Jareth woke up at the crack of dawn to an unusual feeling. His whole head was vibrating rhymically. "What the?" He felt gingerly along the top of his head and encountered soft kitten fur- and teeth. She had bit at her attacker. He yanked his hand away. "Cretin," he said, looking up at her. The kitten looked pleased with herself. Pulling a cord that hung above their bed, Jareth summoned a goblin who appeared within seconds.
"Your Majesty?" The goblin asked, bowing.
"We'll be taking our breakfast on the terrace today. And bring some cream for that," he pointed at the kitten, who went back to purring, nesting warmly in his wild hair.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the goblin bowed and was gone.
Jareth rolled over to wake his sleeping wife. "Sarah," he purred, pulling her close to him. "It's morning, love."
"Mmmgh." Sarah moaned. "Too early."
He persisted. "I've made it stop raining. We can go outdoors today."
"Mew," said the kitten, climbing over both bodies to plant herself in the warm space between Sarah and Jareth's necks.
Sarah sat up at that. She had forgotten about her new pet. "Oh, hello, you. Bet you're hungry."
"Oh, I see how it is," Jareth grumped. "You wake up for her but not for me?"
"She's just a baby," she said, scratching the kitten's chin. "What are we going to feed you?" she addressed the cat.
"I have it all arranged," Jareth said, standing up and pulling on his burgundy velvet robe. "Come."
Sarah pulled on her own robe and joined him on the terrace, the kitten trailing along behind her. With all the recent rain, the Labyrinth looked less brown and dead, and it smelled wonderfully mystic and moist. "I thought you didn't want the Labyrinth to be friendly," she asked while taking her seat, waiting for breakfast to arrive.
Jareth sat across from her. "I didn't, but I could see little sense in having it rain in only one part. So, I had the rain blanket everything."
She eyed him over the coffee pot that appeared. "I see. A kinder and gentler Labyrinth. I think you're becoming soft with marriage."
Taking a selection of foods from the trays, he poured himself a cup of tea. "A little greenness will not interfere with me beating the Runners. I could always send the Cleaners after them. Toss them into the Bog… the options are boundless."
Sarah didn't reply as an envelope appeared on her empty plate. Opening it, she read the contents, eyes growing wide with excitement. Hogwarts, I get to see Hogwarts! Her mind exploded with happiness.
Jareth was watching the kitten, who had climbed into her bowl of cream and was lapping at it happily.
"Darling, when are you leaving for the Southern Kingdom?"
"Hmmm," he tore his eyes away from the fuzz ball. "Tomorrow."
"Oh, it's just that- well, look." She handed him the letter.
Jareth read it while Sarah filled her plate. So, he did just see the book in the library. Reading the harmless explanation should have set his mind at ease, but it didn't. The situation with his half-brother and, now, the coincidentally gifted kitten, niggled at him like a persistent fly. Again, he didn't tell Sarah about his concerns.
He handed the letter back to her and continued eating even though he no longer had an appetite. He knew what Severus' ultimate goal was, and yet, he was powerless to stop it. He would most likely try to bed her during her visit, and who was he to stop it? Best to let things play out.
"How long do you think you'll be gone?" He asked.
"Few days. A week at most," she figured.
"It'll have to wait until after I get back. The Labyrinth will not rule itself."
She nodded in consent. "I still have to take the kitten in to get looked at. And the goblins need their new shopping list."
"I'll have a portal set up before I leave. You can traverse freely, see your family," he suggested.
Sarah chewed on a sticky bun. "No. Dad, Karen, and Toby are in California visiting relatives."
"Ah." He took a sip of his tea and then gestured toward the kitten. "What are you going to name her?"
"I don't know." She looked at the kitten, who was drenched in cream and now lay asleep in the bowl, her belly full. "I was going to name her after the character in the book, but that just seems silly. She should have something unique."
"I called her Cretin this morning and she didn't object," he teased.
"Jareth." She glared at him.
"What? She bit me."
With the rain ending, new issues popped up for Jareth and Sarah to deal with, along with a few "I told you not to let it rain so long's" from Sarah. The roofs had held strongly against the rain, but there was some minor flooding and a few waterlogged chickens to sort out. That took Jareth most of the day, while Sarah handled the complaints from numerous goblins about mold growing in their abodes. It wasn't that they objected to the mold, it was just that they couldn't get to it to ingest the stuff.
Sarah's mind drifted as the goblin in front of her complained about perfectly good mold going to waste. Instead, she thought about names. Athena… no. Pixie… no, the Pixies might take offense. Arwen. Now, that had promise. She and Jareth had watched The Lord of the Rings once. Well, he watched it and pointed out how misrepresented the different races were, and how ridiculous the Eye of Sauron was. And Sarah had slept through half of it, but Arwen had always been one of Sarah's favorite characters. Strong and beautiful.
Arwen, maybe.
"I'll arrange to have the mold lowered so you and your family can dine on it," Sarah addressed the goblin before her. "Anything else?"
"No, Your Majesty." The goblin bowed and shuffled from the room.
Waiting for the next one to be ushered in, Sarah found herself forming a crystal in her hand and toying with it, much like Jareth often did. She was getting better, as it almost took no thought at all for the crystal to form. Must be the spell books, she thought. In addition to marking spells that she could use, Severus had also earmarked one of the beginning chapters in an elementary spell book for her. It focused on the magical person feeling their ability flow through their veins and properly channeling it into a spell or incantation.
Sarah had found this to be most useful in her overall ability to channel and use her new magic. To her, it was almost like a form of meditation. Looking deeply into the crystal sitting on her palm, Sarah focused and summoned the royal dressmaker. An old gnarled goblin appeared and bowed deeply to Sarah. "Yes, Your Highness?" He asked, straightening up.
"Are you familiar with Wizarding fashion?"
"I haven't traveled to the Wizarding World in some time, my Queen. What do you want to know?"
Sarah tossed the crystal at him and he caught it. "I want you to go there and observe, Nobbs, and then fashion me a set of appropriate garments. They are to be in my hands in a week's time. Take that," she indicated the crystal, "and report back to me nightly."
Nobbs tossed the crystal from hand to hand a few times before pocketing it in his tiny purple frock coat. "As you wish," he bowed and disappeared with a pop.
Next, Sarah set about summoning the Shopping Goblins, as they were named. There were three of them of varying degrees of height and intelligence. The shortest was the smartest and the one she thrust a piece of parchment to. It had the supplies needed for the kitten written on it, along with her crudely drawn pictures.
"Kitty litter?" The goblin asked.
"It's like the sandbox we already have set up for her, except it masks the smell better."
"Ah." The Shopping group disappeared with an audible pop.
Later that day, Sarah had set a group of goblins to the task of cleaning the makeshift litter box with the intention of the 'leavings' being sent to the Bog, but things didn't go according to plan. She had checked in on the group and found that they were cleaning the box their way.
"Oh, God!" She swiftly turned away, covering her mouth as a wave of nausea hit her. Two goblins were happily munching on the 'leavings' while another one was grooming her kitten with its tongue. The kitten, not knowing any better, was doing her best to groom him in return. "Gah!" Sarah screeched, snatching the kitten up and tossing the goblin aside before patting the kitten dry with the hem of her dress.
Steeling herself, she turned towards the dining group. "All of you to the Bog. No exceptions."
"But-" one of the goblins started to protest around a mouthful of stuff.
"No. Even I know you guys are not that stupid." She made a shooing gesture. "All of you to the Bog. Take the mess with you, and-" she leaned down so that she was eyelevel with them. "If I see any of you eating that," she pointed at the now clean litter box. "you'll be doing laps in the Bog for a solid month. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Majesty," they mumbled as all three of them disappeared.
Looking down at the kitten, Sarah mused, "I was kind of right. Goblins and cats don't mix… well, at least parts of you don't. But they did do as they were told. Your box is clean and you are, too."
"Mew," said the kitten, licking the tip of Sarah's nose with her sand-papery tongue.
Surprising even himself, Jareth was finished with his duties ahead of schedule. He was glad for that, since he still had loose ends to tie up before leaving in the morning. He had a feeling that he wouldn't be seeing Sarah for at least two weeks. They've spent time apart before, which, much to Jareth's annoyance, was happening more and more frequently, but not that long. Not since he had stepped back into her life.
He knew it was something that bothered Sarah and it was starting to get to him, too. Before she was in his life, he lived to serve his people, but now, all he wanted was to serve his wife. Things would get easier and they could run the kingdom together, but they had to get there first. She still had to grow into her magic and learn the ins and outs of ruling, and after those things were sorted out they would be able to rule side by side. That is, if…
If she didn't get swayed by her visit next week or any subsequent visits in the coming months. Jareth had heard stories that Severus could be very persuasive if need be. He could succeed in wresting Sarah away from him and then he'd be back to being alone. This was a very possible reality.
At least he could protect her while she was gone. Decision made, he took a detour to a small jewelry shop.
AN: I do not own any of these characters- they are the property of their respective owners.
Betaed by AnonyMissJ. I wouldn't be able to do this without you.