Last Week of September…

Jacen stood in the little church, his hand on Madeline's back, trying to impart some comfort to her in her grief.

He was grieving too. Nellie was an amazing woman, with a huge heart and a wry humor that set her apart from almost every human he'd ever met. In many ways, the world was a little less bright without her light in it.

He was glamored of course, wearing a suitably sedate black suit to match Madeline's black dress. He didn't know much about human funeral customs… the few Othánas funerals he'd seen were more of a celebration of life than an acknowledgment of death. It almost seemed to him that the whole process only exacerbated the grief Madeline was feeling, as opposed to soothing it. But it wasn't for him to say.

Her aura was chaotic, as expected. The swirls of purple sorrow were almost overwhelming, but here and there he could see a bit of yellow… her love for him… and he did his best to project to her his own love and care. He didn't know if she could see his aura yet, maybe not, but he tried to project it to her, nonetheless.

After the religious service, there was what Madeline called a 'memorial service', which was some sort of dinner party where the mourners gathered. There were quite a few… Nellie was a beloved figure in the town of Solace, and her passing was a loss to many.

At one point, Madeline decided to go out to the garden, not even noticing the cold of the evening. Jacen followed her, and after surreptitiously ensuring that no one could observe him, he conjured a coat and wrapped her in it. She sighed softly and leaned back against him.

"Jacen… can I ask you something?"

"Anything, love," he replied.

"You said… women where you're from can Heal… right?"

"Yes," he said, as he tightened his arms around her. "They can use the magical energy within themselves to… prompt the body into healing itself at an accelerated rate."

"So… if maybe your mom or Karina were here Above, they could have…?"

Jacen squeezed her even tighter. He knew what she was thinking. "Mom couldn't, no. As a human, she doesn't have that power. Karina does, yes." He turned her to face him. "You're wondering if she could have been Healed. If she'd still be here."

Madeline looked up at him with tear-filled eyes and nodded. "Love… I…" he sighed. "I offered it to her. Back when you met my parents."

"You did?" she exclaimed. "But… I didn't even know she was sick. How did you…?"

"I didn't, not for sure. But given her age, I thought it was likely. I just had the sense that she was holding on for love of you. She wanted to see you safe and happy, and… well, I asked her about it. She didn't tell me she was sick, not in so many words. But… when I offered to bring our Healer up for her or let her come Below, she refused. Told me that… now she knew you were going to be all right, she wanted to move on. To the Summer Lands. See her loved ones again."

Madeline couldn't hold back a sob at this. Jacen pulled her closer, stroking her hair with his hand. "It hurts… I know it does. But at the same time… you have to believe… you have to know… she's with them now. In a place where there is no pain. No sorrow. And this… this is all temporary. You will see her again, in the fullness of time. You know that."

His father's voice whispered in his mind, 'It's a terrible thing to know your woman is hurting and there is not one thing you can do to ease that pain.'

Truer words had never been spoken. All Jacen could do was hold her.

Last Week of October…

It was the hardest thing he'd ever done, leaving Madeline Above while he took care of the Kingdom during Samhain. She was busy wrapping things up for her grandmother's estate, otherwise Jacen might have urged her to come Below with him. As it was, she still planned to come for Yuletide, and it was Jacen's hope that she'd never want to go back.

His parents, Garthan and Lily, Randel and Karina were all going to Ardalon for the week. Jacen wasn't sure what shocked him more… that Dad was actually allowing Karina to come along or that they were planning to stay longer than the twenty-four hours they usually stayed for. When Mom had told him that they were going to try and extend their negotiation time with the Fae, Jacen couldn't help but agree. There were quite a few Fae royals that were reasonably decent people, even if Dad didn't think so, and he was hoping that they could develop stronger ties. It looked like Jacen was going to get his wish.

Karina going along… now that was novel. Aside from Jacen, Jareth had never allowed his children to go to Ardalon, ever. Karina wouldn't be deterred, using a combination of charm, begging and pestering to get Dad to agree. Mom was the one who made the final decision, and since Lily would be there to help keep an eye on things, she was inclined to allow it. It was hilarious, really… she'd kept the leash so tight on Jacen's neck that he almost choked with it, yet here she was, using Dad's own arguments against him, to champion Karina's cause. After all, if they couldn't naysay Jacen in his adulthood, why should they naysay Karina?

Mom would have had a very different answer if she'd known what Karina was really up to. For the entire summer, she'd been trying to get Randel to acknowledge her, speak with her… something. Anything. But he didn't. And while Randel no doubt had some respect for him as his Prince and as Jareth's son, he knew damn well that it wouldn't stop him if he really wanted to engage with her. He was tempted to tell him that he'd been wrong… that Randel should pursue her… but he didn't. He couldn't explain it to himself, but he just knew that if he did, the situation would explode into chaos, and not in a good way.

No, whatever Karina had planned needed to play out without his interference. She already had a monumentally difficult task ahead of her, no need to make it even harder for her.

As to Madeline, she at least had the Ughlánas for company, and their antics were enough to cheer her when very little else would. He encouraged her to stay at the castle for the week that he was gone, this way he could at least transport there at night and still be available to handle anything that came up in Caladh. While at first, she was a bit intimidated by the guards there, she had since come to know them all and was quite comfortable in their company now. She'd even struck up a friendship with Gorden, the two of them concocting their culinary masterpieces for the staff to try out and critique.

Meanwhile, his mother had gotten with the castle seamstresses and had a wardrobe fabricated for Madeline's upcoming visit. Jacen had choked when he'd gone into his chambers to find half of his dressing room taken over by the various silks and satins. It was at that point that he realized his parents expected that Madeline would simply stay in his room with him as opposed to having a chamber of her own. While he wholeheartedly agreed with that assessment, he'd felt it best to actually ask her first and not just assume. Thankfully, she'd agreed with a bit of a laugh.

For now, she was throwing herself into her work, both to train her replacements and as a way of distracting herself from her grief. Though Jacen didn't mention it, the fact that she'd given notice to her places of employment spoke loudly that she didn't intend to return after Yuletide. It would be his task to see to it that she wanted to stay, and Jacen was really looking forward to it.

November First, Day After Samhain…

Jacen winced when he saw the lateness of the hour as he transported back to Aedon Castle. Madeline was laying in bed, reading a book when he'd 'popped' in, and she looked up to greet him with a smile.

"Busy day, love?" she said softly.

"I am so sorry… there were some… issues," he said contritely. He didn't bother undressing, simply waved his hand and his clothes vanished, to be replaced by a set of thin silk sleeping pants. He climbed into the bed beside her, wrapping his arms about her slender form.

"I'd figured when you didn't come for dinner. Kleep said that there was something going on back at home, there was a lot of yelling and carrying on. Not you, I hope…"

"No… not me. Karina." Jacen sighed. "The shit has hit the fan. In a big way."

"Oh?" said Madeline, sitting up straighter. "What happened?"

"I've mentioned to you about Dad's councilors… that they are his adopted brothers, right?"

"Yes… one of them, Garthan, is Lily's husband. The other is Randel, the head of the Army."

"Yeah," said Jacen. "Randel… well, you've never met him, not yet, but… he's always been something of a player. Never wanted a heart-bond. Never wanted a family. He was perfectly content with just playing the field, so to speak."

"Not too common among your folk, from what I've been told, but common enough with humans," Madeline replied.

"And I know you've met Karina, my sister. She really likes you, by the way. And my other sister can't wait to meet you…"

"Jacen, you're dithering," said Madeline. "What happened?"

He gave a long, deep sigh. "Back during Spring Equinox, at the Ball, I… caught Randel and Karina making out on the balcony." He could see the shock in her face. "Yeah… I had the same look on my face too. Now, it was quite common that he'd have a paramour for the festivities, but he never messed with the maidens… only those who knew what they were getting into and wanted nothing more than a tumble. I… didn't react very well. But what I didn't know was that he had no idea that Karina was… Karina. He thought she was just a nobleman's daughter."

"How the hell could he miss that, being Jareth's adopted brother and all?" she asked, her voice a little heated.

"He'd gone on a century long tour of the neighboring Kingdoms. It was a diplomatic mission, intended to establish closer ties. He'd spend a few years in each Kingdom, getting to know the rulers and hopefully getting them to see that we Goblins weren't the boogeymen they all thought we were. It was quite successful, he's an absolute charmer. Karina… in human terms, she was about eleven years old when he'd left. He came back when she was the human equivalent of twenty."

"Let me guess… he didn't recognize her."

"No," said Jacen. "And when he'd asked her who she was, she gave him an abbreviated form of her name and didn't tell him her family name. So, he had no idea that she was really his best friend's daughter. She'd always had a crush on him, told him before he'd left that she was going to marry him when he got back. We all thought it was a joke…"

"But it wasn't," Madeline said quietly. "She was quite serious."

"She was," he said. "So serious that she'd more or less enticed him without telling him who she was. It all came to a head at the Ball. When I'd caught them. The game was up at that point. I thought he was just playing with her. I told him I'd keep from telling Dad if he promised to stay away from her."

"And… he didn't?" she asked.

"He kept his promise. Stayed away from her. Karina… she insisted that he loved her, as she loved him. I didn't believe her."

Madeline chewed on this for a moment before asking, "So… did you tell your parents?"

Jacen shook his head, "No… I mean, I didn't want to cause trouble for Randel when it wasn't his fault. And… I wouldn't be much of a brother if I threw Karina under the carriage like that. So, I kept quiet. But… as the months went on, I started to realize that Karina was right. He did love her."

She stared at him in horror before shaking herself. "I… I'm sorry Jacen. I just sat there freaked out, thinking about the age difference and all… then I remembered that you guys age differently. He's no old geezer, is he?"

At this, Jacen laughed. "Oh no… he's like Dad, he looks about thirty in human terms. So no… you'd never really know there was an age difference just by looking at them. He still looks young. And before you ask, no… it wouldn't be an issue if he wanted to marry her. Ever since the founding of the Kingdom, there was a discrepancy between the male/female ratio, one which has only recently corrected itself. It's quite common for older men to marry younger women. Garthan's about six hundred years older than Lily, as an example. And I know that up here, an older guy getting mixed up with his friend's daughter would be creepy, but Below… it's very common. A father would be happy that his daughter was marrying someone he already knew and was tight with. It's looked at very differently Below."

Madeline nodded in understanding, "Okay, so that was Spring Equinox. It's Samhain… what happened today that had everyone in a tizzy?"

"I don't know all the details, but… apparently Dad and Garthan caught Karina in bed with Randel in Ardalon. My guess… she'd somehow talked her way into his chamber and… one thing led to another."

Madeline frowned slightly, "But… I don't understand. Your parents set things up so I'd be sharing your room at Yuletide without missing a beat. But… your sister indulges in a sexual relationship and that's somehow bad?"

"No… not that she had a relationship. WHO she had the relationship with is the issue. Remember when I said that Randel wasn't interested in getting married? Ever? Yeah… that's the problem. You see… us Goblins, we might mess around a bit, marking time until we find our heart-bonded mates, but it's done with knowledge on both sides that it's just temporary."

"Like… friends with benefits?" asked Madeline.

Jacen looked flummoxed for a moment, then laughed. "Yeah, that describes it exactly. The issue here is that Karina wasn't expecting that kind of relationship. She wanted forever. And Randel won't give it to her."

"I'm so confused," Madeline said. "In one breath you sound like Karina is heart-bonded to Randel, and in the other you say he won't marry her… that's a contradiction, isn't it?"

"It is," said Jacen grimly. "And she flat out said that they were heart-bonded and he didn't deny it. But… he won't marry her. In fact, he's leaving for Corzina in the morning for a two-year diplomatic mission. I don't know if it's because he asked for the assignment or Dad is sending him away for a bit."

"Oh no… his best friend and his daughter… ugh, that would be a tangle."

"I didn't get the impression that Dad was angry, not at all. Mom… she was angrier at Karina. I don't think she was convinced of the heart-bond, but I think Dad is. If Dad is the one who sent him away, it's to give him time to think, I'm sure."

"And… what do you think? About all this, I mean."

"I think he does love her," Jacen said slowly. "I guess… I just hope that it all works out. I want my sister to be happy, and Randel… I've known him all my life. I want him to be happy too." He kissed her, then pulled back with a devilish grin, "Maybe that's what happens when you fall in love… you want the whole world to fall in love, too."

Author's Notes:

I wanted to show that Jacen had loyalty to Karina, to the point that he didn't say anything to their parents about catching her and Randel together. Also, I wanted to show that he came around to her way of thinking just by observing them.

I also wanted to show how Madeline is starting to blend in with the Goblins. Gorden is of course inspired by Gordon Ramsey (my daughters and I are big fans), and I thought it would be cute that he and Madeline would have fun experimenting in the kitchen together. It was a nice way to show how her comfort level with the Goblins had increased.

And I like Jacen's reaction to his parents just assuming that Madeline would share his chamber. While it's not exactly common to do such a thing Underground, Sarah (as a modern woman) would think nothing of it, an attitude that rubbed off on Jareth. And Jacen is quite right… no one minded that Karina was pursuing a romantic relationship, or that she'd been intimate with her chosen partner. It was WHO her partner was that had them all flummoxed. They don't want her to get hurt, and from where they stand… pain is all that's in store for Karina in this situation. We of course know that Randel came around eventually, but they don't know that yet.

Gran's passing brought a tear or two to my eye, I admit. But it was also a way for Jacen to be there for Madeline emotionally. And Madeline would certainly have put two and two together and realized that the Goblins could have Healed Gran (and in her grief, perhaps questioned why they didn't). She didn't know that Jacen had already tried to offer exactly that, as well as offering to bring her Below. Madeline needed to know it was Gran's choice to move on.