Chapter 27.

Sarah danced in the arms of the Goblin King, but thoughts troubled her. "I just banished the High Court Healer…" she groaned.

"Yes dear, you did." Quinn smiled softly. "Effectively too, I might add."

"I didn't think of the repercussions." She admitted. "We're going to be in hot water now, are we not?"

Quinn shrugged, "I'm use to hot water, however, it's nice to have your company instead of just my brother's."

Sarah glanced at the Bride and Groom, "They are not going to be able to leave right now, are they?" She lamented.

The King shook his head. "Nope."

"Damn," Sarah muttered. "Why did that stupid woman have to do this…why now?"

"Sarah they will understand…" Quinn soothed.

"Oh yeah, they are going to just love the fact that you have been…keeping secrets from them…" Sarah muttered on.

"Giles knows." Quinn sighed.

Sarah's steps faltered. "He what?" her head snapped back to look at the King.

The King stopped dancing. "Giles knows. I think he has from the first. He…witnessed the last few moments of the merge…and he's too smart not to have put the pieces together." He drew her back into the dance. "People are watching us, dear."

Sarah painted on her game face. "King and consort…" she said with gritted teeth.

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Cairbre took his wife's hands in his. "You are sure of all you've just told me?"

She nodded. "We too have our sources of information, Bard."

"The Gods blessed me when they lead me to you, my beautiful Water Sprite." Cairbre said softly to her. "If it were not for you, the facts at the Sacred Pool would never have been recorded right."

"I thank the Gods for our partnership each day." She assured her husband. "We must speak with the shattered soul, and the champions, now."

Cairbre nodded. "I would say that's a fair assessment."

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The guests began to depart shortly after the altercation between the consort and the High Court Healer. Robert and Karen took their leave, wanting to check in on the younger children. Robert kissed Sarah, and smiled at her proudly before departing. He even extended a hand to the King in bidding him good night. The hand was warmly accepted.

Sarah looked at the King. "He looks like he just won a battle."

"He may have." The Fae said. "Giles, would you inform Ryan and Anne I need to have words with the champions? Say the war-room in half an hour?"

The Archer bowed; he had made it his business over the last two years to be nearby if the King needed him. "Of course, Sire."

Quinn took Sarah's hands into his, pulled them up to his chest. On lookers would have thought it was but a tender moment between King and consort. "Stay with me as I explain?"

"Where else would I be?" She sighed. "I'm still one of your champions."

Quinn turned, tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. "Come Sarah."

"As you wish, Sire." She smiled as they walked from the ballroom to the war-room. "It was a good reception wasn't it?"

"One of the finest, my dear." He assured her, taking one last glance over his shoulder. "It's was a lovely reception."

The Bride and Groom discreetly exited the ballroom, along with the Archer who was escorting them to the war room. No one spoke, not wishing outsiders to know Palace business. They entered the room and took their seats. Sarah looked at the Fae expecting him to speak but he motioned to the door. As he did, Cairbre the Bard and his wife entered the room.

"Good." Said the King; "We are all assembled." The champions looked at he Bard and the King went on. "Cairbre's presence is necessary. He has been the official record keeper of the Goblin King." Motioning them to all be seated he began to pace, ran a hand tough his long hair. "Where to begin?"

Sarah held her hand out to him. "Just tell them."

"Ok," He grimaced. "Here's the thing…. The merge has not been completed, and Jareth spends most of the time buried deep within our mind."

"Say what?" Ryan blinked.

"You mean…you're Quinn?" Anne stood up.

The King cleared his voice. "Well…yes…yes I am."

The girl with red hair came around the table. "How long have you been pretending to be the King?" she demanded.

Quinn looked at her for a moment then quietly stated. "Anne, I am the King, I don't have to pretend."

"You know very well what I mean," she snapped harshly. "How long have you been pretending to be Jareth."

"Off and on since the start…every time he can't function, I take over and carry the weight." Quinn crossed his arms.

Anne's mind was racing. "Wait, the wedding…was that him or you…is it legal?"

Amusement filled mismatched eyes. "Of course it's legal. I am the King, you know… and as to which of us…it was both of us…we both wanted the honor of seeing you two wed."

Ryan had been thinking, now spoke up. "Why didn't the merge work?"

Quinn leaned on a chair. "I don't know. I did everything right!"

Anne's mouth dropped. "You…you initiated the merge?" The Fae nodded, and the scribe frowned. "Then shouldn't we see Quinn of Tarsi instead of Jareth standing here?"

Cairbre spoke up. "Under ordinary circumstances, yes." He stood up and took over the discussion. "This case is not and has not been ordinary from the start. Quinn made the ultimate sacrifice for his brother and his King. He gave his brother his body, his strength his entire being. Without Quinn having rushed into the deadly cavern, Jareth would have been lost. He very nearly did not survive. He was on his last breath when Quinn initiated the merge."

Sarah winced at the painful memory of the King's return to face Elise. Quinn placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

Anne looked at the Bard. "Master Bard, was there something in the cavern that could have interfered? The iron spikes for instance?"

Cairbre shook his head. "No."

Quinn had moved to stand behind Sarah, his hands were now on her shoulders. "To protect the throne, and the kingdom, Sarah has bonded with both sides of the shattered soul."

"EWWWWWWWWW" Anne shivered violently. "That sounds…." She shuttered again. Looking over at Sarah, she said quietly. "Are you okay with this?"

"I don't have a choice. I'm the consort of the Goblin King…and he happens to be two people in one body." Sarah said.

Ryan quipped easily, "Gives a whole new twist on the idea of multiple personalities."

Quinn matched the smile on the Paladin's face. "Makes life interesting to be sure."

Anne looked over at Giles; his face was calm and far too accepting for her liking. "You knew?"

"Yes." He said without meeting her eyes.

"How long?" Anne demanded in a heated tone.

"From the start." Giles admitted. "I was here…you three were still going to school. I had to be here for the King."

"You could have clued us in!" Anne yelled.

Giles looked at her with a blank expression. "Anne, it was not my place. At first they would interchange only here and there… if Jareth got too tired…Things were still running smoothly…"

"He's not Jareth!" Anne pointed to the Fae King. "He is not The Goblin King."

"Yes I am." Quinn said. "There is no longer a Lord of Tarsi…there is only the Goblin King."

Anne looked at him crossing her arms. "Oh really?"

Quinn suddenly knew what the girl was thinking. "I may have played silly games with my brother…challenging him here and there… but never, never did I want his throne. Our father's love, yes…the throne, no!"

"What about his consort?" Anne asked quickly, with a sneer.

Quinn went quiet, gave the question honest thought. "Yes, I did want his consort. I will freely admit to that. However, I would never have taken her at the cost of losing my brother."

Anne looked at Sarah. "You believe him?"

Sarah nodded, "Yes, Anne…I do."

The King's Scribe narrowed her gaze at her friend. "How long have you known Sarah?"

Sarah quietly answered. "Since just before he brought the children and me here during that storm."

"And you didn't think to tell Ryan or I?" Anne accused.

"He asked me not to." Sarah said truthfully.

The redhead was furious. "So Giles and Sarah knew, well that's just great. Any one else?"

Quinn nodded, "Angus…he'd know both of us since we were lads…he can smell the difference…and Talbot of course. He has known from the start."

Anne resumed her seat. "So what went wrong?"

"I don't know." Quinn sighed. "I told him there was but one chance for survival. I removed his glove; I clasped his hand to mine, began to focus on pulling his essence into me. My body had not been in the iron field as long as his had, so I gave it to him…I absorbed his before it could be destroyed. That is why there were slight differences in his appearance when he returned. The slight change of color in the eyes, some of my hair in his…" Quinn shook his head. "We should have assimilated over time…by now we should be one entity."

Anne turned to Ryan. "You witnessed the last moments of the merge…did you see anything that might give us a clue?"

Ryan remembered those moments; they were something he would never forget. "No. Then I would not know if I had. I've no training as a healer."

Giles looked at the Fae King. "Should we call in our healer? Sarah dismissed the High Court Healer." He reminded them.

Cairbre smirked. "Yes, she did…that was priceless."

Solea swatted her husband's arm, "Stay focused."

The Bard was now wearing a broad smile. "I can't help it! She basically called him a snake oil salesman…." He winked at Sarah. "Something I've wanted to do for centuries."

Quinn looked at Giles, "Send for Talbot. We trust him."

Anne looked up. "You were never using the Royal we…you were talking in plural." She slapped her forehead. "Simple details! And I missed them."

"Anne, no one was suppose to notice." Quinn said gently.

"I thought you had gone all formal." She moaned.

Giles moved toward the door to call a goblin to fetch the healer. Opening the door he found the Elf Healer Talbot standing awaiting entry. "How did you know to come?" Giles asked stepping aside.

Talbot smiled slowly. "Is it not enough that I knew?" He bowed to the King then to the rest assembled in the room. "You wish to ask me questions…I don't know if I have your answers."

Cairbre was unrolling scrolls, "Between your healer and these scrolls we may find clues."

Solea noticed that Quinn had not moved, nor taken his hands off Sarah's shoulders.

Talbot took a seat, "Ask what you will."

"Why didn't the merge work?" Anne asked sharply.

Talbot looked at her, "That I do not know. I told the master here," He indicated the Fae King, "that my skills could not aid him. That he needed a Fae Healer, though I would never have chosen Master Phineas."

"Why is that?" Solea asked from the side.

Talbot looked mildly disturbed. "I studied under him, was his apprentice. Nevertheless, I never agreed with his…take on things… He has deep and disturbing feelings toward the mortal realm."

Quinn nodded, "He also has a God complex…he's the one who made my existence possible. He interfered with the natural order of things. Because of him there were two not one."

All eyes went to the King. Anne rose from her seat. "Are you sure about that?"

"He told me so…when he was trying to talk me out of bonding with Sarah. He said …" Quinn stopped short, now wishing to repeat the rhetoric he'd been raised on.

Sarah reached up and touched the hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, go ahead and say it."

"I can't…his poison …He worked so hard to poison my heart and soul over so many years." Quinn lamented. "He said that 'I didn't intervene to have all my efforts tossed aside. You were always the stronger of the two sides of the soul. Yours is the power that should rule. You must bury the past! Bury the one time Goblin King deep down so he can never emerge again.'" Quinn frowned. "I told him he was insane, that I had done everything to save my brother. HE then told me to take the power! Use it. Be the King." He tightened his grip on the slender shoulders he held. " He wanted my first act to be that of denouncing Sarah. Said I should have a Queen that is purely Fae…not tainted Nephilim spawn." He knelt down beside her. "Once, long ago… before I met you, I thought I felt that way as well…it was why I objected to Jareth's bonding with you."

Sarah looked into his eyes. "Your mother felt that way?"

"No, I spent much time at court and not everyone there feels as our father does on the issue of mortals or Nephilim." Quinn leaned against her. "Jareth never felt that way. However, Jareth did not spend much time with Healer Phineas… I always thought it was because he was present at my birth that he took a vested interest in my life."

Cairbre looked at his scrolls, "When was this? This confrontation?"

Quinn looked up, "Earlier today, before the wedding. I was in the great hall on my way to the Throne room…he took me to the tunnels…"

Solea touched the scrolls; "We've no record of the confrontation."

Cairbre sat down, "Where did you go from there?"

"To Jareth's bedchamber to change…then I went to the chambers Lord Quinn occupied for the Tourney…I needed to think, somewhere away from eyes, and helpful suggestions." Quinn said. "Somewhere I could be alone…with my own thoughts…Jareth was deep in the healing place."

Sarah whispered. "You ordered those rooms locked when you returned from the mine."

Quinn nodded. "I was locking a past to open a future." He stood up; "I went there to see if I really wanted to return to being just Quinn. I touched things that were mine…never Jareth's, but mine alone…and then I found the pin...So many of my old resentments returned with a vengeance. I remembered feeling anger at Jareth for picking a woman thought to be mortal…" He looked at the woman wearing the Spider of Tarsi. "I placed it in my tunic and left, locked the rooms again."

Anne cleared her throat, "How did Sarah end up with that thing? She was not wearing it during the wedding or at the beginning of the reception."

Solea leaned forward, "I heard the plot of the Healer and Lord Hawthorne…and told my husband the King was in danger."

"I went to the King's side and alerted him." Cairbre nodded.

"Jareth was semi-alert. We called out to Sarah." Quinn said. "She shoved Millicent aside, we picked her up and spun round with her. We took her to the Escher room."

Sarah blushed.

Cairbre pushed the scrolls aside, none of this was recorded as it happened while he was attending the reception. "What happened there?" He opened a scroll to make notes for later clarification.

Quinn gave a sheepish grin to Sarah. "We played a game of hide and seek." The girl's blush deepened.

Anne scoffed, "How like you Quinn, there's danger at the gate and you go and start playing a game."

Shaking his head, Quinn pointed to Sarah. "It was her idea."

Anne shot a glance at her friend. "Have you lost your mind? We have Fae breathing down our throats, a castle full of outsiders and you suggest a game of hide and seek. Sarah what were you thinking of?"

"Escaping payment." She muttered.

Giles' ears perked up. "Payment…to whom…for what?"

Quinn looked toward the ceiling. "Payment to me, for saving Jareth." He said slowly.

Anne stood up and screamed at him. "You demanded that Kiss now?"

Feral eyes looked back at the redhead. "OH, she told you about that KISS?" he growled softly, suggestively. "Why not now?"

Giles looked at Ryan, "What Kiss?"

"I don't know…" Ryan shoved Anne back in her seat. "Ok Babalouie…what kiss?" Anne was sputtering, muttering, and fuming. Ryan hushed her.

Quinn snickered. "When Jareth had been summoned by our beloved sister Elise, into the trap I felt the disturbance of the fabric and a interference in the Goblin King's ability to answer summonses." He explained pleasantly as if discussing the weather. "I went in search of answers and found Sarah, still in her bed clothes in the throne room pacing." He closed his eyes, summoning up the image of the worried, beauty. "When I told her how summons works she ordered me to go save Jareth for her."

Ryan nodded, "Right you called Giles and Klaws and I to you and we went to rescue Jareth. I remember."

Anne pointed to Quinn; "He didn't leave right away…he struck a bargain with Sarah…set a price on rescuing his own brother."

"I'm a Fae, Anne, not an angel or a saint. It's in our nature to take advantage when we can." Quinn snickered. "I was going to rescue my brother anyway…and here was the opportunity to …sever their bond." Quinn looked at Sarah, eyes devouring her as he had that first time he had seen her. As Jareth had in the crystal ballroom, and he saw her shiver under his gaze. "She asked what I wanted, it was easy…almost too easy. She was so distraught, she did not think…I told her I wanted a kiss, and she agreed. Then I set the boundaries of the kiss, and she agreed. She would have agreed to anything at that point. She was desperate to save Jareth."

Sarah heard the words again, just as she had heard them in her nightmares.

"What do I want…ah…I have it…I want a kiss."

"A kiss?" Sarah asked incredulously.

"A kiss." Quinn placed his hands behind his back and clasped them tightly to stave off the pain now racking him.

"Just a kiss?" He nodded and she shrugged. "Fine."

Quinn looked at her, "A kiss, freely given in front of the entire court."

"Great, invite the entire Seelie Court if you like." She was getting agitated. "Now go, find Jareth."

"You agree?"

"You want a kiss, fine, I'll give you a kiss…Freely."

Quinn smiled, "Open mouthed."

"Quinn you are wasting time!" Sarah argued.

"Open mouthed." He said firmer.

"Okay." She gave in.

"Eyes closed." He teased.

"Will you go?" she turned him and pushed him toward the door.

Quinn dug his heel in. "Tongue." He said over his shoulder.

Sarah stopped shoving him. "What?"

"Tongue." He repeated.

"Quinn…" Sarah was losing it and was becoming desperate.

Quinn turned and pulled her into his arms, staring down into her face with azure eyes filling with passion. "I want tongue, and lots of it! I want you to open to me….I want free passage to your tonsils!"

"You bring Jareth back and you can have my God damned lungs!" she growled

"I have your word?" he questioned huskily.

"Hell Quinn, you can have my oath." She snapped.

He pulled her closer. "Done!" he released her so quickly she landed on the floor as he made for the door. "Sarah take off your lipstick! I like naked lips…"

Sarah could not get the words or the memory out of her head.

Quinn knew Sarah was thinking back on that bargain. "Did she tell you the boundaries of our bargain?" He asked Anne pointedly, the redhead shook her head. "Let us just say it was well defined." Standing behind Sarah, he placed a gloved hand possessively to her throat. "She was so exhilarated from having bested Millicent. So very playful and so full of life at that moment, I suggested that it was time for her to render payment. She," his fingers slid up and down her neck, "said if I wanted my kiss I'd have to catch her to get it, and took off up one of the sets of stairs." Sarah shivered. "She insisted that I had to do it without magic. I let her run, and merely watched to see what directions she was choosing. Then I stepped out of an archway."

Every eye in the room was on Quinn now. As he slid his hand up and down Sarah's throat. He looked down at her. "We kissed, and the spider in my tunic scratched her. When I looked at it, I knew. I knew that it was the time and place for us to begin our bonding." His thumb caressed her jaw. "We gave her the Kiss of Marking…and I presented her with the Spider of Tarsi."

Anne held up a hand. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"I presented her with the Spider of Tarsi." Quinn repeated.

Shaking her head, she stood up. "No, just before that."

Quinn blinked. "We game her the Kiss of Marking."

Talbot frowned. "That kiss should have furthered the merge. Why did it not?"

Cairbre cleared his throat, "Solea, tell them."

The Water Sprit rose to her feet. "There's a prophecy…."

Anne moaned. "Another one?"