Chapter Two

Caisleán Caladh – Equinox Week

Given the lateness of the hour, Garthan was surprised when he entered the castle foyer and saw the group of women milling about.

Oh, joy. The next round of butterflies has arrived.

Thinking to sneak his way past the group, he stuck to the perimeter of the foyer, moving from shadow to shadow. He could hear the Seneschal giving his annual lecture to the girls about decorum, which places in the castle grounds were open to visiting, which places to avoid. Garthan tuned it out. He'd almost made his way to the opposite door when he heard the Seneschal issue the invitation to the girls to come along on tomorrow's hunt. He heard the expected sounds of delight and acceptance. Of course, they'd love to go… love to meet the King… they'd be delighted.

Bah. I'm going to get an upset stomach with all the honeyed sweetness I'm hearing.

Almost to his goal of the door to the administration wing of the castle, he turned to look at the group of girls, never really knowing why he did so.

That's when he saw her.

She was standing off to the side, watching the chaos with mild amusement. She was… stunning. Slender and petite, the top of her head would barely reach his shoulder. She had long golden hair that flowed down to her hips, enormous eyes the color of faceted topaz, luscious lips…

He didn't even realize that he'd stopped dead in his tracks. His heart clenched, painfully. It felt like every nerve in his body was tingling. If Danu had set out to create a woman with every trait he'd ever wanted… well, here she was, in the flesh. This girl was so incredibly lovely that he practically had to pinch himself in disbelief. For a few brief moments, he allowed himself to picture courting her…

Then, reality hit. This girl wasn't here for him. She was here to meet the King.

He loved Jareth like a brother. He'd die for him without a moment's hesitation. But damn it… he wanted this girl. Wanted her with a thoroughness and a heat that he'd never experienced before. It was almost frightening, how out of control his emotions felt, just looking at her.

What the hell is wrong with you? You haven't even met this girl, and already you…

The worst part was that he realized she was Jareth's for the taking. All the King had to do was smile and all the other men in the castle would vanish from her sight. As beautiful as she was, he couldn't imagine Jareth not taking notice of her… even if it was only for a casual dalliance.

He could feel frustration and a touch of despair bubbling up inside him as he continued to watch her. Burning within his heart was the desire to just snatch this girl and carry her off, far away from the castle, away from other men, away from the King.

He sighed and shook himself. It wasn't any use. Even if Jareth wasn't interested… how was he supposed to compare? He was reasonably handsome, but not the sort that would get a girl's heart racing… not like Jareth or Randel. Even if he did manage to catch her eye, what would he say to her? What could they talk about? What could he possibly have to offer a girl like that, who probably had men falling all over themselves to get close to her?

Nothing.

Garthan sighed again and turned away. Jareth wanted him to go on the hunt tomorrow, telling him in no uncertain terms that if his King had to be miserable, Garthan would be joining him. Randel lucked out and had maneuvers tomorrow and thus escaped this drudgery. Best if he got himself to bed. Tomorrow, he looked forward to watching this girl meet the King… watching the glowing smiles… watching Jareth take her hand and kiss it…

Face it, that girl is probably going to be your Queen by the end of the month. You might as well wrap your head around it.

But damn, it hurt.


Author's Notes:

It might not be quite clear, but Garthan doesn't resent Jareth personally… what he resents is that kingship makes Jareth automatically every woman's first choice. No one wants to be a "second choice" and the futility and hurt he feels is that he'll never find someone who will see him and prefer him over a crown. That's what he meant when he wanted to carry her off… to maybe have a chance to win her heart before someone else caught her eye (like the King). He wasn't considering kidnapping her in a nefarious manner. It would never even occur to him to do so.

I also wanted to sort of echo that scene in Pride and Prejudice, when Mr. Darcy first lays eyes on Elizabeth Bennett. That 'holy crap, she's awesome!' look on the actor's face when he catches sight of Kiera Knightly is what I was going for here.