Author's Note, May 9, 2011: I almost titled this one: The Chapter of Exposition. Part of this chapter was actually conceived while I was writing for Meet Me at the Faire. After struggling with how to put what I was trying to say into the context of that story, I realized it made more sense here. It sort of sums up a lot that I've been hinting at in that story, and much of what I have explained in brief here. And that is what prompted the writing of the previous chapter so I could get this one out, too. Lucky readers! Two in such a short time after so long an absence! Many of you read both stories, so I thought you might enjoy that tidbit.
Chapter Thirty-Four: Questions Over Breakfast
They sat in Jareth's study on an ornate but comfortable couch. Sarah was in one corner, taking in the towering expanse of books. Jareth opposite her, lounged with one leg propped up on the couch, his elbow draped atop his knee. A Goblin had just left the room, leaving a tray on the low table before them. There was a small plate nearly overflowing with fruit and cheeses, a small loaf of fresh bread, and a pot of tea. Jareth watched, bemused, as Sarah heavily doctored her tea.
"What can I say?" she said with a shrug, noticing his look. "I like sugar."
"Duly noted." When she finished, he leaned over and took her cup, setting it closer to him on the table. He then deftly snaked one arm around her waist and turned her around as he pulled her into him, leaning back. He waited until she relaxed against him, then set the plate in her lap snagging a strawberry off the top of the pile for himself. "Well, Sarah. I suppose you have some questions."
"Oh, absolutely."
Her wry tone made him chuckle. "Ask away."
"Hm." She adjusted her position as she thought, curling her legs under her and tucking the long, flowing skirt around her once-again bare feet. The same Goblin maid that had helped her dress before had done so again and, rather than engage in a battle of wills regarding Sarah's choices in clothing, she seemed to be taking the approach of convincing Sarah what would be appropriate one garment piece at a time. Today's challenge was footwear and, while even Sarah admitted the slippers were lovely, she just did not find them all that comfortable, kicking them off under the table as soon as she sat on the couch. "She read my mind."
There was no question who 'she' was. "Yes, she does that."
"I thought your people were not supposed to do that in your own homes."
He sighed. "It is generally not done at all. It takes a great deal of effort for most of the Fae to touch the inner thoughts of another that they are not bound to. Some will, at times, attempt it if they think there is something to be gained, information or a weapon against an enemy. But it is rarely worth the effort. As for the boundaries of a home, most Fae cannot and would not bother to try. Of the ones that would, most would not dare to make an attempt to break my walls. Truly, it is not something you should worry about."
"You keep saying 'most'."
"The High King and Queen never qualify as 'most'."
"So they can and do at will?"
"When the whim strikes them."
"And how often is that?"
"That is hard to say. It gives them an edge over the rest of the High Court. Having this ability can prevent rebellion and war, and has. Just knowing they can makes you think twice about what your plans are. But they rarely acknowledge it whether or not they are doing it, so it is hard to tell. I personally believe the do it constantly, perhaps out of habit, perhaps deliberately. It is simply part of who and what they are. In the case of this morning, I would wager she was testing you."
"Oh, well that's comforting." Again, her wry tone made him chuckle. "So do I have to meet her again?"
"There is no getting around it. The King must meet you at least once. To them, I am an ally of sorts, especially in recent years, and I have always ranked high in the High Court, so there are likely official functions and meetings that will require it. And she seems to like you so your company may be requested with some frequency." He felt a shift in her comfort as that sank in. "This really bothers you, doesn't it?"
"You are surprised? Maybe if I could do it back it would be different." There was a shrug." It just seems so unfair." She held up one finger even as he opened his mouth to speak. "Don't even say it."
He chuckled again and kissed the back of her neck. "I suppose you will get used to it, eventually. It is the way of things here."
A tiny, happy thrill ran down her spine at the implication that statement held, but it soon put her in mind of something else. "Do you make... public statements about the things that go on in your private life?"
"Me, personally, or me, 'all of the Fae'?"
"You, personally."
"Never, why?"
"She said you announced me as your 'Mortal lover'." Sarah was clearly mortified at the thought of so many, especially those she knew nothing about, knowing something about her that she had not even begun to wrap her brain around.
Jareth smiled. "I told the High King and Queen about my intentions-"
"You told them your intentions are to take me as your lover?" She turned to face him, her eyes were narrowed suspiciously even as her tone indicated further embarrassment.
"Among other things, yes." His smile turned deliberately wicked, eliciting the indignant glare he had hoped for. "Actually, when I first began to pursue you, I needed advice. When that happens, they are who I turn to. Members of the High Court, particularly the Royal Fae, have few confidants. And if we cannot confide in Their Majesties, we are all lost. At that time, I had little doubt what I wanted from you and as we have already covered, there is little I could hide from them."
"Hm. All right, I'll buy into that I suppose. Why didn't she just say that you told her, then? Why use, 'announced'?"
"Most likely to test you again, see how you would react."
She sighed, setting the now mostly empty plate aside. "There is going to be more of this, isn't there?" He nodded. "And not just from the High King and Queen." Another nod. "But probably no more surprise visits while I am still in bed?"
His look darkened. "There will be none. And even though it is technically within her right, she should not have done so, either."
"I don't get it, Jareth." She leaned back against him once more, stretching her legs out and flexing her toes. "All these rules and contradictions, the games it sounds like everyone plays. Doesn't it drive you crazy?"
"Generally not." He held one of her hands against his own. "I keep to myself and my Kingdom. Unless asked directly, I take little interest in what goes on in the rest of the Underground."
She tilted her head to look at him. "Doesn't that get lonely?"
"It has," he looked down at her, "in the past."
"What are your intentions, Jareth? What do you want from me?"
She was getting closer to the topic he had been waiting for, the one that really mattered. "Everything."
"But... what does that mean? I'm not... like you." She spoke quietly, as though terrified of voicing her real concerns. He looked in her eyes and saw trust and fear. Smoothing her hair away from her face, and tucking a strand behind her ear, he kissed her forehead. He felt her stubborn determination to understand, to work through the bewilderment and confusion that threatened to overwhelm. Under it all, through it all, surrounding it all, he felt her love for him. "I can't... do... what you do."
He had an idea of what was behind this, what the real problem was. And he knew that when she finally cast aside the fears that went with it, new concerns would soon arise. And he knew, somehow, that she would face them. But it would not be easy, and there would be sorrow to come that he could not even begin to understand. "That is true," he conceded. "But have you noticed anything... different after last night?"
She did not need to think long. "I think I have been feeling what you are feeling. Except not feeling it, more like... hearing it."
"Essentially, yes. Something happened last night. It was not what I expected, not what I intended, and likely the reason Titania came to take your measure this morning rather than wait for a formal presentation."
He paused and Sarah could see he was struggling to find how to explain. Oddly, it gave her some comfort to see him without a ready answer for everything. She moved to get more comfortable, snuggling closer and waited.
"It may surprise you to find out that my people, we Fae, are possessive, suspicious, and jealous by nature."
She giggled. "No, really?"
"On my honor, I swear it is true. So it follows that pairings among us are generally brief because we react to betrayal, whether true or fabricated, with passion. For every Fae coupling that ends on mutual terms, many more end in heated anger, sometimes over real problems but more often over frivolous disagreements. Still, these are small fires, they burn out quickly and repairs can be made that prevent any lasting feuds, or worse.
"True, life-long unions for the Fae are rare. When a true match has been found, such as that of Oberon and Titania, the couple is bound together, heart to heart, life to life, with magic. Unions such as these have great potential to end in disaster. Wars have been started, massacres have taken place, all in the name of a betrayed heart. And the quickest way to destroy your enemy is to destroy his or her bonded life mate. It is something that is not to be entered into lightly."
"I imagine not."
"There are essentially three steps to the true bonding of the Fae. The first happens the moment when two who are destined for each other meet, their magic within calling to the other. It is like... like..." he struggled once again with the right words.
"Like a little bit of your soul has ventured out to hold hands with another. Like two halves that never knew they were broken suddenly trying to become whole." She had her head on his chest and was tracing the pattern of his pendant with one finger.
"Yes, actually." He had to admit being momentarily taken aback at her ability to express it so eloquently, so simply, before reminding himself that he should never underestimate her. Besides, he thought, she might be gaining insight and understanding from elsewhere... "For whatever reason, they do not know that their magic is calling out, only that they are being called out to. From that time on, they are drawn to each other. Before courtship can begin, however, Their Majesties must give their blessing."
"But why?" she interrupted.
He knew without asking she was once again questioning the need for such interference into private matters. "Imagine if two Fae bonded in secret and something happens to drive them apart, ripping apart the fabric of this world at the same time. They are tied to the magic of all the Kingdoms of the Fae, some more than others but if for no other reason than to know if a match has been made. By knowing about it, they can monitor the situation should things start moving toward a dangerous state or even if an attempt is made to politicize the bonding."
"So it is... less an insatiable need to meddle and more an issue of damage control?"
"Well, yes." He could not help but chuckle at the fact that this simple idea seemed to set her mind at ease. "During the courtship process, a rather overly ritualized affair because that is the way the Fae like to do things, certain spells are worked that link the two closer together over time."
"How long does it usually last?"
"Courting?" He felt her nod. "A couple hundred years, at least." He noticed Sarah saddened at this, but continued on without acknowledging it. "The final spell is initiated by Their Majesties in a grand ceremony. Then comes this arduous process with more ritual involving members from the High Court at the end of which Their Majesties seal the bond, a bond that can only be broken by death."
Her sadness was quickly falling into anguish and he hastened to get to the point. She could, and would, ask after the finer details later. "You asked what after my intentions. From the start, I had thought to have you join me here for whatever time and enjoyment we might have. Fae have coupled with Mortals in the long past, and while it is brief in the terms of our lives, it can still be glorious. I confess to unexpectedly and rather quickly becoming somewhat obsessed, driven to pursue you without knowing why. It was not until that night after your performance, the night I saw you in person for the first time since you defeated the Labyrinth that it became clear that this was more than a simple infatuation. I knew then that you are the one my heart has been waiting for, my other half. I received Their Majesties' blessing almost immediately, to pursue you and bring you here, binding my life to yours and convincing you to bind yours to mine in that ancient ritual."
She placed both hands on his chest and, pushing away, turned until she knelt, sitting on her heels before him. The despair in her eyes nearly broke his heart. "How can you be so ready to... to bind your life, your eternal Fae life to mine, that of a human? A Mortal human?"
"Because, Sarah, I already had." Her brow furrowed and he could see in her eyes as easily as he sensed her doubt and resistance. "Do you not see, Sarah? I was lost to you from the moment we first met. Call it fate, call it higher powers, call it what you will. Though even now there are things I do not yet have the answers to, from what I can surmise, when you came into contact with me for the first time, at the moment you were first confronted with my magic, something about you resonated with the magic that encompasses my entire Kingdom. It bound me to you more deeply than I could have ever imagined, than I ever hoped, ever believed to have the chance to be bound to another."
She was flabbergasted. "But I was only fourteen!"
He shrugged one shoulder. "True, but if you were a Fae, you would have still heard it sing. I would have known what you would be to me, and we would have been able to walk away until such a time you were of age.
"But I'm not a Fae... I'm just-"
"Never," it came out more harshly than he intended, "refer to yourself as 'just' anything, never compare yourself to those of my kind. Perhaps you are just my match, just my beloved, just more important and dear to me than any I have ever met. But only in as much as I am just a simple man." He supposed that sounded rather arrogant, but it made his point so he cared little about the tone.
"Has this... bonding ever happened between a Fae and a Mortal before?"
"No. My people have coupled with Mortals before, but the unions have always been... brief. Especially in our regard of time."
She knew what he meant. "But if you become linked to my life, dependent upon it, what happens when... when..." She could not bear to voice her fear, knowing he would understand.
Even without words, he did. "It is quite simple, really. Your life will be joined with mine, making you as immortal as I am."
She was still doubtful. "Not the other way around? Even in the slightest?" He smiled, shaking his head no. She regarded him for a long while. "I'm still not sure I believe that is possible."
"You do not have to. Time will prove everything, and we have all that in the world now. For now, allow the knowledge to reassure you and know that I believe it. And, if it matters, so do Their Majesties."
"Hm. How can you be so certain it will work at all?"
"Because, apparently," he reached over, stroking her face, "we are already halfway there."
She blinked, surprised. "What?"
"The magic has already begun its work. It is changing you, Sarah. That it did so without your knowledge, understanding, or acceptance, I am sorry. But you would not be able to know my emotions so closely had it not.
Her forehead wrinkled. "You said blessing, which you already got, courtship, which takes hundreds of years, then ceremony thing. Now I know hundreds of years has not passed but..." She suddenly remembered the conversation of the morning. "She thought you initiated the ceremony, and you said you didn't. So someone else did?"
He nodded. "More like something."
"The Labyrinth?" He nodded again and she fell backward, into the opposite corner of the couch. "You know, this is an awful lot to take in."
"There is more."
Her silence at that said a thousand words and, as the sentiment transferred into the way she looked at him, he laughed. That made her smile. "She said you've changed. Hoggle said you've changed. I've noticed you've changed and I barely met you before."
"All for you." He cocked his head to once side, thoughtful. "Though, in all honesty, I did not know that at the time. Either way, I am happier for it."
"Me too." In a rare moment of boldness that turned her ears slightly pink, she moved in to kiss him deeply before settling in his comfortable embrace once more. "So tell me, if you are the King of the Goblins, and the Labyrinth is part of your Kingdom, and all of the magic is tuned in to you, how can you not be responsible for... whatever it was that happened."
"Ah, therein lies the tale. It will take some time to delve into the deeper workings of the Kingdom before I discover the truth in its entirety, but from my initial probings it appears a loophole was worked into the Labyrinth to prevent the King of the Goblins from ever finding his match."
"How'd that work out for you?"
He chuckled. "Some time in the past, a previous Goblin King recognized the danger of vulnerability. Rather than allow it to cause problems, he thought to block the option entirely by making it impossible for the bond to set, with or without Their Majesties' blessing, unless the Fae in question completed the Labyrinth. Simultaneously, it has always been that any Fae attempting to traverse the Labyrinth in any capacity will be sent in an an endless loop, doomed to wander without gaining any ground until released by the Goblin King."
"Thereby never truly completing it."
"Correct. It makes sense, really. The Labyrinth was never designed to test a Fae in the first place. I mentioned that some of my people have paired with a Mortal, I do not know if any suspected that a true bond could take place. I can say with certainty that none of my predecessors, my ancestors if you prefer, would have thought enough of Mortals as a whole to even entertain the idea as a lark."
"Ah, so you don't think highly of them, then?"
He snorted. "Hardly. They were more likely to be of the mind to conquer your world and enslave your people. It is disgraceful." He sighed, heavily. "No matter. It worked out in my favor in the end. Had they thought else, further preventions would have been made and you would not be here right now."
"So let me see if I have this straight. You meet me and your magic says, 'Ah ha!' But you have no idea it did so and since I have no magic to respond with, it all remained a mystery. Then, and against all odds, I complete the Labyrinth, opening the door to us one day being bound together with magic. Then, nine years later, the Labyrinth decides to defy tradition and starts the whole process on its own." She felt Jareth's nod against her head. "But why? How?"
"The why has to do with the manner in which everything took place. You did not just complete the Labyrinth, you defeated it. My offer to you, all those years ago, to give you everything was taken at its word, not simply as, say, words in a script. Even so, if this was a case of you being Fae and there would have been awareness of the spell being worked, it should simply have been a matter of my offering suit, at which point we would have then been required to attend to Their Majesties."
"Right. Following the blasted rules."
He chuckled. "Yes. When you rejected my offer, something no Fae has ever done when presented with their match, it was almost as though you had broken the bond itself. However, because we had not yet been joined together, little happened beyond my Kingdom falling into disrepair and my receiving-"
"A wake-up call?" She interrupted, amused for a reason he could not quite fathom.
"Yes, that describes it perfectly. Now, magic of this sort is extremely powerful. And in the case of this particular type, well, it is as you said before: two halves attempting to become whole. And though you rejected it, my magic continued to pull me toward that end, toward you. It appears that when you returned here, specifically to that place where it all fell apart, my magic was taking no chances. The fact that it heard your comment as a request to traverse the Labyrinth, that it brought you here without my knowing leaving you free to do so unhindered, that you completed the Labyrinth a second time thus defeating the loophole, everything fell into place. Perhaps rather than run the risk of you choosing to leave again, to change your mind, to leave me, my magic, and my Kingdom still broken, it overreached. It jumped ahead of all ritual and did what it needed to be done to ensure you would stay. It did what was natural, though always before it has been impossible without an outside hand controlling the spells. For only one other couple has that happened."
"Who?" Sarah thought she knew, but wanted to hear him say it.
"Only for the first: Oberon and Titania, High King and Queen of all the Fae."
Though he confirmed her guess, she still found herself shocked when she heard it aloud. "So what does it mean?"
He chuckled. "Trouble. Mostly from those who do not care for me personally. But the Queen likes you and has already sworn to protect you. Her beloved will follow suit, initially because it is her desire though I imagine he will want to for his own reasons in short order. I would not worry about what it means unless They give you specific reason to do so. Now, as for the how it happened to act on its own devices, I do not know."
"Good to hear you are so well informed." Once more, her tone made him chuckle. Sarah sighed happily as he held her tightly. "Out of curiosity, how many have actually done it? Completed the Labyrinth, I mean, before me?"
"Only one."
She had been tracing patterns on the pendant again and her hand stopped. "Oh."
"In fact, no other has even come close. You see?" He sat up, tilting her face to look into her eyes. "It truly was meant to be." And with that, he brought his lips to meet hers.