The Moon Mad King
By WhiteInfinity21
Disclaimer: I don't own the Labyrinth
Chapter Three- Year Two, Fifth Moon
"You certainly are calmer after the full moon has passed," Jareth remarked as Sarah came into Jareth's private dinning hall.
The sun was setting and the Goblin King was in the process of taking an early dinner. There was much to be done that night before the visiting dignitaries' arrival the next morning.
"The madness wanes after the full moon sets," Sarah replied as she sat down across from Jareth.
Earlier that day Sarah had sent Jareth a message informing him that she would be joining him for dinner but wouldn't be able to stay afterwards. The blond king was slightly disappointed but he really didn't need the distraction that was Sarah tonight as he completed the preparations for the arriving guests. It was going to be a late night for Jareth, one that would start after he finish his evening meal.
"You certainly are becoming a night owl," Sarah teased, referring to Jareth's habit of moon gazing that he had recently taken up.
"In case you forgot my other form is a barn owl," Jareth snidely responded.
"I meant it as a compliment," Sarah defended, "the increase in your nighttime activities just means that your circadian rhythm is adapting to the moon's cycle instead of the sun's. It is a perfectly natural change for your awakening nature as a Moon Child."
Jareth grunted and turned his attention to his food.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Sarah asked.
Jareth threw his fork down on his plate, shoved his chair back and sprang to his feet in anger.
"Jareth sit down," Sarah ordered.
The Goblin King drew in a shuddering breath, forcibly reining in his frustration. With slow deliberateness he sat back down and pulled his chair closer to the table.
"Now tell me what's eating you," Sarah firmly commanded.
"It's this whole Moon Child business," Jareth bit out, "I know that it is a part of who I am (you made sure of that), but these strange feelings and urges that I'm experiencing are making hell with my daily schedule."
At Sarah's understanding silence Jareth continued
"Do you know how hard it is for me not to nod off during my morning open court sessions? These changes that are happening to me are starting to interfere with my duties and that is unacceptable!" Jareth ranted.
Sarah placed a comforting hand on one of his own tightly clenched fists. At her familiar soothing touch, Jareth slowly relaxed.
"During those two months after I got back from my visit to the Labyrinth," Sarah recalled, "I was extremely irritable, I had no idea what the hell was happening to me and my sudden obsession with the moon didn't help either. It got so bad that I was suspended from school. Then my 'loving' parents decided to ship me off to military school to get me straightened out."
Sarah had Jareth's full attention, his troubles forgotten for the moment as he listened to his lover's tale.
"Their decision to get rid of me was the last straw," Sarah continued, "I ran away that very night, having no plan but getting away as fast as I could, and stumbled across the Moon Clan as they were visiting Earth on the Full Moon of the Autumn Equinox. Just like I knew that I had to find the unawakened Moon Child in the Underground, they knew that they had to meet me on that night so many years ago. The rest is history."
Sarah took a moment to regain her former train of thought.
"There is no need to shut me out regarding what you are feeling," Sarah emphasized, "I know exactly what you are going through. It will not be easy, but I will help you through this, I can teach you everything you need to know, ease the burden about learning and mastering your unique powers that you will develop as you complete your transformation from your birth form into a Moon Child."
"Sarah," Jareth sighed, "it's not that easy. There is just so much about this that is confusing. Some of these 'changes' that you mentioned are making a mess of my duties and responsibilities, these conflicting powers that are present in me are starting to overwhelm me, I don't know if I can keep this up…"
"Which is why you have me and Toby," Sarah reminded the tired monarch, "though he is still a child, he is learning fast. In time he will start to relieve you of your burdens as Goblin King while I can make the transition from mortal," Jareth protested at being labeled as a mortal, "that is what all beings that are not Moon Children are called by those of us that have Selene's grace, so do be silent and let me finish my sentence."
Jareth shut his mouth.
"As I was saying, I will make the transition from mortal to Moon Child easier for you, just like the Moon Clan did for me," Sarah continued, "I was chosen to guide you since I was the only Moon Child that had ever been in the Underground. Having established strong ties with the Labyrinth and some of its denizens made it easy for me to return and then locate Selene's wayward child that was located Underground."
Jareth scowled at being called a wayward child. Sarah blew him a kiss and wraggled her fingers at him, finally drawing a small smile from the moody Goblin King.
"Coincidently my first time in the Labyrinth was what woke up my latent affinity for the Moon and alerted Selene to the existence of an unknown Moon Child on Earth," Sarah added.
"How fascinating," Jareth drawled, the unspoken not clearly being expressed by his body language.
"So what's this I hear about a golden chicken?" Sarah suddenly mentioned.
"Did you have to bring that up?" Jareth groaned, "it is something that I try not to dwell on. Besides, isn't there another reason why you came to dine with me other else than to grace me with you lovely (but highly irritating at times) presence?"
Sarah pouted. She had really wanted to know about the Golden Chicken incident. From what she had heard, it was a tale worth hearing in its entirety.
"Oh alright," she conceded, dropping the subject, "I just wanted to inform you that I'll be gone until the new moon. I have some things to fetch from Aboveground that will involve some difficulty in obtaining."
"I see," was Jareth's non-committal answer.
An uncomfortable silence fell between the two.
"So how are Toby's lessons coming along?" Sarah inquired finally breaking the silence.
"The boy is so impatient to learn that he often skips ahead in his lessons, not taking the time to integrate or master what he has already learned," Jareth replied with a slight frown, "with the exception of his arms master, he is driving his tutors out of their minds."
Sarah had to chuckle at that. As unpleasant as it was, the reality was that her little brother was thriving without the stifling, oppressive presence of his parents. A child with a mind like Toby's would only flourish under the influence of open-minded peers. Even to the blind eye, Toby had been suffering from lack of stimulation under his closed-minded parent's care, developing bad habits that if not stopped would have led him down a path of self-destruction.
"His impatience and habit of doing things impulsively is a problem," Sarah admitted, "it would probably be a good idea to increase his self-discipline lessons with Sir Didymus. He's probably the only one that can get Toby to do them, my little brother positively adores the old knight."
"Hmm, I'll make sure to mention that to the Prince's arms master," Jareth noted, "it may take a lot of brow-beating and hard-learned lessons but Tobias will make a fine king someday."
"I have no doubt of that," Sarah agreed.
The rest of dinner was spent discussing current affairs and the state of the Goblin Kingdom as well as the normal random topics that enter any causal conversation between two people. Both avoided mentioning Sarah's departure that would happen once dinner had ended, not wanting to spend the last of the time they had together for the next ten days in a forced, unpleasant manner. It was obvious that Jareth didn't want Sarah to leave, but she had no choice, her errands Aboveground had to be done.
It wasn't easy for Sarah either. She didn't want to be separated from her lover any longer than she had to, but if she wasn't firm in her resolve, she would never get up the courage to leave. It wasn't as if they were parting forever, it was only for ten days after all, but it sure felt like eternity to the Moon Child.
But as such things are wont to do, dinner finally came to an end and after a long, passionate kiss, Sarah reluctantly parted from Jareth. With one last yearning look Sarah stepped into a shaft of moonlight and vanished into the night.
Her departure hit Jareth like a physical blow. His heart cried out for his missing lover. Only gone for a few seconds and he missed her with his entire being. Oh how he wished that he could be with her!
It was then that the implications of her absence and how it related to their relationship in general hit him. Even though most of the time she was within easy traveling distance of him, they weren't truly together like they had been during those few precious days they had spent in the Lunar Lands the first time the Moon Madness had overcame him. During that time their souls had connected on the most intimate level, giving them both a great sense of fulfillment like they had never experienced before.
Oh how it had ached when they had returned Underground, the connection that their souls had formed dissolving with the setting moon. The absence of their soul connection hurt even to this day, Sarah's sudden absence only compounding the sense of desolation that he was feeling.
The only time that the ache ever left was on the nights of the full moon when the Moon Madness fell upon them and for a few fleeting precious hours the soul bond reformed. If it weren't for that one night every twenty-eight days Jareth was sure that he would have gone mad. His awakening nature as a Moon Child yearned for the nurturing presence of the moon endlessly while his heart and soul constantly craved the feeling of completeness that he only experienced with Sarah.
And from what Sarah had hinted, the feeling of disconnectedness and unfulfillment would only grow as the years passed, only to be relieved when Tobias finally came of age. At least that he had the knowledge that Sarah was going through a similar experience, not being able to engage him in a relationship any deeper than that of casual lovers. For as long as his soul was still tied to the Labyrinth Jareth was unable to fully join Sarah in the manner that his heart and soul cried out for.
Suddenly the future never looked so bleak to the Goblin King. The only hope that he could cling to was Selene's promise that he and Sarah would be completely united once he was no longer the Goblin King. In the meantime, Sarah was going to be his saving grace, keeping him from falling over the thin line between missing a piece of his soul and insanity.
Goddess, how he missed her.
Tugs at the heartstrings doesn't it?
Sorry about the ridiculous wait, I got distracted by discovering a new fandom. I am somewhat ashamed to say that I have spent the past few months avidly consuming BtVS fan fiction by the boatload.
Oh well, at least I finally got it done.
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