Sarah was curled up in a wingback chair, indulging in one of the surprisingly large number of spicy romances that had made their way onto the castle’s library shelves.

“Something amusing you?” Bishop had kicked off his boots and had his feet up on an ottoman.

They’d been trading snippets of their reading material. Bishop’s was an adventurous tale of piracy with an all female crew and he was delighted about the accuracy of the descriptions of life about the ship. Sarah’s book was a reverse harem trope involving tradesmen.

“It just reminded me of the first time I heard about this kind of thing.” She indicated her book. “I was back home during a school break.” Irene had been catching her up on the gossip, the highlight being a local man getting caught splitting his time with a secret second family.”

Bishop scoffed. “That seems like a lot of hard work.”

“Right?” Sarah shook her head. “That’s what Irene said. Then she added that it would be easier the other way around and how she wouldn’t mind having multiple men.”

“Irene is a dark horse,” Bishop chuckled.

“She needed one to cook, another to clean and one to handle the garden. Of course, she wouldn’t complain if they performed their chores in as little clothing as possible.”

“She played you well.” Bishop was laughing at the image of a scandalised Sarah.

“While I was spluttering about that little bombshell, she hit me with having no interest in touching them, but it would be nice to have some eye candy to rev her motor, her words, before she ravaged my father.”

“That little minx,” Bishop was shaking with laughter.

“Her delighted cackle brought Dad out of the den and then she looked at him like he was edible.” Sarah shuddered.

“What happened next?” Bishop leaned his elbow on the arm of his chair.

“I noped out of there and took Toby to a movie.”

“That’s one way of getting some alone time.”

“At the time I would have appreciated a less traumatic method, but it’s funnier now.”

Chuckling interrupted their conversation and Sarah took the opportunity to admire her husband.

Jareth and Rook were sitting cross legged on a lounge with an elaborately embroidered square of silk as a game board between them. Sarah thought the aim was to move one side of the board to the other, but she still wasn’t certain if each player competed separately, they worked together, or they were at odds against each other.

The game play involved a die and a mismatched deck of leftover cards. She had no idea why the five of cups indicated a crocodile infested river, why a roll of the dice determined throwing a chicken in and why a reverse Uno meant that goblins would clear the way.

“I swear the rules change every time they play. It’s like Calvinball.”

Sarah snorted in response. “I love him to bits, but I couldn’t deal with more than one of him.”

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labyfic — drabble #227: double
Part of the Balance!verse

Sarah wrapped her arms around herself, suppressing a shiver despite the mild day. Jareth tugged her closer and she unfurled enough to hook an arm around his waist and lean into his warmth.

Joining them were several of the infirmary staff and a scattering of solemn goblins. The small group was gathered in the orchard to witness Thadie planting a sapling. With economical motions, she dug a hole, reverently placed a carefully wrapped bundle at the bottom, then placed the young tree into position with a crystal nestled in its roots, before backfilling and carefully tamping down the soil around the trunk.

Thadie stood up as she finished, brushing dirt from her gloves on her heavy apron, she tugged them off, tucking them into a pocket and bowed her head.

Jareth raised a hand and conjured a tiny rain cloud over the newest addition to gently water the tree.

“Thank you for taking the time to join us,” Jareth dismissed the group. He squeezed Sarah’s shoulder and walked over to take Thadie’s hands in his own. “Your service is always appreciated.”

“I sometimes wish it wasn’t,” Thadie gave Jareth a sad smile. “But this will be a fitting honour.”

“It always is.” Thadie nodded her thanks and left with the others, leaving Jareth and Sarah alone in the orchard.

The sapling was little more than a waist high stick with a few leaves, but Sarah knew it would grow into a magnificent tree. She looked across the orchard at the diverse mix of trees, each one was the final resting place of a wished away child that didn’t live long enough to be adopted.

Sarah tucked herself back into Jareth’s side. “Why couldn’t we save him?”

“He had suffered too much damage for even our magic to repair.” Jareth rubbed a hand up Sarah’s arm in a soothing motion.

“It doesn't seem fair that he was sent here for protection and we failed.”

Jareth turned Sarah in his arms, lifting her chin with a finger. “We did not fail him. For the short time he was with us, he was comfortable and in no pain.” He gently placed a finger to Sarah’s lips as she opened her mouth. “His parents did not fail him, because they loved him enough to risk wishing him away.” He pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair. “The ones who failed him are those who put him and his parents in such a position in the first place.”

Sarah sniffled a little. “There are rules about hunting them down?”

“Yes there are, darling.”

“That isn’t fair.”

“I have to agree, but that’s the way it is.”

Sarah nodded and wiped her eyes. “I wasn’t paying attention; why is this tree so far away.”

“Thadie said that it’s a mulberry variant and will be enormous. Like every other tree in this orchard, every time someone eats the fruit, they’ll dream of the child. Of how much they were loved and of their lost potential.”

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labyfic — drabble #226: heartbreak
Part of the Balance!verse