. My mother is one of them. She's one of the rare ones." He cupped her chin. "Apparently you are also."
"I'm also not fully Fae."
Jareth chuckled. "This is true. You do still have some of your old self left in you."
Sarah smiled. "So, how come Valentina has her own throne, and I don't? She can't even sit in hers yet!"
"I told you that you had to think about it yourself and make it to your specifications."
She growled. Low enough so that it wouldn't bother Valentina, but loud enough so that Jareth would hear her. "You haven't taught me any magic yet! You're afraid that I will leave and never come back. Which would never happen. You are my husband and the father of my child. I would probably leave just to go visit but come back." She could see the furrowed lines on Jareths forehead. "They are my family. Whether you like it or not, they are also Valentina's family."
"Sarah," he drawled, "just picture the kind of throne you want and you will have it."
Sarah sighed and handed Valentina to Jareth. She cracked her knuckles and her neck. Closing her eyes, she thought of a cat. One like Betsy. The cat she had when she was just a child. She heard a meow and opened her eyes. There stood a cat next to Jareth. She laughed and looked at Jareth. "Oh my god! It worked. It really worked! Look, I made a cat appear."
Jareth did not look amused. "Please get rid of that thing."
Sarah rolled her eyes and thought of giving the cat to her family. Then the cat was gone. "Happy?"
"Quite. Now get on with your throne."
The image Sarah had in her head was beautiful. A gold throne with red velvet fabric that covered the seat, the back, and the arms of the chair. Her name was engraved in silver on the top of the throne. And last but not least, Sarah had seen a beautiful tiara hanging off of the throne. She smiled and opened her eyes. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"It's a bit much, don't you think?" Sarah shook her head explaining that this is what she wanted and Jareth had told her to make it to her specifications. "You are correct. I guess you can keep it until you want to change it."
"You haven't changed yours since I was here last."
"I do not exactly like change." He handed Valentina back to Sarah. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go see how my mother is feeling. Hopefully she will forgive Artemis with time."
"Do you think she will?"
Jareth looked away. "Most certainly not. Darin was her favorite child." He kissed Sarah and Valentina. "If she does not forgive him, he very well may end up being killed. All depends on court."