The Last Goodbye
Trigger warning:
Suicidal themes in this chapter.
Jareth was, admittedly, a little drunk. Who could blame him? After a century, he finally gave Lucian his just desserts. And Gods, it felt so fucking good. After leaving him to bleed out, uninterested in listening to any pleading Lucian might spew out, Jareth teleported to his throne room.
He called for Elven wine and goblin ale to be passed out to the masses, declaring the evening a formal celebration of his greatness. He ordered music, spending the evening lounging on his throne with a beautiful female atop his lap as his goblins danced and sang around him.
He wanted to enjoy this night, because tomorrow, when the whole of the Underground learned what happened, there would be a mountain of political shit to climb.
But he wasn't worried. He had the ultimate bargaining chip.
Magnus.
Without Magnus, the UnSeelie Kingdom was left with only their Queen to rule. Sarah was many things, but a leader wasn't one of them. He knew Lucian coddled her. Kept her safely tucked away in his Kingdom.
And Sarah would do anything to get her son back. Losing her husband would be painful enough. No more than she deserved, but even Jareth flinched at the idea of killing her son as well.
Even he had his limits.
Thus, the perfect plan. In exchange for an iron clad peace treaty between their kingdoms, and that mine in Drolo Domas, Jareth would return Magnus to his Kingdom.
The thought of Sarah's broken face, streaked with tears as he made the exchange, was almost enough to make him hard. Unfortunately, too much wine kept him from reaching any form of completion tonight. So instead, he dismissed the female from his lap and decided, as dawn crested over the horizon, to drop by the Oubliette and pay Magnus a visit. He had news, after all.
But upon opening the hidden door, he found the Oubliette empty.
~.~.~.~.~.~
Gennava felt the rays of the sun on her face, a slight breeze tussling the strands of her hair that had fallen loose from her braid. She let herself soak up the warmth, breathing in the fresh air in hopes it would help her mind clear, help open her eyes.
But her eyelids felt like lead. Her entire body felt so incredibly heavy. She realized her head was slumped down. She was… sitting? Yes, she was seated in a comfortable chair.
"It's time to wake up."
Someone was speaking to her. A male. She tried to open her eyes, tried to lift her head. But she was so heavy… so heavy…
She felt a sharp tug. Someone grabbed the base of her braid, wrenching her head back. A moment later, she felt a harsh slap across her face. It tore through her heaviness, and her eyes finally opened.
"Wake up, Gennava."
She tried to rear back, tried to raise her arms in defense, but they felt like lead at her side. Why did she feel so heavy? As if gravity itself increased. All she wanted to do was slump to the floor and sleep for a week.
She lifted her gaze to find her father towering over her. She made to speak, but her mouth was so incredibly dry. She tried to lick her dry, cracked lips but her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth. Somehow, she managed to croak out a "Water."
"Water will come. After we talk."
He released his hold on her braid, and Gennava's face fell forward.
"Keep your head up or I'll do it for you."
Gennava focused on her breathing, using all her strength to sit up. Her father smiled down at her. "Good girl." He strolled over to a chair opposite hers and took a seat, resting an ankle over a knee and placing his riding crop on his lap. She dared move her gaze around the room. It was her room. She was being restrained in her own Gods-damned bedroom.
"W—what's going on?"
"You have much to answer for, daughter." The look in her father's eyes made Gennava flinch. "If you only knew the damage you've done to your Kingdom."
Gennava tried to swallow, but her mouth was so dry.
"You will tell me everything. Starting with how the UnSeelie Prince escaped my Oubliette."
Gennava's brows furrowed in confusion.
Jareth gripped his riding crop. "You didn't know, did you?"
Gennava croaked. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even know how I got here!"
"I followed you last night. Watched you enter my Labyrinth." The sound of Jareth's leather gloves gripping tightly around the hilt of his crop sent an icy shiver down her spine. "Watched you navigate the underground tunnels like you'd done it a hundred times before. And finally, make your way to the entrance, where he was waiting for you."
Jareth bared his teeth on the word he, gripping his crop so hard, she worried he'd snap it in two.
"So, you see, daughter, not only have you defied me, you've also committed treason."
Gennava prayed for the floor beneath her to open up and swallow her whole. She tried to force herself still, find whatever physical strength she had left, but she could barely keep her teeth from chattering.
"Did you think I wouldn't find out?"
She stayed silent, and her father cracked his riding crop hard across his booted heel, the sound like lightning. A small cry escaped her lips.
"Did you fuck him?"
She shook her head. "No."
"Don't lie to me, Gennava. If I find you're not pure, there will be little use left for you."
A tear ran down her cheek. "I'm not lying."
She felt her father relax slightly, leaning back in his chair.
"Did you take him inside the walls of my Labyrinth?"
She nodded, her eyes downcast.
"How many times."
"I don't know. Many. He wanted to see it, given his mother ran it."
Through her lashes, she caught her father place his crossed boot on the floor, leaning forward now. "You stupid girl. Don't you see? You fell for his honeyed words and gave him what he wanted. My Labyrinth. It's no wonder he escaped. Did you show him the tunnels underneath?"
Gennava nodded.
"Look at me!"
Gennava's eyes shot up, finding her father with his elbows on his knees, staring right at her, fury dancing across his handsome face.
"His mother called to me, begging for help from the UnSeelie King. I offered her sanctuary. Offered her my home, my love. And do you know what she did with it?"
Gennava didn't dare move. Didn't dare speak.
"She manipulated her 'friends' into committing treason. All so she could cause chaos in my Kingdom and escape into his arms."
Jareth spat the words. Despite his cruel demeanor, Gennava knew her father better than anyone. She caught the glimpses of hurt he tried to bury down.
"And now, you've allowed her son into my Kingdom. Into my Labyrinth. Do you realize how that compromises all of us? The Labyrinth surrounds our city, protects us. But you've foolishly let the enemy in, gave him a gods-damn tour of how to navigate it. Utterly wrecked our defenses. And now the UnSeelie army marches towards our gates. All because of you."
Gennava felt the breath leave her lungs. "What?"
Jareth's mouth hardened into a fine line. "You heard correctly. Your prince marches towards us as we speak. Intent on taking our Kingdom by force."
Gennava shook her head fiercely, but the movement caused a wave of nausea to rise up. She swallowed hard. "Magnus wouldn't do that."
Jareth stood then, making his way over to a side table. Gennava heard the sounds of water being poured. "Thanks to you, many of our citizens will die."
He walked up to her side, her body stiffening at his nearness. He placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "I knew you would never live up to my expectations."
Gennava tried to force her lips from quivering. Force herself not to tremble beneath him. She felt her father lean forward, and flinched on instinct, expecting to be stuck. Instead, she found a glass pressed to her lips.
"Drink."
She took a tentative sip, and as the crisp, cold water swept into her parched mouth, for the first time since her eyes opened, she relaxed slightly and downed the entire glass.
"Good girl."
Jareth refilled the glass, holding it to her lips so she could empty it again. He set the glass down and moved to stand in front of her. Leaning down, he clasped her cheeks in either gloved hand, wiping away her tears with his thumbs.
"Despite everything, there still might be some use for you. Rest for now. When I need you, I'll come."
Gennava didn't understand her father's words, didn't understand why her vision started spinning. Then she knew only darkness once more.
~.~.~.~.~.~
Magnus walked through the aftermath of the battle. Fallen goblin soldiers lay scattered around the snowy ground like flecks of pepper in salt. He'd chosen the location well, setting his army up along the northern edge of the Goblin Kingdom where the altitude made for snowy weather, something goblins tend not to thrive in.
Jareth always underestimated the threat of war. Given the Immortals need of wished away children to keep their lineage intact, every Kingdom kept good relations with him, save for the UnSeelie.
Magnus learned, thanks to his years of military service, that the goblin army was untested. Surveying the bloody remains of the majority of Jareth's left flank, he'd certainly proven that tonight.
Magnus wiped the sweat from his forehead with his blood crusted fingers. Gods, he missed this. The smell of leather and blood and smoke. The sounds of swords clashing against shields. The cries of his enemies as he cut through their sternums. His shadow magic gave him great advantage in battle, and because of it, Magnus always fought on the front lines.
Closing his eyes, his thoughts immediately went to his father. This was all for him.
"Sire."
Magnus turned to find Denek at his side, his own fighting leathers coated in blood. Despite the role Denek played in uncovering his relationship with Gennava, the anger he carried for his friend, Magnus forgave him. Because of Denek, Lucian gave him advice he wished to this day he would have taken. His father would still be alive if he had. Because of Denek, Magnus got his father home so they could lay him to rest.
"I just spoke with our commanders. Seems we only lost a few dozen from our ranks."
Magnus breathed a sigh of relief. "Send the order to pile the goblin bodies for burning. I want the fire so large the morning breeze will carry the ashes of their fallen all the way to the Goblin City. Let the bastard know how hard we hit him today."
Denek nodded. "It will be done."
"Good." Magnus meant to turn away, making his way back to his army's encampment a few miles back, but turned to face Denek again. "We celebrate this victory tonight only. Tomorrow, we continue south."
There would be no stopping Magnus until his army found themselves at the foot of the Labyrinth.
~.~.~.~.~.~
A loud knock wrangled Gennava into consciousness. As her eyes fluttered open, a splitting headache barreled through her along with her father's harsh words.
"If you only knew the damage you've done to your Kingdom."
"Thanks to you, many of our citizens will die."
"You've committed treason."
Another round of demanding knocks came across her door. She tried to sit up, but the nausea was all-consuming.
"G, Hurry!"
Jeanne's voice.
Gennava forced herself up, only to crash down to the floor as soon as she lifted herself from the bed. The darkness loomed around her, threatening to swallow her whole again.
She crawled to the door, reaching up to unlock it, only to find the key missing. She twisted the knob, but it wouldn't budge.
"G, can you hear me? Open the door, please!"
Gennava slumped down, resting her head on the back of her door. "Can't… doorrsss locked… keyysss missing."
The words felt like molasses coating her tongue. Her vision was so blurry. Every movement felt so incredibly heavy. And the pounding headache…
"Shit!" She heard Jeanne seethe. "Listen to me carefully, Gennava. Do NOT drink the water in the pitchers they bring you. The goblins have been spiking it with ashbane."
Gennava shook her head, forcing her eyelids to stay open. "W—what?"
A heavy pause passed before Jeanne answered. "I don't know why, G, but he wants to keep you subdued. I've been trying to get to you the past few days, but there are goblins constantly guarding your doors. The only reason I could make it here now is because I memorized the guard change. I only have another minute or so before I need to leave."
Gennava sat herself up, her back flush against the hard wood of her door. "Jeanne… what… happened."
Another heavy pause passed between the two before Jeanne spoke. "Your father assassinated the UnSeelie King."
Gennava's entire body seized.
No.
"In the Outer Lands, five nights ago. There was some sort of confrontation between Jareth and the UnSeelie King. No one knows why the King was there, but Jareth stuck an ashbane tipped blade in his side and left him to bleed out. He died, G. Do you know what that means?"
Gennava's mind reeled.
No. Not possible.
Her head spun. Bile rose in her throat, thick and heavy. She clasped her hand over her mouth to keep herself from wrenching.
"Are you alright?"
"I… no. No, I'm not."
She heard Jeanne take a long exhale. "My father is leaving, along with the other ambassadors. The UnSeelie Kingdom's army is marching towards the castle. The Goblin army is no match for their forces. Reports from the front lines are bad. Apparently, the hits the goblin army has taken have been devastating."
Gennava's mind was a mud puddle.
Lucian's dead. The UnSeelie army is coming. And Magnus…
"Is the UnS—seelie Prince alive?"
Another long sigh from her friend. "So, the rumors are true?"
Gennava gritted her teeth. "Is. Magnus. Alive?"
"Yes. The newly crowned UnSeelie King is alive. He found his father in the Outer Lands. No one knows how he knew to find him there. Although I'm starting to think you do."
A long pause passed between the two friends.
"G, I don't have time to linger. Come with me. I can help smuggle you out."
Gennava closed her stinging eyes, shaking her head. "I can't."
"You can't stay. Please. Come with me."
With a shaky breath, Gennava forced her eyes open. "It'sss okay, Jeanne. Go. B—be safe. I promise I'll be okay."
"Gennava, I don't want to leave you. I don't know what your father has planned…"
"It's ok—kay, Jeanne. I'll b—be okay. Write to me… the m… moment you're safe. We'll see each other again."
She heard Jeanne lean her weight against the door. "Do you promise?"
Gennava let out a long breath. "Promise."
Gennava couldn't leave. Couldn't abandon her people, her friends, the Labyrinth. Her father's words ran through her mind.
"The UnSeelie army marches towards our gates. All because of you."
What her father conveniently left out was that he was the actual cause of all of this. He killed Magnus' father.
Suddenly, everything clicked into place. Why her father subdued her and locked her away in her chambers. Why he asked how Magnus could escape.
Jareth must have subdued Magnus the same as her, placed him in the Oubliette. Gennava knew how much her father hated Lucian. Holding a grudge for how their altercation ended in the Outer Lands all those years ago. Capturing Magnus opened up the possibility of revenge.
And her father found it.
And war was upon them. Gennava didn't blame Magnus in the slightest. She would have done the same.
But my Kingdom… Her Kingdom didn't deserve the bloody end her father did.
She needed to write to him. Work the ashbane out of her system and meet him, explain everything. She would fall to her knees, beg his forgiveness, and convince him to stop this war.
But more than anything, she needed to tell him she loved him too.
~.~.~.~.~.~
"Reports?"
Magnus' breaths came hot and heavy, despite the freezing rain pouring down.
Denek stood next to him, surveying the damage they inflicted this night. "My scouts tell me the goblin army is pulling back, heading east to re-group."
Magnus furrowed his brows. "East? Why not south towards the Goblin City?"
Denek shrugged. "Perhaps they have an outpost with supplies on the eastern border."
"Perhaps." Magnus wasn't convinced. But given the number of goblins his forces killed tonight, perhaps their army was left with little choice but to throw them a curve ball. Try to lead them away from the capital.
"We continue south. At this rate, it's only a matter of days before we reach the Goblin King. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees me waltz through his castle doors."
"And what of the Labyrinth?" Denek asked. "We'll have to conquer that before reaching the city."
Magnus swallowed hard, unconsciously moving his hand over the hidden pocket in his fighting leathers.
"I have a plan for that. Don't worry."
Denek nodded, glancing at where Magnus' hand traveled. "I'll go check in with our commanders. I'll meet you in your tent later."
Magnus nodded, and as Denek departed, he reached into that hidden pocket, removing the crumpled piece of parchment he received earlier that day.
Meet me tonight, our spot in the Outer Lands. Please.
After she refused him, after everything that followed, he'd heard nothing from Gennava. His mother's words ate away at him. Was she no better than her father? Was she truly callous and cruel enough to concoct such a trap?
A part of him wanted to believe it. It made everything easier. This war, his anger, his singularly focused intention. Kill Jareth. Take his Kingdom. Yes, all that would be easier if he could just hate her, too.
But his heart…
His fucking heart that was broken in two. One piece still loved her, still believed her wholly innocent and just as much a victim as he. The other cried out for revenge for his father, the sorrow for his loss, a weight he didn't know quite how to bear.
So, he forced Gennava out of his thoughts. She made them too muddied, too complicated, too painful. It was easier to kill, easier to take step after step further into her lands, knowing she was the enemy too.
But that didn't stop his thoughts from falling to her each time his head hit the pillow on his army cot. Didn't stop his dreaming of her in his arms, the two fighting this battle side by side.
Why now? Why reach out to him now rather than after it all happened? Perhaps it's a way to trap him again. Lure him into the Outer Lands where Jareth could, once again, incapacitate him. This time without the possibility of escape. Gennava saw through his shadow magic. She could somehow signal his location to her father.
But that fractured piece of his heart… What if this is real? What if she needs me?
He read her note again and crumpled it in his hand for the hundredth time, returning it to his pocket.
~.~.~.~.~.~
Gennava paced back and forth in the sandy ground of the Outer Lands, the same spot where Magnus called the alcelot down. It was far enough from both her Kingdom and the battlegrounds that Gennava felt assured their presence would go unnoticed. Glancing at the moon's location above, she noted the hours that had passed since she teleported here.
Will he show?
She couldn't blame him if he didn't. He lost a parent. In some small way, she knew what that felt like, although their circumstances were wholly different. And now the taste of battle was thick in the air. The horizon bled red with the setting sun, and every morning brought the distinct smell of burnt corpses.
Gennava didn't allow herself to think about Magnus covered in blood, sword in hand as he cast himself in shadows and laid siege to his enemies… Her army.
Gods, she fucked everything up. If she had only been honest with him. Honest with herself that night, could all of this have been avoided? Would Lucian be alive now?
What if he hates me?
Gennava willed her breathing steady, despite the shake in her hands, her still somewhat blurry vision. After days of convalescence, the ashbane was still receding from her system.
She didn't know what love was until Magnus. Didn't realize all she'd been denied her entire life. If he didn't show tonight, she would find another way to reach him. She had to tell him she loved him, just once.
She glanced up at the full moon again, basking in its glow. Its rays shone down on the silvery blue of her gossamer gown, its color reflecting the UnSeelie skin tone. The gown reached just past her feet, a delicate train following her pacing. The long sleeves came to a point adorned with a pearl as a symbol for her mother's Kingdom. Gennava sewed tiny white flowers throughout the low-cut bodice, representing symbilnum, the UnSeelie Kingdom's royal flower. She left her hair unboned, letting her natural waves dance in the breeze. She wanted her appearance to convey the grief she carried Magnus and his Kingdom.
If he shows.
A moment later, her heart skipped a beat as his citrus and clove scent filled the air. He appeared several feet away, cast in his shadows and utterly disheveled. His emerald eyes were reamed in red, and his fighting leathers were covered in dried blood. He looked exhausted. Drained. His skin ashen and his gaze muted.
Gennava swallowed down the lump in her throat, taking a tentative step towards him. The pull to go to him was so strong, like two magnets needing to make contact. But she forced herself to keep some distance.
"I'm so sorry. Before anything else, Magnus, I want you to know how sorry I am."
He stood there, his expression stone. "And what are you sorry for, Gennava?"
His voice was so cold. So distant.
"When you told me you loved me, offered to take me away and fight for me… I just… froze. I didn't know what to do or say. I was a coward."
Magnus kept his shadows close to him. "Did you know?"
Gennava shook her head, her eyes wide and pleading. "Of course not. I had no idea."
Magnus continued to stare at her, his expression unmoving. "Where have you been these past ten days?"
Gennava wrapped her arms around her middle. "My father kept me locked in my chambers, subdued on ashbane. It took days, Magnus. Days to work it out of my system before my magic returned."
Magnus' face looked carved from cold stone despite the glimmer of utter devastation in his eyes. "My father is dead because of me. Because of us. You realize that don't you?"
Gennava clutched her chest as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I didn't know he followed me that night. Didn't know he took you. If I had, I would have come for you. I would have done whatever I could to…"
The breath caught in her throat at the words she so desperately wanted to convey. She doubled over in a wave of pain and grief so great, she couldn't help but take a moment to steady herself. All the while, Magnus just stood there, watching.
She lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes full of emotion. "I love you, Magnus. I should have told you that night under the oak tree. I should have told you when you offered your Kingdom to me. I was scared. I love you, and I'm so sorry."
She choked out the words, emotion heavy on her lips. She must look like a babbling fool to him. A weak, babbling fool.
"Love?!" Magnus shook his head. "You don't know what love is, remember?"
Gennava felt the cold ground bite at her feet, her legs. She willed her body not to shake from it.
Magnus took a step towards her, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "You're no better than him. Broken and useless."
Gennava's mouth opened, her eyes widening at his words. No, this wasn't the Magnus she fell in love with. This wasn't the male who made her so deliriously happy that she thought it possible to have a future. "You don't mean that. I know you don't."
"You know nothing!" Magnus spat the words at her with such vitriol she stumbled back, falling to the ground.
"I don't know what I was thinking, Gennava. This." He motioned between them. "Us. It was a mistake."
Gennava had to focus on breathing. She looked up at Magnus, threw him, to his very soul filled with such utter rage and grief. She didn't know what to say, what to convey.
Her entire body shook as she lay on the sandy ground. "Magnus, please."
It was a desperate plea. Tears flooded her vision, but she didn't wipe them away. She lowered her gaze to her hands, clenched in the sandy soil. "Please. I love you."
She heard him take a step forward, heard him lean down. She looked up into his eyes and flinched at the rage she found there. "You don't know what love is because you never deserved it."
Then he disappeared.
Gennava forgot how to breathe. Forgot what it felt like to feel blood flow within her veins.
"You don't know what love is because you never deserved it."
Darkness descended. No, not darkness. Numbness. The numbness that slowly crept through her veins when her father or Damon would beat her down. The numbness she enveloped herself in whenever her world seemed so bleak, so empty. It was so like the ashbane, the way it swept away her sense of time and space, of feeling and consequence.
But for the first time in her life, Gennava didn't fight that feeling. She embraced it.
~.~.~.~.~.~
Magnus teleported to the edge of his army's encampment and immediately doubled over, vomiting.
He loved her. He fucking loved her and because of that, his father was dead. And now she chose to confess her love for him?
He hated the words that spewed from him. Almost fell to his knees from the look of utter devastation on her face. He put it there. He severed their bond.
Because he had to.
How could there be a future? His mother would never accept her. His Kingdom would never accept the Goblin Princess as their Queen.
Magnus wretched, emptying the contents of his stomach before closing his eyes and falling to his knees.
Clutching his chest, he cried out into the darkness.
~.~.~.~.~.~
Gennava cradled herself in bed, staring out at nothing. Despite the days that passed, her pain only seemed to amplify.
"You're no better than him. Broken and useless."
"You've committed treason."
Whenever she closed her eyes, all she saw was the hate in Magnus' eyes. All she heard was his agonized voice, mixed in with her father's calloused tone. Their words, so cold and sharp, like bricks of ice pelting her. She took those bricks and piled them around her heart.
Was nothing between them real?
Maybe so.
Maybe love was something fluid, like water. You try to hold it in your hands as tightly as you can, only to watch it slowly drain away.
Maybe Magnus was right. She was never deserving of love. She killed her mother and now was responsible for Lucian's death.
"You don't know what love is because you never deserved it."
She didn't deserve those few blissful moments under the oak tree with Magnus. When he held her so close, looked at her with such raw desperation and need in his eyes.
Her father used her. Magnus did too. Maybe that's the only love males knew to give. Love that benefits them in the moment, leaving hearts in tatters on the other end.
Maybe all she deserved was her own death. It wouldn't be hard, easy really. Her balcony was far enough up. Or maybe one of the fencing swords would do…
After all, she'd be doing the Underground a favor. She was responsible for two lives lost. And now her Kingdom was at war. The least she could do was sacrifice her own life.
Maybe she could seek out her mother in the Summerlands…
If the gates even open for me. Find me worthy.
Her mind kept whirling, as if being sucked slowly down a drain. She stayed on her side, her vacant eyes staring blankly ahead, that numb feeling all encompassing.
She didn't hear her door open, hear the footsteps that neared her bed. Didn't feel the depression by her side, or the hands that wrapped around her, pulling her against a strong, warm chest that smelled of leather and violets.
"Oh, precious. I'm so sorry."
Gennava sucked in a breath.
"I never wanted to see you hurt this way."
She bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. "Why did you kill him?"
She felt her father's hold tighten around her. "I know Magnus made you fall in love with him. His father did the same to my Sarah. Pried her from my arms. The entire Underground thinks me a heartless heathen. But I always loved Sarah. I lost her. I refuse to lose you, too."
Gennava turned in her father's arms, facing him fully as he spoke. "You're my only child." He gently placed a loose strand of her wavy blonde hair behind her delicately arched ear. "I'm sorry if I haven't always been the best father. But I do love you."
Whatever cold, fractured part of Gennava's heart that still beat reveled in his words.
Her father loved her.
Someone loved her.
Gennava closed her eyes and pressed her face into her father's chest.
"I never wanted to see you like this. That's why Damon is so perfect for you. He will never leave you. Never cause you heartache."
Gennava stiffened against his chest. "Why are you here?"
Jareth caressed her cheek. "Damon and I have come to terms on a dowry. The paperwork is in hand. With this alliance, King Brenalt of Rykgard has agreed to ally with our Kingdom. Together, our armies will easily beat back the UnSeelie forces. So precious, you can make right the mistakes you put in place. Your Kingdom needs you more than ever."
Gennava stayed still, too numb to react. Those bricks of ice griped her heart like a vice.
"You created this mess, Gennava. I'm giving you a way to fix it."
Gennava closed her eyes. Her fight was gone. There was nothing left to give. "When?"
Her father smiled in a way that almost masked his obvious relief. "I knew you wouldn't defy me again."
Gennava gave him that serene smile she mastered over the years.
~.~.~.~.~.~
After her father left her chambers, Gennava walked to her balcony doors, opening them to let the crisp night air bite against her skin, feeling none of its icy embrace. The sounds of war rumbled in the distance. Off to the north, she could make out on the horizon a blood-orange haze.
Of course, the first time she heard her father say he loved her was followed quickly by a request. And it was no small request. It was the path he had led her down for months now, and how convenient that war with the UnSeelie Kingdom placed the burden squarely on her shoulders.
Males truly do use love as a weapon.
Gripping the sandstone railing of her balcony, she formulated a plan as she looked down on what would never be her Labyrinth.
She agreed to marry Damon. Agreed to whatever wedding details her father arranged. She would even walk down the aisle.
But when her turn came to speak her vows, she would do something entirely different.
Sarah had made a vow. She wanted to take from Jareth something he loves. She wanted to ruin him.
Gennava would do just that. For Sarah, in atonement for all her father had done.
But first, she needed to get her friends out. Because what she had planned, what she would execute, would ensure not just her own end, but the end of the Goblin Kingdom.
Authors Note:
This will be the last sad chapter, I promise. Maybe…
Song:
The Last Goodbye by ODESZA
You can find the Marked playlist on my Spotify account: EastOfGatewood
See you next Friday!