CHAPTER 4
When he opened the door to the sitting room, all three visitors sat regally drinking wine from crystal glasses and eating hors d'oeuvres laid out elegantly on the table in front of them. The room was laid out as a beautiful sitting room, the fireplace with a large ornate carved mantel with a huge painting of one of Jareth's ancestors hanging above. The wingback chairs, a settee and couch all upholstered in fine tapestry. The large table where his visitors sat was made of dark cherry wood, ornate and surrounded by ten chairs and a service sideboard with decanters of wine and liquors with crystal glasses and stemware.
Skipping all niceties, Jareth said, "What is the reason for your unannounced visit, father and the company you bring?"
The High King noticed Jareth's abrupt greeting, smiled, took another swallow of Jareth's four-hundred-year-old brandy, then stood and said, "Hello, Jareth my boy, I am sure you know King Burgeon and Princess Yaralyn. They have come to petition for formal courtship of Princess Yaralyn."
Jareth purposely looked puzzled and said, curiously, "Oh and to whom will she petition, father?" Jareth was playing games with his father; he knew full well what was going on. Another arranged courtship by his father.
The High King said, "Princess Yaralyn is petitioning you for courtship and betrothal."
Jareth said, "You just show up randomly with someone, with her father in tow, to try to press your own agenda on me? It will not work. I do not desire or want a courtship or betrothal and that is final."
The High King shouted, "You will do as you are told! You will court and be betrothed to Yaralyn."
Jareth said frustrated, "Father, you stop this right now. You know that you will not force me to do this. You have tried before and not succeeded. This is my personal business and in my kingdom. You will not change my mind and you will stop interfering with my personal decisions."
The High King shouted, "You will do as I say!"
Jareth said, "Fine then, find another heir. I will not court, be betrothed, or marry anyone you pressure me into. It's your decision, father. Yaralyn is a spoiled, opportunistic status climber, and a selfish fae with her eye on the High Throne. I would be worried about that if I were you."
Yaralyn said indignantly, "How could you say something like that about me?! It's so undignified and cruel! You must still want that insignificant, human that would only be good for a sex slave, don't you? Everyone has heard the rumor of you and that human child who beat your little game."
Jareth smirked and said, "Actually, a fairy queen had bitten her thirteen years ago and injected her with venom and it will change her. Sarah will be fully fae and then some because the Underground fairies chose her to be, or else the queen would not have bitten her. She is titled because the Labyrinth gave her the title of Lady Champion for her cleverness at being the only one to beat the game."
Yaralyn said, "I could have beat your silly little game."
Jareth said, "Without magic, within ten of the thirteen hours? I think not." Yaralyn opened her mouth, but having no argument, then shut it.
The High King said, "I refuse to let that changeling sit on the throne."
Jareth asked, "Why father? Is it really because she's a changeling, is it because she was an ex-human? Or is it because you have been making deals with King Brugeon? What could it possibly be this time that he has and that you want? Would you place that spoiled princess on the throne to get it? Could it be mining rights in the Sliabh Mountains? Invested in those diamonds, father? You promise better extraction methods?" The High King looked at him with his mouth open. King Brugeon looked away. Jareth knew that the Sliabh Mountains were exclusive and limited in the partnership because it was producing the most viable diamonds in the Underground right now and Brugeon ruled over the land.
The High King began again, "See here…."
Jareth interrupted and said, "You dare to interfere with my life? See here, you will rue the day you ever interfered with my kingdom. I have done nothing to warrant your manipulation. You tamper with me again and you'll have no heir. How dare you use me to benefit yourself with your backdoor deals. I will not comply. You are losing a son." Jareth turned and walked out of the room and went to his study.
Jareth's advisor, Darneth, rushed into the study after about twenty minutes had passed and said, "Your majesty there is something urgent you need to see."
Jareth walked out into the hall and said, "What is it?"
Darneth said, "The maid entered your bedroom, the human was glowing and going through convulsions. The healer is with her right now." Jareth ran out of the room.
Jareth ran up the steps through the castle and slammed open his bedroom door to see Sarah lying on the floor with a bright golden light surrounding her body. Her head was back and her back was bowed. She was twitching and convulsing. She would groan from time to time. He saw her eyes rolled up inside her head. Then he noticed her lunch dishes crashed to the floor in front of the fireplace. It must have started not long after he left her alone.
The healer said, "Your majesty, I am not sure what is happening to her. I have never seen such a powerful thing. It's like a changeling transformation but on a more powerful violent scale. If she survives it, there will be an excruciating amount of pain from her body altering like this." Jareth was looking at her feeling so very helpless.
Jareth asked, "Healer, have you any idea how long this will take?"
The healer said, "No, your majesty. It is unprecedented. This poor non magical human woman surviving such a thing will be amazing. I cannot say what will become of her."
Jareth said to the healer, "She has magic already, she is infected with queen fairy venom, has wish and labyrinthian magic."
The healer's eyebrows went up and he said, "That might just save her life then."
There was a green glow of mist appearing in the middle of the room. The labyrinth spoke, "My king, it has begun and will last as long as it takes."
Jareth transported her to his bed to watch over Sarah. He magically dressed her in a nightgown. He stayed sitting by her side.
—--
Sixteen hours later, after Jareth had stocked up on pain potions from the healer to plan ahead for what's to come. The golden glow faded away and a completely unconscious fae-looking Sarah was all that was left. He spent hours staring at how incredibly beautiful she was. The change had enhanced her to look even more incredible than she was even as a human.
After about five hours, she started moaning in pain, barely moving her head. Jareth sat next to her propping her up. He poured a pain potion down her throat as she swallowed.
After three days of sleeping next to her, Sarah was unable to talk or open her eyes yet. She was only groaning as he was trying to get potions, soups and water into her.
She began to become more lucid. She barely opened her eyes watching him and asked, "Jareth…what happened?... Did I… transform?"
Jareth said leaning in, "Yes, Sarah. You are even more beautiful than before."
Sarah whispered as weak as a kitten, "I don't feel… very beautiful… I hurt so much."
Jareth said smiling, "I know you do. I have been taking care of you for the last four days. I don't know what the fairy venom means or entails, Sarah, but it saved you from dying during this change. We will both find out later together when we ask the Labyrinth of what magics you possess and what to be trained in?" Sarah nodded her head and moaned. Jareth held up a glass of water for her to drink while holding up her head. She held on to his hand with both of her hands. She drank like she was dying of thirst.
He took care of her. He gave her pain potions, fed her, and cleaned her up. By the fifth day, she was very weak but able to barely get to the bathroom to pee. She decided while she was there to take a bath. Getting back to the bed was the hardest afterward, expending all that energy to just do that one task took a lot out of her. After putting on a nightgown, she laid back down on the bed and fell asleep again.
That's where Jareth found her half on the bed with damp hair. He used magic to dry her hair, combed it out and braided it with a tie. He laid her back in his bed comfortably and covered her up.
That evening he laid next to her like all the other nights since her transformation reading with his half moon glasses on and he slept holding her close.
—--
By the eighth day, she was feeling better and went back to her room. She was trying to get used to looking at herself in the mirror. Her entire body was hairless except for her head of hair, her eyebrows and lashes. Sarah's hair stayed dark, and the healer elf had told her that her immunity to iron and her fertility was completely intact from her human genes from before.
Jareth came to her bedroom door to escort her to the dining room for the first time this morning since she transformed. Sarah was eating regularly and resting now, but still felt weak. It felt like she was hung over from the fae change.
He said smiling as she opened the door, "Let's go have breakfast, precious." Jareth put his hand on her lower back as they walked down the hall together. The castle staff watched them as they walked down the hall curiously. She wondered if it was her dark hair or the fact that Jareth was smiling with his hand on her back.
They entered a solarium with an eight person table set. He seated Sarah and pushed in her chair.
She and Jareth filled their cups with coffee and tea. They then started filling their plates. Sarah was in heaven tasting her coffee. She missed coffee. She said, "I am so glad you have coffee here in the Underground."
He smiled and said, "We have traders in the Aboveground that get us certain things." Sarah smiled at him. She was surprised at how nice he was being to her and wondered when the other shoe would drop.
Jareth said seriously, "Sarah, I want to ask you to be my paramour. I want to take you with me to court, to balls and events. I wish to sleep and eat my meals with you also." She was shocked to be asked to have sex with him so directly and still so soon. She was curious because he just said he wanted her to be his lover, but would he be monogamous?
She asked stoically, "Would that mean monogamy? I would be the only person you would sleep and have sex with while in the relationship with me?"
He looked at her surprised and said, "Sarah, I am king and with that title it gives me the freedom to sleep with who I wish to be with."
Sarah said emotionlessly, "So I can sleep with whomever I wish to also?"
He snapped angrily, "No, you would have to remain exclusive to me."
She said, "Then my answer is a definitive no." Jareth looked at her incredulously. He couldn't believe she would refuse such a generous position in his household.
He yelled angrily, "You would refuse me just that fast?! I have just offered you a position in my household that carries a lot of weight, respect and authority in my kingdom, but you just throw it back in my face like before?! You want to sleep around?!" Jareth stood, wiped his mouth and threw down his napkin on the table.
She stood up and said, "I don't sleep around. Yes I refuse." She walked out of the solarium going back to her room. He was on her heels going down the hallways.
He said frustrated, "Why would you just offhandedly refuse me?"
She said quietly, "Because I sleep with nobody for respect, authority or position. I can't believe you would even suggest it after all the crap you have pulled to manipulate me to have sex with you so far anyway. I also never sleep with anyone filling another's bed. I guess I am loyal like that to a person I would care about, but I can see now that it doesn't work in your realm to care about anybody but yourself. You wouldn't give a damn but would have sex with just anyone. You care for nobody at all or their feelings anyway. So I say no." Sarah opened the door to the room.
Jareth asked, upset standing at the door, "What do I have to do to get your loyalty and respect from you Sa-rah?" He drawled her name.
She looked at him and said, "Give me honor, respect, loyalty, understanding, compassion, consideration and equal due regard. I am not your subject, your owned human and I am not yours to play with when you're bored." He huffed and started pacing in front of her door in the hallway.
Jareth said snappy and ridiculing, "What do you want, monogamy, marriage and queendom? How Aboveground of you, to expect everything like you were born into the position."
She turned looking at him scathingly standing by the door. She didn't like where this conversation was going. She should have known the truce between them only lasted an hour as soon as she left her room and was feeling better. He was being ridiculous to her as he viewed her in the same way as himself, greedy. Sarah knew he would never love her or allow her equality in his eyes. He would always be more entitled to everything over her. Jareth would only share if it made him look magnanimous for doing so.
She frowned at Jareth and said firmly, "I do not want to be your queen, girlfriend, lover or anything, even your friend now. I have never asked for a thing from you this time around, not even a wish or to help me. I went from eating a good breakfast and sharing time with you like friends would do, to you pushing sex again on me with position and authority over me. You will never know love, self sacrifice, true loyalty of a good woman in your life thinking like you do in your entitlement. I suppose if I find companionship in this realm one day it will be from a regular person, not some arrogant royal entitled asshole."
Jareth said snidely, "What makes you think you are so deserving and worthy of such honors?"
She said, "I earn and deserve better than the likes of royals because I never wanted to even be one." Sarah slammed the door in his face and locked it. He just stared at the door where she once was standing. He wondered how it all fell apart.
Sarah went over to her bed and laid down. Her one bite of toast and egg were not enough but was too tired and upset to eat now with a terrible headache coming on. She took a pain potion and got comfortable.