— PLEASE TAKE CAUTION: THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES CONTENT NOT SUITED FOR CHILDREN. IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO MILDLY VIOLENT CONTENT, PLEASE WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER. —
Once again Sarah had found herself in one of her foolish endeavors. There hadn't been a sign of Jareth all day. He'd mentioned taking a group of his men to the campsite for a final report but she hadn't seen him yet. Mostly because she had been sure to keep a good amount of distance from the small patrol on horseback in front of her.
She had forgotten just how far the camp was from the village. Following the group had been exciting at first but that wore off about an hour or two ago. Now that she had been following for a while she wasn't sure when to announce her presence. Perhaps she should turn back and pretend she was never there, but finding the way back probably wasn't going to be as easy as walking in the opposite direction.
Gaeth's ears perked up, his trot faltered for a moment and he looked to the side. Sarah looked around, squinting her eyes towards the horizon. In the far distance she could see shapes on what appeared to be horseback. Hesitantly she looked ahead at the soldiers, then back again. Once the shapes were closer Sarah recognized not only the brown cloaks they were wearing, but the pale animals they rode upon as well. "Torin…" Putting two fingers in her mouth she whistled loudly, turning back to look ahead, figuring the high tone would carry further than shouting. The soldiers ahead looked around, confused.
The cloaked riders were approaching frighteningly fast, their beasts leaping forward with long strides, catching up on Gaeth. Galloping as fast as she could without tumbling off she could see Jareth emerge from the group of soldiers. Meeting his irritated gaze she could see his eyes widening in surprise and worry when he spotted the approaching group. Quickly he put one foot up on his saddle and pushed himself up to a standing position.
Unlike the galloping of horses, the creatures the ambush rode upon were completely silent even in their surprising speed. Looking back Sarah could see the unknown figures closing in with only a handful of seconds left until they'd reach her. Jareth's soldiers were rushing her way, a barn owl at the head of the group beating its wings frantically.
It flew past her and instinctively she sharply pulled on Gaeth's reins, causing him to skid to a halt. By the time she turned around the barn owl had changed back into the blonde monarch. With a wide gesture of his arm he scattered small orblike object in front of him onto the ground. Sarah's mouth dropped when the beasts sank into the floor as if it was liquid. The creatures wailed, squirming and kicking their legs. Brown grainy tendrils maintained hold on the pale fur, tugging on the beasts like snares. Their riders jumped off and scrambled out, clawing at the sand. By the time they'd crawled onto their feet Jareth had pulled his sword.
Sarah stood frozen when Jareth's soldiers ran past her. Their horses mowed down some of the attackers as soon as they got to their feet. Wildly the horses kicked their legs as the soldiers defended their king. The sounds of bones snapping and men screaming echoed across the field. Some of them tried to shield themselves while others wielded daggers to try and lash out to the beasts and the riders. Once the section had entered the enemy group they pulled their weapons to face their opponent.
Within seconds there was yelling, chaos and an increasing amount of blood. The ambush must have consisted of approximately twenty men, their faces eerily hidden by their hoods even in broad daylight. Their weapons winked in the light as they whacked and slashed at the riders with wild abandon. It was horrific to hear the sound of what only could be flesh being cut and bones being broken. Red became a prominent color in her surroundings, a metallic smell seeped into her nostrils and nausea swiftly accompanied shock and horror. Surprisingly the soldiers kept the enemy away from her without fail, even though she hadn't had the nerve to move since the clash happened.
"Lady Sarah," a familiar voice called. "Follow me, we need to get you out of here." The woman stood frozen and unmoving, eyes glued to the chaos ahead of her.
The weapons reflecting sunlight blinded her. The noise of battle sounded muted, making it feel like she was in a secluded bubble. In between the horses moving about she caught a flash of familiar blonde hair.
Breaking her eyes away from the clash of people Sarah saw a dark cloaked figure separate from the group. The soldier followed her gaze and spurred his horse, quickly catching up with the person. She followed.
Gaeth stumbled over a slumped figure and lost his footing. Along with the horse Sarah was thrown to the floor, causing her breath to catch. Sarah quickly struggled to take her feet out of the stirrups and push herself away from the horse. Gaeth rolled back onto his stomach, legs spreading out to stable himself before clambering up. To her surprise the horse didn't bolt, but was carefully eyeing his surroundings. Her hand grasped the reins once she got up, her hand resting on Gaeth's nose. Ahead she could see Girvin work the robed figure to the ground forcefully. "Girvin, are you okay?"
"Perfectly fine, get out of here. Now." He pushed the robed figure down onto the ground by putting his foot on their back firmly. He drew a sword. Despite the soldier's command to leave her feet were glued to the ground.
Barely a second later Jareth walked up to them with large strides. With a frustrated exclamation he roughly pushed Girvin off the man, nearly throwing the soldier to the floor. The Goblin King grabbed a handful of the cloak. Dragging it along the floor to turn the figure around. His sword lowered towards their face. The hood fell back, unveiling a man with sleek black hair and pale eyes. Jareth growled, pressing the tip of the blade into his neck. "Torin. I figured no one could slither from a fight quite as cowardly as you."
The dark haired man looked up at the king darkly, putting his hand flat on the floor to get up, swatting the blade at his throat. Without hesitation Jareth brought his foot down upon the man's chest, shoving him back down into the grass. His foot moved to the man's neck in a silent warning. Torin grasped at Jareth's boot in an attempt to get him off. Jareth didn't budge. "Give me one good reason not to end your miserable, worthless life right now. It'd better be good."
Torin gasped trying to form words. Ever so slightly Jareth lifted his foot to give him an attempt to speak. The man wheezed. "Surely his Royal Majesty wouldn't execute a man in front of a lady?" Torin sneered when his eyes met Sarah's. "How wonderful to see you again, my lady. It's such a pity that you never rejoined us in our camp."
The woman narrowed her eyes venomously. "I would never be a guest to a man that would sacrifice his own daughter to save his own sorry hide."
Torin narrowed his eyes and attempted to lunge at her, but Jareth put the tip of his blade firmly on his chest. The pale man's eyes slithered down her body. "I can't help but notice your royal ranger's outfit. Who knew King Jareth would lower himself to a mortal slu-" Torin choked as Jareth shifted his weight back onto the foot his throat.
Sarah blushed at his vulgar comment and looked up to see Jareth's face contorted in anger. "Re pahi sit ento ae amae er re," he hissed, his fingers tightening on his weapon. The man on the ground looked at Sarah with disgust before spitting towards her. Again Jareth applied more pressure. Torin struggled, his eyes bulging. "You committed treason against your king, committed fraud, thievery, forgery and have willingly endangered and slaughtered innocent people. Your efforts to coax kin and community to join your perfidious schemes will come to an end on this day. I hereby sentence you to death, by hand of your king." His voice rang loud and clear through the field. It had momentarily carried a rather formal, if somewhat bored note before his expression shifted to a wicked grin. "Tanya ataem aa cael trocaire mani allae cael ila."
Torin struggled when Jareth spoke the last sentence, the man's hands clawing at the king's foot in a desperate attempt to break free. Flicking his wrist Jareth rolled the sword in his hand.
Swiftly Girvin grabbed Sarah's wrist and tugged, turning her away. She looked up at his blue eyes which didn't falter or even flinch from the scene behind her. It was then that she heard what she presumed to be Torin's execution. The sound was sickening. A nauseating mix between tearing flesh and crunching bone. She could hear Torin's brief gasp while fluids disrupted his breath. There was a nasty bubbling sound. Her stomach flipped. Quickly she covered her mouth with her arm, squeezing her eyes closed.
Girvin looked back down at her, his pale eyes set in worry. He held her arm tightly in support and wrapped one arm around her head, pulling her to his chest. Sarah suspected he'd tried to block her hearing, but due to her attempt to keep herself from throwing up, it wasn't very effective. Sarah winced as she heard the hiss of the blade again, a short rattling echoing on the field as the others had fallen silent. Her knees were close to giving out. Bile rose into the corners of her mouth.
The soldier in front of her held her, providing her with physical support when he moved his arm from around her and petted her hair. He quickly ushered her to take a deep breath. She did her best. "Your majesty, could you please… cover him?"
Sarah swallowed heavily, desperately trying to get rid of the sour taste in her mouth. Jareth muttered something to Girvin in Fae language and the soldier let go of the brunette.
Despite the fact she didn't want to see anything of what just happened she turned to Jareth and saw him wipe his sword on Torin's cloak. The brown fabric darkened with stains of blood. The Goblin King gave the man on the ground a disdainful look before he turned back towards his men.
The figure lay motionlessly in the grass with a grim outline of what, or rather who, lay underneath. An unmistakable crimson started to trickle through the grass. Sarah stumbled out of the way when the pool drifted towards her.
Behind her she could hear the wails of the beasts their attackers had rode upon. Skittishly she turned around. The animals kicked their legs and struggled as they resurfaced. They scrambled to flee the scene, haphazardly tripping over unmoving figures before scattering out onto the fields nearby. The creatures left a large hole in their wake and the soldiers regrouped.
"Naa er awra," Jareth shouted towards his men.
Sarah looked at the soldiers as they replied in unison. "Bas ae ar namhaid, mos pahi ila toradh!"
The king sheathed his sword and the men followed. "Nurta ataem ya na ndengina," Jareth spoke as he turned from them. He turned to Sarah, his eyes dark and his face a frighteningly blank mask. "Do I even want to know why you are here?" His tone was strained.
"I… I wanted to help."
"And you figured that riding alone and unannounced, two miles behind military forces, was going to offer you an opportunity to do so?" The volume of his baritone voice was rising with each word. Were it not for the blatant anger on his face consuming all of her attention, she would have felt self-conscious being scolded in front of the regiment. Sarah opened her mouth to speak but he interrupted. "Have you learned nothing?" His voice was so loud that it became intrusive. It took her considerable effort not to flinch or cover her ears. Still riding the adrenaline rush from the fight her heart was beating so wildly it pulsed against her eardrums. Tears started running down her cheeks, her head lowering shamefully.
"llea ghrasta…" The voice was quiet and low. It was insistent but respectful. She recognized it to be Girvin's.
"Dina!"
This time, Sarah did flinch. Somehow Jareth's rage seemed to consume large chunks of the atmosphere around him, like a room being drained to a vacuum. Her gaze remained directed stiffly to the floor. Jareth's fury was terrifying. She did the only thing she could think of doing right now. With trembling fingers her hands slipped from Gaeth's reins. She sank to the floor. Not because her legs had been wobbly at best, but as a quiet beg for forgiveness.
Time passed. Sarah couldn't tell how long it had been. Possibly something between five seconds and five hours. Her mind was still reeling from everything that happened and everything that was still happening. She could hear people and things moving about and quiet murmurs of the soldiers. The tension was palpable. Or at least to Sarah. Gaeth sniffed her face, but she didn't move. Eventually, Jareth spoke. "Rise, Sarah."
Still looking down stiffly she crawled up on shaky legs while sniffing and blinking a few tears from her eyes. Keeping her head ducked, her hands wrung together.
"Mos auta ten' coill, un ila fhanann." His voice was authoritative, directed to those around him.
Carefully Sarah peered through her lashes to see what was happening. The soldiers had cleared the field. All that could be seen was a slight mound of disturbed earth. The bodies were gone. All save for two of them, which were covered and laid across the backs of two horses. Two soldiers mounted and started to head back towards the village. Even though the shapes were wrapped, it was unfortunately all to clear what was underneath. The remaining soldiers mounted and spurred their horses towards a nearby treeline.
"Utae caele, Girvin." Jareth's voice was quiet, but still tense.
"llea ghrasta, thoil na maithiuna." The soldier's voice was calm but pleading.
"Un ila achrann llea haran! Allae'm ila e meon!"
Girvin bowed deeply before moving away. Sarah wondered what they'd been saying. It had seemed Girvin had been reprimanded for speaking up. She had made a mess of things. Again. Her eyes remained downcast.
"Look at me." His voice was sharp and even though Sarah wasn't looking at him, she knew it was directed towards her. He clearly was in no mood to be trifled with and the force behind every word he'd spoken this afternoon was terrifying. Without resistance her hazel eyes looked up at him. He moved closer, his frame towering over her with frightening intensity. "Heed. My. Words. One more of your little stunts and you will be sent home. Without warning. Without goodbyes. Without memories. Do you understand?"
Tears pricked in her eyes. He'd never spoken to her in that tone before. His face was stony and his expression cold. Sarah had seen him angry before, to the point where he physically turned violent, however, this seething iciness was much more terrifying, maybe because it was directed at her. "Yes, Your Majesty." Her voice was quiet and still uneven.
"Good." He cupped her chin and angled her head up at him. "I am sorry you have to learn this lesson with bloodshed, but it seems that this sort of situation is what it takes." That remark hurt Sarah more than she'd expected it to. "I don't enjoy addressing you like this. We will speak no more of it." Without another word he turned to his horse.
The brunette rubbed her eyes to dry her tears before getting back on Gaeth. The horse whinnied softly. She patted its neck and followed Jareth to catch up with the other soldiers, leaving the tainted grass field behind. With a quick order from their king the soldiers formed a protective circle around her while they navigated the forest.
—-
It had taken the entire afternoon for Sarah to work up the courage to speak to Jareth again. Once she noticed he was rounding things up at the camp location she walked up to him carefully. For a moment she hesitated about how she should approach him. Once their eyes met she bowed before him, addressing him with careful distance as king.
The Goblin King turned to her and the soldiers next to him left with a wave of the king's hand. "You needn't address me so formally, Sarah. You have the privilege to call me by name."
"Jareth… I'm…" She felt tears well up in her eyes again and she fidgeted, her fingers wringing together as she stared at them. "I'm really sorry for what happened today… I didn't mean for anything bad to happen. I didn't mean to upset you and I certainly didn't mean to endanger anyone or… Or get two people…" She couldn't wrench out the last word. Just thinking about it caused the wrapped silhouettes to be shown vividly in her imagination.
He sighed. "First and foremost, that ambush was not your fault. You must know that. They would have attacked even if you hadn't been there. I know you didn't have any ill intent." Jareth wrapped his arms around her, petting her hair. "But you need to know that helping is not synonymous with thrusting yourself into situations you do not know, do not control and cannot handle." She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "You harbor great power, Sarah. Not only your kindness and your willpower but your talent to influence those around you as well. Perhaps especially me. I have been more terrified the last few days than I have been in the past ten decades combined." A look of utter guilt washed over her face and unshed tears brimmed even further in her eyes. "But I have also felt more joy in the past few days than I have in… perhaps centuries. Despite the current goings-on in my world, we'll make it work." His grin turned a little sour. "So long as you don't frolick your way into another enemy camp or an ambush."
Her cheeks burned and her eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when he leaned forward, letting go of her and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Since we're having this little heart-to-heart right now, I do have something else to say." His tone was less strained now, though still serious.
"Let me guess, you saw that ambush coming a mile away?" Sarah smiled wobbly in an attempt to chase away the tears and to lighten the mood just a little bit.
"I am sorry for what transpired the other night, Sarah. I shouldn't have reacted the way that I did. My past is… haunting. I find I am not myself when reminded of it. I prefer to leave my past exactly there, in the past. There are so many, much more pleasant conversations we can pursue. Together, if you'll have me."
It was strange hearing him offer himself in such a complaisant manner. His eyes offered the same warmth and humility. But she couldn't help that nagging feeling in her gut. She took a big gulp of air. "I can't date a man I don't know, Jareth. I don't have to know every little detail of a lifetime of which I can't even comprehend its length and its struggles. But I need to know that you trust me enough to at least tell me something. If you're not willing or capable to open up to me, that's fine. I don't want to have to force you to. But if you're not ready to share your life with me, I'm not ready to share mine with you." Throughout her explanation words started tumbling off her lips faster and faster. So fast and uninterrupted that by the end she almost had to catch her breath.
They were silent for a long while, her eyes looking up at him earnestly. Eventually he spoke up, his voice quiet. "I see. I…" Another silence stretched between them. "I…" For a while he simply looked at her. His hand brushed her cheek, her brows and her hair, almost if he was memorizing them. Unfamiliar expressions quietly crossed his face during his mental musings. It was new to see him struggle to find words. But he didn't avoid her gaze. If anything he seemed even more intent on maintaining eye contact. "I… I am willing to try to share my past with you. While I dislike talking about it, I do realize that if we continue down this path you wish to at least know a few things."
She smiled up at him. "Thank you, Jareth. That means a lot."
"So, about what you said before, about ending things…" His brow lowered with concern, a brief twitch in his fingers on her chin before he pulled back.
Since when was the mighty Goblin King so insecure?
Sarah stepped closer to him, an encouraging smile on her face and her hand bashfully coming to rest on his chest. "We should at least start something before ending it."
His face lit up instantaneously. The corners of his eyes crinkled, his grin was wide. A strange energy brimmed just behind his gaze. It was new and alien but it was beautiful. The warmth of his palms seeped into her skin when he cupped her cheeks and rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closed.
Sarah caught sight of soldiers watching them and bashfully she pushed against his chest, lifting her head from his grasp. "But, uh… Not in front of an audience."
Jareth looked up, the soldiers quickly looking away. "Mani na utae maien ten'? Ar ais ae oibre. Allae merna ae auta laistigh uair!" Jareth turned from her and gestured broadly while heading into the campsite. It was a little comical how the adult men scattered like a group of scolded children. Even though Sarah wasn't sure what exactly he'd said, she could make a rough guess.