I thought I was prepared. And I was. Just not for this.
I had been prepared for Jareth to be formidable, to be sly and full of contained violence, menacing and enticing and overwhelming. I had been armored against my Goblin King of old, my husband, the father of my children, who I had seen battle demons and nightmares from Faerie with cool efficiency and unflappable strength.
Only ashes of these were left in the man before me. The iron poisoning was so insidious. It had left a shell of my Jareth, and that shell was still walking and talking and smiling. His brilliance was still there, but so scattered, like glittering remnants of shattered crystals strewn across a long, wide, endless beach.
I was not prepared to see that. I looked at him, and it hurt to breathe. My eyes were wet and burning. Oh, my love, how could it come to this?
But I knew how. And the worst part was that there was nothing any of us could do about it. Jareth couldn’t be forced to accept the remedy for this type of iron poisoning. He had to volunteer, or its potency vanished. And the nature of the poisoning was such that he literally couldn’t see that he was poisoned. His perceptions were utterly overtaken.
I swallowed a sob and turned to look at the dragon who was presiding over us today. The dragon’s power in her realm was absolute, and it turned out that many Faerie disputes – particularly delicate ones involving royal Faerie families – were resolved by dragon. I made a silent prayer that this dragon could somehow make him see he needed help…and protect the rest of us until he did.
The dragon lifted her spectacles and looked down at both of us before focusing on Jareth. “Goblin King, you know why you are here today?”
“I do.”
“I have read your account of things, and that of your wife, and I would like to make a suggestion before we proceed.”
“Please do.”
“I would suggest you submit to an examination for all known poisons, and seek treatment if needed. And then we can revisit this dispute. You may take some time to consider this option.”
Oh please, my love, if you won’t listen to me, if you won’t listen to your mother, please listen to this dragon. Please. Please.
The moments slipped by, the silence allowing the tiniest flicker of hope to build inside me.
Jareth lifted his chin suddenly, a wry smile twisting his lips. “I need no examination. I am perfectly fine. And I will prove my case before you.”
The hope inside me sputtered out, and my eyes were wet again before I could stop them.
The dragon loomed large, a hint of resignation in the fire of her irises. “I thought you might say that. But I had to try. We shall proceed.”
Author's note: For my love. I will always love you, no matter what happens.
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ninetydegrees
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2023-07-26 18:41 (UTC)I thought I was prepared. And I was. Just not for this.
I had been prepared for Jareth to be formidable, to be sly and full of contained violence, menacing and enticing and overwhelming. I had been armored against my Goblin King of old, my husband, the father of my children, who I had seen battle demons and nightmares from Faerie with cool efficiency and unflappable strength.
Only ashes of these were left in the man before me. The iron poisoning was so insidious. It had left a shell of my Jareth, and that shell was still walking and talking and smiling. His brilliance was still there, but so scattered, like glittering remnants of shattered crystals strewn across a long, wide, endless beach.
I was not prepared to see that. I looked at him, and it hurt to breathe. My eyes were wet and burning. Oh, my love, how could it come to this?
But I knew how. And the worst part was that there was nothing any of us could do about it. Jareth couldn’t be forced to accept the remedy for this type of iron poisoning. He had to volunteer, or its potency vanished. And the nature of the poisoning was such that he literally couldn’t see that he was poisoned. His perceptions were utterly overtaken.
I swallowed a sob and turned to look at the dragon who was presiding over us today. The dragon’s power in her realm was absolute, and it turned out that many Faerie disputes – particularly delicate ones involving royal Faerie families – were resolved by dragon. I made a silent prayer that this dragon could somehow make him see he needed help…and protect the rest of us until he did.
The dragon lifted her spectacles and looked down at both of us before focusing on Jareth. “Goblin King, you know why you are here today?”
“I do.”
“I have read your account of things, and that of your wife, and I would like to make a suggestion before we proceed.”
“Please do.”
“I would suggest you submit to an examination for all known poisons, and seek treatment if needed. And then we can revisit this dispute. You may take some time to consider this option.”
Oh please, my love, if you won’t listen to me, if you won’t listen to your mother, please listen to this dragon. Please. Please.
The moments slipped by, the silence allowing the tiniest flicker of hope to build inside me.
Jareth lifted his chin suddenly, a wry smile twisting his lips. “I need no examination. I am perfectly fine. And I will prove my case before you.”
The hope inside me sputtered out, and my eyes were wet again before I could stop them.
The dragon loomed large, a hint of resignation in the fire of her irises. “I thought you might say that. But I had to try. We shall proceed.”
Author's note: For my love. I will always love you, no matter what happens.