Caisleán Caladh, Jareth's Study, First of November…

Jacen sat back in his father's chair, flexing his writing hand.

Finally… I swear that this paperwork breeds and multiplies when I'm not looking.

For the last ten years or so, he'd taken on much of the official correspondence of the Kingdom. Dad said that it was a good way to start familiarizing himself with the local politics and intrigue between kingdoms.

It's a slog… that's what it is. Ah, well. Such is the life of a Goblin Prince. It's an even bigger slog for the Goblin King.

He had to admit that growing up with the Goblin King for a father hadn't really sunk in on him until lately. To the world, he was an almost mythical being. To his family, Dad was Dad… fun, caring, stern when he needed to be (or when Mom made him be). Sure, he had a job to do, but it never seemed to interfere much with his family life.

He'd had no idea of the juggling act Jareth had to do in order to be so involved with his family. How the hell did he ever find the time for us? Jacen thought, shaking his head. I'm only standing in for him for the week, and already I'm exhausted.

He'd soon realized that part of the reason Dad could balance his work and family life was because Mom took on a good chunk of the royal duties. He also had Garthan and Randel to take a lot of the load off him. This week, Jacen was handling everything himself.

Well, not exactly everything. Anduin and Toby helped where they could. It was, without a doubt, the hardest thing he'd ever undertaken, and it gave him an even deeper respect for his parents. Someday in the far future (very, very far future, please), he himself would be the Goblin King. At least he knew that he could count on Anduin and Toby, much as his father relied on his older uncles. He also knew that he could depend on his own Queen.

Okay, she's not my Queen or my wife yet, but she will be.

Madeline had agreed to come Below for the Yuletide season and spend time with his family, something Mom and Dad were really looking forward to. They'd met her at the Irish compound Above a few months ago and had embraced the idea of his marrying her wholeheartedly.

Unfortunately, Madeline's grandmother had passed away about a month ago. She wanted to take the next couple of months to handle her estate before coming Underground. If Jacen had his way, she wouldn't be going back. She already had his courting token around her neck (the pendant a little charm in the shape of crystallized ice), all that remained was for them to make the bonding wish.

He was ripped out of his reverie by the popping sound of his parents transporting into the study, followed by Karina, Garthan and Lily, then finally Randel. A quick look at their faces told him there was trouble.

Big trouble.

As soon as everyone had materialized, his mother rounded on his father, "Okay, we're home now. Do you want to tell me why we left Ardalon so damn quickly?"

Aunt Lily's expression was just as puzzled as Mom's. Dad looked distinctly uncomfortable. So did Uncle Garthan. Uncle Randel's face was ghost white. Karina…

Karina looked almost smug.

"We have a… situation," said Dad.

"What kind of situation?" asked Mom, with confusion and a little anxiety in her voice.

Dad looked over at Karina, then at Randel. He looked back at Karina.

Oh, shit, Jacen thought. This isn't good…

Karina raised her chin and looked at Mom. "He's referring to our heart-bond." He saw Randel get even paler if that was possible.

Mom looked completely bewildered, "Heart-bond? Whose heart-bond? What…?"

Karina looked over at Randel, who refused to meet her gaze. "Ours. Mine and Randel's."

Jacen watched his mother as she looked back and forth between Karina and Randel. "This isn't funny, Karina."

"No jest, Mom. We're heart-bonded." Her eyes were still on Randel.

"The hell you are," Mom said, her voice low and dangerous.

"Oh, it's quite true. We heart-bonded when he returned." She looked over at Mom. "He's not too happy about it, unfortunately."

At this, Randel exploded, "Happy about it? What the hell is there to be happy about, here? I didn't ask to court you; I never told you I wanted to. Why must you play these games…"

Karina snorted, "I'm not the one playing games here, Randel."

The look of rage he turned on his sister made the hair on the back of his neck prickle. Instinctively, he moved to place himself between them, but Dad was faster. "Karina, that's enough. Baiting him is not going to make this situation any more palatable." She shrugged and moved over to the desk.

Something about this scenario must have struck Mom as suspicious because her eyes narrowed on Dad. "Okay, so this is… a situation, I grant you. But why did we have to leave Ardalon? What happened?"

"Oh, because Dad and Uncle Garthan came upon us in a… compromising situation," said Karina.

Before he could stop himself, Jacen looked over at Randel, "What the hell, Randel? You promised…"

Damn… shouldn't have said that…

Mom's eyes swung to him in marked displeasure. So did Dad's. "You knew about this?" she growled.

Jacen's mouth opened and closed a few times. There were only a few things in the Underground or the Above that he feared. His mother's wrath was one of them. Before he could say anything coherent, Karina interjected.

"Don't get mad at him, Mom. He tried to stop me. I refused to listen. It's that simple."

"Simple, she says…" his mother muttered. "Are you telling me that you and Randel…"

"Slept together? Yes."

He'd never seen his mother rendered utterly speechless before now. And he had a feeling that it wasn't going to last for long. Not long at all.

And Karina didn't know when to shut up. She tossed her head, a slight smile on her face. "I told you once that he was the one I wanted to marry. No one believed me."

The room exploded with shouting. He found his own voice joining the fracas, but when he looked at Dad, he noticed that his father was silent, looking between Randel and Karina with an expression of quiet contemplation.


This was a mess.

Jareth glanced over at Sarah, who looked at Karina with an appalled countenance. He wasn't sure what part disturbed her more… that their daughter was caught in a sexual situation (by her father and uncle, no less) or that she'd had sexual relations with Randel.

He understood her feelings about that, to a point. Randel was certainly prolific in his… activities. He himself had been too, back in his youth. At the time, he simply had no interest in finding a wife or having a family. Admittedly, he didn't want that for quite a while, and when he did, he'd had no luck in finding a woman he'd want to bond to. Until Sarah, that is.

Randel never wanted that. Jareth knew that part of it was due to the emotional trauma of losing his parents, in much the same way Jareth had. Jareth at least was in adolescence when he became an orphan. Randel was still a child. Hell, Garthan was too, when it happened to him. But both men took very different attitudes towards the idea of family.

Garthan wanted one. The trauma of losing his parents didn't stop him from wanting what they had… even if it was cut tragically short. As he'd put it, they may have only had a few short years together, but they'd loved enough for a lifetime.

Randel, on the other hand, looked at it as something to avoid at all costs. Deep down, he didn't want to have a wife because he was afraid to have children, afraid to sentence them to orphanhood if the Fates were unkind. He had no fear of dying in and of itself, would die for King and Kingdom without hesitation, but the thought of leaving a child (or children) behind was anathema to him.

This was why he never bedded the same woman more than twice. He wouldn't allow an emotional connection to develop, much less a heart-bond. To do so was to open himself up to a pain that he simply couldn't face.

And yet… he'd bonded to Karina. Quite against his will, it would seem. It didn't escape Jareth's notice that Randel never actually denied it.

Speaking of his daughter, he could see her looking around the room defiantly. He sighed inwardly. It didn't bother him that Karina had bedded someone before bonding. Many people did. She was an adult… far be it from him to expect a level of decorum from her that he himself didn't measure up to. He certainly hadn't expected it of Jacen.

What bothered him was that she was in love with someone who was incapable of giving her what she wanted. And like her father before her, she thought that she could change that with a smile and some words. He'd made the same mistakes once, trying to elicit a level of commitment from Sarah that she was incapable of giving at the time. True, it had worked out for him in the end, but not before years of separation and pain. He was not at all sure that things would work out the same way for his daughter.

Randel was a good man, as far as loyalty, friendship and camaraderie was concerned. He was completely unsuitable as a husband… at least as he was now. It was possible that this could change, but Jareth didn't hold out much hope for it.

He looked at Randel, who was looking at Karina. He could see the war in his eyes… love fighting with fear. And right now… fear was winning.

"I have told you and told you, Kari," Randel said, glaring at her. "I am not a marrying man. I don't want a heart-bond, a life-bond, a wife, children, or anything like that. I have been clear about this. Why won't you listen?"

She looked at Randel soberly, "Are you saying that you don't feel it, Randel?"

"I'm not going to shackle myself just because a girl gives me the tingles," he snarled. "You aren't the first to do so and you won't be the last."

This hurt her, Jareth could see it. He also saw her shrug it off. She walked right up to him, looking him directly in the eye without wavering. "Then say it. Say you want no part of me, Randel. Say it."

He growled low and turned his head to look out of the window. Karina searched his face, looking for something, and failing to find it.

She nodded to herself, "Well then." She dug into her pocket for a moment before withdrawing a coin. "You win, Randel," she said, as she tossed the coin at his chest. It bounced off and fell to the floor.

Then, with all the dignity of a queen, she swept from the room without a backward glance.