Chapter Twelve

Dark Covenants

I've got a story, ain't got no moral

Let the bad guy win every once in a while

The feral look as he smiled gave her the willies. "May I see my children?"

"You may see the children," he corrected. "They belong to me now, as do you. I'm in a generous mood, I'm willing to share."

Sarah pulled free of his touch and stepped from the throne. "I don't belong to you, not fairly." She held her head high. "If you will direct me, I'll go see the children."

Jareth also vacated the throne. "I think you should freshen up first, I don't want them distressed by your currant appearance. Bare foot and pregnant may be good for me, but I think they deserve to see you a bit neater." He held his hand out to her. She did not move. "You place your hand on mine," he instructed.

Green eyes flamed. "You expect me to behave as a courtesan?"

"I expect you to do as you are told." He looked at his cuff. "Hand, woman."

Sarah clenched her jaw. "Of course, Sire." Her hand lay upon his and she glared.

Jareth looked at the goblins. "Finish cleaning this throne room," he barked. "I want to everything to sparkle when I return."

Sarah looked around, realizing that things were not the mess she had last seen here. She looked at him.

"I told you there were changes here," he said. "Can't have my children playing in filth. I want them to feel free to visit me anytime they need to." He led her toward the stair that led the Escher room, but took a left instead of a right. "This leads to the Royal apartments. You will find no goblins in this part of the palace. The servants here are either Fae or Elvin, and answer only to me."

"Is this where my children will be?" she asked. "You intend to keep them, not turn them to goblins?"

"It is where you all will be." He stopped on the stair. "I intend you all to be with me."

"I'm not your mistress! I will not act as one. You raped me." She moved past him up the stairs.

"And you liked it," he charged in a lewd manner.

She stopped, "I didn't."

"Did," he said at her ear. "It's alright. I'm the only one who will ever know how much you enjoyed being taken by force." His hand snaked round her middle as it had in her parent's bedroom. "Come Sarah, you need to freshen up."

The room he led her to was adjacent to his private chambers. The room was large and pleasant. The only thing missing was a bed. She looked at him with questioning eyes.

"It pleasures me to have you in my bed," he smiled.

She moved past him to the bath, muttering. "I am not your mistress."

Jareth frowned, "No? You think you are not. Think again, Sarah." He felt the same pain he'd experienced in the Escher room when it was clear she would not be stopped. He said with a shake of his head. "I am exhausted." He leaned on a wall, listening to the sounds of running water. "Sarah, " he called out. "We need to talk before you see the children."

"I have nothing to say to you." She was still fuming.

"I have something to say to you."

Sarah, still draped in the rags, but with a clean washed face, exited the bath. "Yes, Sire?" her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Jareth pointed to a chair and motioned her to sit. "It occurs to me, the children have suffered a great deal. Enough, in fact, more than enough. Their father's actions are despicable. What he's done to them, and taken from them is unfathomable. I don't want them to suffer more."

"You'll let us leave?" She looked at him.

"Out of the question. You carry my child, and here you must remain." His voice hardened. "Leaving here would kill the baby, and I know you would never take an innocent life. Not even the life I've created within you." He moved to stand behind her chair, laid his hands on her shoulders. She was too weak to resist him. He knelt behind her, moved to her ear. "We call a truce, in the presence of the children. We make an effort to behave with courtesy toward each other." His hands slid down her shoulders and down her arms. "For the children, we work on coexisting peaceably. We treat each other civilly." Sarah nodded. Jareth raised the palm of his hand to her, cupping her jaw. He knew this concession was costly to her.

Jareth stood and backed away. "Get dressed. There is a wardrobe full of garments for you to choose from. When you are dressed, I will bring you to the children."

Sarah nodded again, rose from the chair and walked to the cabinet holding clothes for her. She took out a dress in a soft shade of green, and returned to the bath to change. When she returned. Head held high, she walked to him, and her eyes filled with fire. "May I see the children now?"

She was not cowering; that pleased him. He did not want a cowering, wilting flower. There too many of them among the Fae females he knew. Her fire, her defiance, her refusal to give in delighted him in a perverse way. "They are in my chamber for now. We will visit them, and then you and I shall arrange a nursery up here for them."

"As you wish." She kept her gaze steady.

Raising his arm he waited, her hand went to his cuff. "I shall instruct you on proper court behavior."

Sarah pulled her hand back. "You think you behave properly?"

He looked at his empty cuff. "How I behave is not an issue. I am King. You are not familiar with our customs."

Sarah replaced her hand on the cuff. "I know how to behave."

"Allow me to give you a few pointers," he sighed. "Your duties will mean a great deal of public appearances."

"My duties?"

He stepped toward the door, expecting her to keep pace. "We will discuss all that later. The children are waiting, and we must tell them the happy news."

"Happy news?" she looked at him, "You don't mean to tell them about the baby?"

Jareth shook his head. "Not just yet. For now, they will be told only that you are all going to live here with me from now on."

Sarah groaned, "I'll tell them, I'm their mother."

"I am their King," He said as they neared the door of his chamber from the hall. He didn't want them to be seen entering from the door that connected her rooms to his. 'Someday I will be more, for now King is enough.' He opened the door and ushered her into the huge chamber. The Elvin woman sitting beside the children on the floor looked up.

The Elf Nanny was a calm being, dressed in garments that resembled willow offshoots in color and form. She rose to her feet, bowed her head and stepped away quietly.

"Children." Jareth called softly to the pair on the floor playing. "Look who's here."

Jenny looked up, eyes filling with delight. "Mommy!" She ran across the floor in the red and white striped jammies, followed by the little boy with blond hair.

Sarah knelt down and gathered them in her arms. "My babies." She kissed each of them, touching their faces to make sure they were all right. "How I missed you both." She looked at the striped jammies and looked over at Jareth. "Feeling a bit nostalgic were you?"

Jareth bent down to lift Jenny off the floor, choosing to ignore Sarah's comment for the time being. "I told you, Mommy would join us here."

Jenny hugged his neck and buried her face in his hair. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" The little girl turned excited to her mother. "We made you a sign." She pointed to the banner hanging. It read, 'Welcome Mommy.'

Jareth looked over at Sarah. "Mommy has something to tell you both. Now I want you to listen carefully." He placed Jenny down, held out a hand to Sarah and led her to sit on the edge of the bed. "Go ahead, dear." He took a seat on the floor with the children.

Sarah leaned forward. "Some things have happened." She started slowly, keeping her thoughts simple. "Daddy did something that makes it impossible for us to return to our apartment."

Jenny leaned her head on Jareth's knee. "You mean like when he had that man make us sell the house? And we had to get rid of Sparkie?"

"Sparkie was their dog." Sarah's eyes met Jareth's. "This is more serious." She pulled Gwynn to her lap. "Daddy's had trouble being … responsible for some time. He just could not handle being a good daddy… and he could not handle taking care of us…" She leaned her chin on her son's head. "So he asked Jareth to take care of us. But for Jareth to be able to do that, we have to live here, with him."

Jenny looked up at the man stroking her hair, "Here?"

He nodded.

Jenny looked at her mother. "But Mommy…"

Sarah shook her head, "Jenny that's just the way things are."

The little girl's lower lip quivered. "I want my doll, she's not here…She's on my bed at home."

Jareth tipped Jenny's face toward him. "If I promise that you'll have your doll, will you try to smile?"

Jenny looked away from him. "Why did Daddy do this? Why does he always make things bad?"

Sarah thought about it. How do you explain to a child that the parent that they should be able to trust in is debased and lacking morals? She had tried to protect Jenny over the last two and a half years. She had tried not to speak badly of her father. She had worked on keeping the relationship between father and children strong. Sarah had given concessions left, right and center. "Jenny, do you remember me telling you the meaning of the word spoiled?" when the sad child nodded, Sarah continued. "Well, that applies to your Father."

Jenny began to cry, "He's mean, he's just mean."

Jareth pulled her into his arms, and looked at Sarah. "You tell me what things they need, and I'll see to it they are brought here."

"Thank you, Sire."

Jareth rocked the weeping child in his arms. "Willa," he called the Elf Nanny over. "Take the children to breakfast, and see that they eat." He handed Jenny over to the Nanny. Watching them, he held his tongue until they were out of his rooms. "I swear if it's the last thing I do I will make that man pay for what he's done to them."

The word 'them' and the strength which it was uttered struck Sarah. That Jareth was angry was evident. She worried about how he planned to manifest his anger. "Please don't." she whispered.

Jareth narrowed his stormy eyes on her. "Don't tell me you still harbor feelings for the wretch."

Sarah shook her head, "He killed all feeling long ago."

"Then why should I show him one shred of mercy?" he roared, "Look at what he's done to them!" He stood up, pacing like a caged animal. "What kind of man leaves a wife and child…a wife expecting a second child?"

Sarah looked away. "A man who never loved his wife."

The pacing halted, the fury did not. "Why did you choose him? There were others… still not the right choice but better than him." He spun on Sarah.

Watching him, Sarah felt her knees start to wobble. She was afraid of him, of his fury. She'd been struck before, long before Jareth had slapped her. Paul had been a violent man, and Sarah recognized the fury in Jareth's tone. It was like Paul's. She cried out and raised her hands to protect her face.

Seeing the hands come up, hearing the shriek and seeing her tremble stopped Jareth. He stood with an unreadable expression on his handsome features. "Stand up." He snapped his fingers. "Come here." When the woman stood before him with lowered eyes, he whispered in a low dangerous voice. "Give me one reason not to end his life."

"He is his own worst enemy, why should you bother with what he's doing himself?" She looked up at him. "I don't want the children to have any reason to hate you. Right now, Jenny hates him for what he has done, and she does not know the half of it, does she. Let him rot in the hell of his own making."

Jareth took a cleansing breath. "So be it." He regarded her, his eyes more stormy. "We will speak of him, no more." His hand went out and he waited.

Sarah placed her hand on his. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, I may still find reason to send him to hell." Jareth warned. "If I thought for one moment you still loved him…"

"I don't," she admitted sadly.

"He was a bad choice." Jareth stated.

"Yes." She lowered her eyes. "Sire." It galled her that he was right, and it made a lump in her throat.

Jareth smiled. "Humility, Sarah? You don't wear it well." He directed her toward the door, "Come, we've a nursery to see to."