It would appear overfed barn owls become rather difficult.
Labyrinth owned by Henson and Disney. Chara is mine.
Sarah's head was spinning by the time they reached The Tree. The Labyrinth was much more complicated than she had realized! It was a fully functioning kingdom, trading with the Elves, the Trolls, the Dragons and the Fairies. Each kingdom had its own realm, connected to each other with Ways that resembled Ley Lines in her world. The maze she had run was the Mortal Way, the strongest and most stable connection to Aboveground, or Terra, or Midgard or whatever. Apparently her world was as exotic to fairy tale creatures as theirs was to her. All the Realms touched her world, but most of the connections were tenuous.
"Does the Cross Roads go to the other Realms?" Sarah asked as they stopped. Jareth looked up and shrugged.
"Chara goes where she is needed," he said absently. Sarah frowned and copied him. She gasped when she saw The Tree. It was huge! The trunk looked to be wider than her parent's house and had deeply grooved white bark. Branches started about fifteen feet up and continued beyond the canopy of the surrounding forest. The leaves were a deep green bordering on black. As she gaped, a breeze wandered through, playing with the leaves and revealing silver undersides.
"Jareth, who is this?" She breathed. Jareth trilled and squeezed her fingers.
"This is the Mother Tree. Legend states when the Realms were split, a goddess of compassion and mercy knew a full division would destroy everything. She reached out to the wild magic between the worlds and asked it for help. Together, the goddess and the magic forged the Ways. This act weakened the goddess to the point of death. The wild magic, recognizing her sacrifice, took the goddess into itself, split her into six pieces, imbued each piece with a small portion of itself and planted one piece in each realm. Here in the Labyrinth, that portion takes the form of a tree. In other realms the goddess piece is a lake, a mountain, a glacier, and a pool of lava."
"What did Aboveground get?" Sarah asked softly, eyes glued to the branches. Jareth wrapped an arm around her shoulders and nuzzled her neck.
"Humanity."
"What?"
"The goddess and the magic saw the potential of the first of your kind. Humans and their metals didn't drive the other races Underground. They did it themselves, constantly warring with each other. The Realms were created just as your species realized the power of magic. It was the hope of the goddess that if all humans carried a little piece of the wild magic, it would encourage harmony and peace."
"That didn't happen," Sarah said sadly. Jareth nipped her earlobe.
"No. The goddess was bound to the Ways and there was no one else to teach the humans. Your kind learned in the cruelest way and created your own gods that touched the rest of the Realms and energized the Ways. Once upon a time, there was a lot of traveling and trade. But as humans matured and moved from magic to science, the Ways fell to neglect. Now the Labyrinth is the only Realm with a stable Way to the mortals."
"Why?"
"This is the Kingdom of Dreams and Forgotten Things. Humans have the incredible power to dream and are the quickest to dismiss and forget. I take the unwanted children wished to me and find them homes where I can. Those children that cannot be homed stay here."
"Do you turn them into goblins?" She asked, dreading the answer. Jareth chirruped sadly and clutched her to him, nuzzling her hair.
"Some. Others learn trades or work in the castle. I don't like it, Sarah. I hate it. I see such horror, so much pain." Her heart broke at the pain and sorrow in his voice. She wrapped her arms around him and slowly walked them to the tree.
"Greetings, Mother Tree," She whispered before leaning back against the trunk, cradling Jareth as he hid his face in her hair.
Greetings, Champion. Sit and rest. My king needs your love. Sarah slid down, bringing Jareth with her. He curled up in her lap, chirruping as he planted his nose firmly under her chin. He wasn't as heavy as she expected, so she made herself comfortable and cuddled him. It was a hell of a switch, her comforting the Goblin King over his sworn duty. She gently threaded her fingers through his hair, keeping one arm firmly around his torso. The sad owl noises died slowly. She smiled when he snuggled, only to blush madly when one of his hands cupped her breast and a finger flicked a nipple. She grabbed his wrist.
"That's enough. Comfort is not consent."
"But Precious, you make me feel so good! I only want to return the favor," Jareth said huskily. She groaned and pushed him off her lap.
"Didn't Chara tell you how courting a mortal works?" She demanded, standing and folding her arms. Jareth stretched out on the ground, arching his back. Sarah's lips pinched and she kept her gaze glued to his face. He smirked.
"She told me a great many things, the most important being you require...delicate handling."
"What?" Sarah growled. Jareth flipped to his feet and strutted to her side.
"You don't play by Mortal rules," He purred in her ear. "Nor do you play by the Fae's. So I have to be...clever." Sarah's flush deepened. When had her ears become so damned sensitive?!
"Clever," She said, trying for suspicious and failing, as her voice squeaked ever so slightly.
"Indeed." Jareth stepped back, making a show of putting his hands behind his back. "Now, since I didn't get any ice cream, would you object to having our picnic lunch now?"
"I offered to share!" She protested, glaring. Her hormones leaped for joy at the word "picnic" and her imagination provided several suggestions for having Jareth for lunch, or as the blanket, or as a table. The last image made her ears burn so hot she covered them with her hands and turned away to thump her head on the Mother Tree trunk. Jareth's laughter made it past her hands and she blushed crimson. How did he do this to her?!
"Do share what's going through that sexy little mind of yours," Jareth purred in her ear, his hands sneaking around her waist and pulling her away from the tree.
"Can't, shan't, won't!" She snapped.
"Such a pity." He let go. He let go! Surprised and suspicious, Sarah whirled around. Spread out on the ground was a fluffy white blanket. Jareth was sitting in the middle, digging through a very large basket. As she watched, mouth agape, he pulled out dishes and glasses, arranging them carefully. He looked up and smirked, eyes daring her to say something. She put her chin up and joined him on the blanket, sitting cross legged beside her place setting. Jareth chirped happily and dove into the basket. Out came a sealed jug, a linen wrapped bundle and two jars. Sarah watched, curious, as Jareth opened the containers. The jug held a fizzy gold liquid, which Jareth poured carefully into the glasses.
"Elven cider," He said, handing her a glass. "Chara says it compares to Mortal champagne."
"Champagne is usually saved for special occasions," Sarah said, holding the glass up to the sunlight. It reminded her of mead. Jareth grinned playfully.
"Our first picnic is a special occasion. Cheers." Sarah smiled back and tapped her glass against his. The cider was sweet, yet light. She could see why Chara made the comparison. Jareth trilled as he opened the bundle, revealing fluffy biscuits and slices of a dark bread. The jars held a creamy butter that had a flowery aftertaste and a spiced cream cheese like spread which reminded Sarah of tzatziki. When they finished the bread, Jareth eagerly rummaged through the basket and produced a selection of sliced meats and cheeses.
"Chara recommended these," He said, arranging the slices on her plate. "Goblins seem to exist on ale and air, the humans and changelings that live here produce all the food everyone else eats, as well as exports of grains, fruit, vegetables and farm meats. The Wellsprings, being magical, are essentially sterile. Fish and seafood are exotic luxuries that I've authorized to come in a few times a year. There are four farms that supply the castle exclusively, the remainder feed the city and trade markets."
"So this doesn't come from the kingdom?" She asked, holding up a thin slice of sausage. Jareth shrugged.
"Our native sausages make better ropes than food. Chara gave me a list and sent me shopping. It was...interesting." Jareth fixed his plate, avoiding the cheese entirely. Sarah tried everything; Chara had good taste.
"Jareth, are you an obligate carnivore?" She asked, remembering the vegetables left on their first date and how he had only had one biscuit and one piece of bread, giving her the rest. He swallowed his mouthful, looking puzzled.
"Obligate carnivore?"
"Can your digestive system only process meat?" Jareth cocked his head and blinked, well, owlishly. She hid her smile behind a large bite of cheese.
"If you're asking that anything besides meat makes me sick, no. But, if I don't eat meat with every meal, my energy levels drop. I like bread and fruit, but that is a small part of my normal diet."
"What about peaches?" She peeped up at him from under her lashes. His head cocked one way, then the other, then back before he smiled, showing off his teeth.
"Peaches are not my favorite fruit."
"Oh? What is?" He set his plate aside and leaned forward, staring at her lips. She sighed at the blush sweeping up her face.
"Strawberries," He whispered against her mouth and sat back. She stared at him, mind whirling and hormones doing a cha cha. Strawberries? The Underground had strawberries?! How did he…? What did…?
"GAH!" finally worked itself out of her throat and she looked away, blushing. She was getting a little tired of all the blushing, but, strawberries. All of her naughty fruit dreams involved strawberries. She licked her lips, remembering the last time she had a fresh strawberry and gasped when her body responded to the thoughts that had gone with that experience.
"Are you all right, Precious? You're not choking, are you?" Jareth asked, gently rubbing her back. She arched into his touch and she heard his faint gasp. The rubbing became stroking and she clenched her fists, bowing her head and closing her eyes. Maybe, if she couldn't see him, it...would… His hand curled around her waist and slid up. With another strangled cry, she jumped to her feet and ran to the Mother Tree.
"Precious, you're not really helping my manly pride," He said and she groaned.
"Jareth." Warm, strong hands grabbed her shoulders and spun her. She blinked up into storm dark mismatched eyes.
"Say my name like that again and I will not be responsible for my actions," He said huskily. "Why do you keep running away?"
"I...um…" Sarah closed her eyes and thumped her head against the bark. "It's...complicated."
"You are making it so, Sarah," He growled and she moaned softly as her hormones growled back.
"I...I want…"
"Yes?"
"I want...to be sure." She forced her eyes open. Jareth cocked his head and took a step back.
"Sure of what?"
"Sure of my feelings, before. I know how you want this to work and...I'm not...there yet."
"Am I to understand," He said slowly, looking her up and down with his arms folded across his chest. "That the reason you're not snogging me within an inch of my life is because you're waiting for your feelings to match mine?"
"It's not the snogging, it's...what comes later." Sarah dragged her fingers through her hair, using the pain to shut her hormones up. They only dropped the volume to about a two. "I'm not one for casual sex, Jareth."
"I know that!" He huffed. Her hands dropped and she matched his pose and look.
"Oh really. How would you know that?"
"You've only spent the night with two mortal boys in the last ten years."
"YOU CHEATING SNOW COCK!" Her hormones howled as they were drowned out by righteous anger. Jareth raised his hands, suddenly looking a wee bit nervous.
"You hadn't protested the attention, so the goblins stayed outside the room!"
"They shouldn't have been there in the first place!"
"IT'S ALL I COULD DO!" Jareth shouted. Her arms dropped and her glare sharpened. He responded with his hands on his hips. "You stripped me of my power to intervene if you were in danger! Do you have any idea how many Wished Away children are the product of rape? I couldn't protect you from getting hurt, so the goblins had orders to intervene if you, at any time, said 'no' and the boy didn't back off. Again, not to harm, only frighten. You should be thankful, Precious. You cannot comprehend how much I wanted to strangle those boys for daring to touch what is mine."
"Oh, I'm supposed to be grateful that you had goblins spying on me when I lost my virginity? I'm supposed to be so touched your minions were ready, eager and able to barge in and do what? Point and laugh? Poke my partner in the butt?"
"I left it up to them."
"GAH! Jareth! This is NOT how you go about courting a mortal!"
"I'm not courting a mortal! I'm courting the Champion of the Labyrinth! Those goblins were your personal guard!"
"WHAT?" Sarah was beyond anger and several degrees into rage. A goblin personal guard? Where did Jareth get off assigning her a guard detachment to watch any male she had been around in the last ten years? Did he really think she was incompetent? Unable to take care of herself?
What about John Patterson? And Michael whatshisface? And those jerks at the club? Asked her hormones. She frowned. It had been a relief to see those males making elaborate, that-might-be-breaking-physics-rules pratfalls after she said "no" and they hadn't backed off. But that STILL didn't give Jareth the right to order sentries when she finally found someone that gave her a pleasant burn. Not that either one of her two former lovers could come close to igniting the fires Jareth did, but that wasn't the point!
"Precious?" She blinked. Jareth's expression had gone from haughty to concerned.
"I'm still angry!" She snapped. "It's really not cool you sicced spies on me, Snow Cock. Your possessive attitude makes it worse. I am not YOURS. I am MINE, remember?"
"Barn owls mate for life," He growled.
"We're not mates!" She growled back. He flinched. She blinked. He took a full step back, turned and screamed that horrifically loud owl scream. Guilt slapped her upside the head and she slapped it right back. They were NOT mates. Not yet, anyway. This was only the second date! They still had so much to learn about each other. After her parents divorced, she had promised herself she would be Very Sure about who she married and developed a checklist. They had to be friends, first and foremost. They had to share common goals and plans. They had to have a few mutual interests and a few separate interests. They had to trust each other. They had to spend at least a year, preferably three to five, living together before planning a wedding. They had to desire each other and be comfortable with each other's preferences. Jareth met only one of those requirements, desire, the most volatile component and the one she trusted the least. She had such a meager basis for comparison; two one night stands that had been pleasant but not world rocking. Jareth turned her world upside down with a kiss, there was no way in hell she would sleep with him until she called him "friend". Jareth turned back and she flinched at the defeated look in his eyes.
"I will take you home," He said woodenly. She frowned.
"What, now?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"There's no point in continuing, is there? You're angry." Now she rolled her eyes.
"Jareth, the date isn't over just because I'm angry. Did I say anything about wanting to go home?" He blinked several times. She sighed and shook her head. "Have you forgotten our Accord already? We literally CANNOT break up when we're angry. That's why I had Chara write it up that way. There's potential for a wonderful, magical relationship here, but we're both hot tempered and stubborn." She grinned. His eyes shifted from dark despair to hopeful. "What else did you have planned for this walking tour?" He smirked and stepped up to her.
"How about a complete and thorough tour of the castle?" She smirked back.
"How about we finish lunch first?"