Caisleán Caladh, Second Week of November…

In the end, it came down to the toss of a coin.

Queen Erzebet of the Strigoi had made a formal invitation for Jareth and Sarah to come and visit their capital, Corzina, to attend their Founding celebration and participate in negotiations with the Pstonik Elves that straddled the borders of both of their kingdoms. It was an amazing opportunity, one that Jareth was inclined to accept, while Sarah had always wanted to see the land of Dacia and enjoyed socializing with their Queen. There was just one problem…

Jacen was still a baby, only one year old, and while eating solid foods, he still nursed. The idea of both of his parents being gone for more than one night… well, neither one of them were willing to countenance the idea. Sarah had already stayed behind for Samhain, while Jareth and Randel had gone overnight to Ardalon this year, returning in time for Sarah's newest contribution to the Underground… Halloween.

Of course, it wasn't held on Halloween, but on the second of November, and the residents of Caladh had thoroughly enjoyed themselves with carving pumpkins, decorating their houses with all sorts of spooky trimmings, designing costumes and bringing their children out for Trick or Treating. The adults and the Ughlánas were able to look forward to a costume ball at the castle, and when it was all said and done, Sarah could safely say that Halloween was now going to be an annual event.

But this invitation was no mere holiday celebration, at least not for the Goblins. This visit could be the avenue to open up a whole host of negotiations, and one of them had to attend. Sarah had volunteered to stay behind, knowing that Erzebet would certainly understand her absence at the celebration. She pointed to the fact that as Jacen was still nursing, she'd need to be home with him. Jareth had laughingly retorted that he knew of a device or two from Above that would allow them to store her milk, thus freeing her to attend if she so chose. He dangled a few days of peace before her as an enticement.

The truth was… neither one of them liked to be away from their son for any length of time.

She knew that if she insisted, Jareth would follow her wishes and be the one to go. But… that wasn't really fair of her if she pulled rank on him like that. He loved his son, loved spending time with him, loved caring for him (even if it were the more unpleasant tasks). She could play the trump card of it being better for Jacen to nurse properly as opposed to feeding from a bottle, but… for a few days? It certainly wouldn't harm him… and truthfully, she had already started to wean him anyway.

So, she smiled and suggested that they flip a coin. She called 'heads' and couldn't keep the grin off her face when her chosen side showed itself. Even Jareth's slightly crestfallen look wasn't enough to completely dampen her glee. On the morning of his departure for Corzina, she kept her expression gentle and loving as she kissed him goodbye. Inside, she was snickering a bit.

That snicker vanished within an hour. Jacen was in her lap, looking out over the throne room, while she conducted Tír Ceilte court. He sat quietly, smiling and chattering occasionally in his own little language while she listened to the various petitions, accepted the credentials of the new Ambassador from Eindenlar (with a promise to meet on the morrow to discuss their acquisition of lumber rights), and mentally prepared herself for a rousing game of Scrabble with Toby and Sir Didymus that she'd had planned for after dinner.

The very ordinariness of the day was shattered by the sound of voices raised in anger. Two Othánas farmers were shouting at each other, something to do with a cow and a bull and… fences?

"Silence!" she roared. Even Jacen looked up at her with wide eyes. Her gaze narrowed on the offenders, her frown pronounced. "Now… would you like to tell me why you've made such a scene here?" Not that she cared, really… but the Ambassador was still here, and it wouldn't bode well for her negotiations if she couldn't keep order in her own throne room. The two offenders stepped forward meekly, their heads bowed in contrition.

"I apologize, Your Majesty… I'm afraid that our disagreement provoked more ire than it warrants," said the older farmer.

She gave them both a level look, then spoke to the younger one. "What is the nature of your dispute?"

The younger farmer glanced at the older one, then spoke. "Last year, I woke to find that my prize bull was not in its enclosure. It was found to be in his field," here he indicated the other farmer. "He had a cow there, and… well the cow had a calf in due time. It looked just like my bull. He owes me a stud fee."

"Was it his bull?" she asked the older farmer.

"Yes, it was. But he," the older farmer jabbed his finger at the younger one, "is always letting that damn thing get loose. Why should I pay his stud fee when he's the one at fault for letting it out? He should be paying me for the damage it caused to my hedges."

"You put that cow there precisely to entice my bull to service it!" declared the younger farmer, hotly. "Your hedges wouldn't have been damaged otherwise. Not one week beforehand, I told you what the stud fee would cost, and you didn't want to pay it, so you figured out a way around it—"

Oh, for fuck's sake, Sarah thought to herself. This is a local problem, how the hell did it get so far as to require royal judgment?

Shrugging internally and promising herself to speak to Jareth about this when he returned, she proceeded to question the two farmers, her queries sometimes going off into tangents that puzzled them. She then questioned their wives, who were standing silently beside their men. To Sarah's inner amusement, it appeared that they both wanted to knock their husbands' heads together and were barely restraining themselves from doing it right in front of her.

It became clear from all the responses that the older farmer was too cheap to have wrecked his own hedges just to save the stud fee. But… he also hadn't ever kept his cow in that particular field before. The younger farmer's wife was a bit snarky when she'd imparted that information, claiming the cow to be too valuable to be out of the farmer's sight in such an outlying pasture.

"This is my judgment," Sarah stated, looking at the younger farmer. "There is no question that your bull did escape, and it is more than probable that it did the damage to that man's hedges, as he alleged. You owe him for the repairs he had to make."

The younger farmer frowned while the older one started to smile. Sarah turned her narrowed gaze on him and the smile froze. "You, on the other hand, have never put your cow in that pasture before. Your own wife attested to that. It is my belief that you had seen the bull in your field, the damage already done, and you decided to at least save yourself the stud fee. You deliberately put your cow into that pasture for that purpose. It is therefore also my judgement that you owe him half of the stud fee he would have charged you."

Now both Othánas had the grace to look a bit chagrined. She gave them both stern looks, "All things being equal, I'd say you were about even, here." She watched as they both nodded.

"However," she said, her voice now getting even sterner than it had before. She focused her gaze on the younger farmer. "You have been allowing a potentially dangerous animal to wander about. It's a wonder no one's gotten hurt. Your own wife confirmed that this bull gets loose quite frequently. So, this is my third judgement. Anyone who finds your bull roaming around and confines it in a safe place for you until you pick it up, will be entitled to have his cows serviced for free. Maybe then you'll show more care for your livestock."

While it was clear that neither party was completely happy with the judgement, it was also clear that they accepted it as fair. They moved away toward the huge double doors to the throne room with a minimum of grumbling. Mercifully, this was the last of the day's petitioners, and Sarah made her way back to her chamber, a happily babbling Jacen tangling his fingers in her hair. With every step, her irritation grew.

This is getting ridiculous. I understand that when an agreement can't be reached, mediation is the key. But… taking up Court time with a stud fee dispute… this is not going to work. No wonder Jareth was so… ragged… when we first met.

This was one more example of the sorts of things that a local magistrate should be able to handle. It didn't just inconvenience herself and Jareth, it was also a pain in the neck for some of these people to have to put their lives on hold and travel to Caladh and wait in line for who knows how long until their petition is heard. Local problems should be solved locally… only when it reached national importance should it come all the way to the Crown.

Today just solidified her belief that they needed to streamline the dispute resolution process. Perhaps each town should elect a magistrate to hear petitions and disputes, with the right to appeal those decisions to Caladh… maybe a trio of magistrates that judge together, so there is less of a chance for personal bias… perhaps multiple trios, based on population, so they aren't overloaded… and term limits, so they don't get too comfortable…

Even here in Caladh, there should be more local justice. There were perfectly competent people within the City who could serve in such a capacity. This might work for petitions, too. How many projects had been pitched to her and Jareth that could have been approved at the local level? If the Elves want to add a fountain to their District, why would they need permission from the Crown?

Now, that might take a bit more thought, since some of the projects might in fact encroach on the other Districts. She'd have to give this more consideration, but one thing was certain, something had to be done.

And why not representatives from each part of the Kingdom? Representatives that could present their own regional petitions or at least discuss their needs in a council… something like Congress or a Parliament… also with term limits. They'd know the needs of their respective areas, they'd know the people that lived within… far better than she or Jareth would. This might work. And the term limits would ensure that there were no career politicians…

Fully resolved to bring this up to Jareth on his return, she'd entered their chamber in a better mood. By the time she'd got Jacen bathed, changed, and fed, she was actually rather happy. She missed her husband, of course, but she had to admit, she enjoyed having her son to herself for an hour or two every once in a while. And… although she'd never admit this to anyone but herself, sometimes she liked to have a day alone. And while he'd never, ever say such a thing to her… she knew that Jareth sometimes longed for a bit of space, too.

It's not that we want time away from each other, but more that we want time away from everything else, she thought to herself. Back when they were dating, Jareth had spent a lot of time Above, going to karaoke, amusement parks, concerts, museums… he had opportunities to do things that had nothing to do with ruling the Kingdom. He had the chance to be… someone other than the King. A couple of hours to be just… Jareth. In some ways, he had been able to be a kid again… something he'd never really had the chance to do back in the day. Now that she lived with him Below, those opportunities went away.

And… when was the last time he had a 'guys trip'? A couple of days where he and his buddies could relax, drink some brandy, and complain about their women? Dad had his poker club, Karen had her book club… what did Jareth have? His security meetings, perhaps… but those were official Kingdom business. Sarah had her writing and could vanish into her office and shut out the world. She had the mornings with the Ughlánas. Jareth had no such outlet. And now, with Jacen… he never got time to himself. He tried so hard to ensure that she had some space, an hour here and there to regroup, but… that was a luxury he never seemed able to enjoy personally.

He had been intrigued when she'd recalled to him some of her family's trips up into the mountains, the cabin they'd rent, the activities they'd pursue. He really liked the idea of there being a place to retreat to now and again, where the most pressing decision they had to make was which lure to put on their fishing poles. She was pretty sure she'd convinced him of the wisdom of a weekend getaway with the guys that had nothing to do with Kingdom business and was just waiting for him to take her up on the offer.

As she kicked this around in her head, Koriane brought in her dinner cart, with meals for herself, Toby and Sir Didymus. Toby wandered in, babbling happily about his lessons at the Creche and his intention of finally beating Sir Didymus at Scrabble. The crafty little knight himself bounced into the chamber, full of delightful chatter about the goings-on in the castle. They spent a pleasant hour eating dinner and hearing his humorous stories of training the Ughlánas.

They were just about to set up the Scrabble board when Sarah felt a tingle in the center of her brain… making the room around her swirl. She gripped the arms of her chair, her vision swimming. Sir Didymus must have noticed, for she could hear him calling to her as if from far away.

"My Lady! Are you—"

She didn't hear the rest of his statement before she was transported away.

Author's Notes:

Okay, so I thought it was just cute that Jareth and Sarah would both want to stay home with the baby and were subtly trying to sell the other on the benefits of them going to Corzina.

I wanted to explore a bit about the drudgery of presiding over the Court and listening to the disputes. Sarah has been Queen for almost three years at this point, long enough to see some of the absurdities and come up with some viable solutions. In a way, Jareth is running the Court like he did when the Kingdom was first founded, with a lot less people and a lot smaller of an area. It worked then, but the Kingdom is just too big now to govern effectively this way. You bet she's going to talk to Jareth about streamlining this and making some changes. She just wanted to get some experience under her belt before she suggested doing anything different.

And notice that she's trying to figure out a way to introduce a more representative form of government? As an American, to whom monarchy was a foreign concept, there was no way she'd pass up the opportunity to give the people more of a voice in the Kingdom.

Another thing I'd like to point out was that Sarah had Jacen in her lap during Tír Ceilte Court. Othánas children usually start attending the Creche at around the human equivalent of three years old (and as it's an extremely fun place to be, the kids really love going there). Until that time, it's a given that the child will accompany one of its parents during the day (a sort of 'bring your child to work' situation). While nursing, it would primarily stay with the mother, but once weaned, fathers take their kids to work with them as well (assuming their occupation isn't a dangerous or otherwise unsuitable one). An Othánas (whether male or female) carting a baby around with them during their workday is a very common sight.

The ridiculous stud fee dispute was inspired by something I'd read somewhere a long time ago but can't for the life of me remember where I'd seen it. For some reason, it stuck in my mind through the decades, and I thought it would be a funny little vignette to include here. *Edited to add... a kind reader at AO3 pointed out the source of the stud fee dispute. It comes from a book called "Arrow's Flight" by Mercedes Lackey. I had read the 'Arrows' trilogy almost 30 years ago and could not recall the source.

And… yeah, that was the Labyrinth calling.