Brightdawn

 

Disclaimer: Jareth belongs to Henson. Puck belongs to Shakespeare, though I got his look (and a healthy dose of his personality) from Puck of Disney's "Gargoyles." The Cheshire Cat belongs to Lewis Carroll. The poem is "Longing" by Matthew Arnold. The story and all characters you don't recognize are mine.

For Dreamspinner, a true fae who walks with the angels

 

The brown leather cover of the spellbook was well worn and the ink on the yellowed pages was faded, but the Goblin King read the spells easily. Love spells, lust spells (I'll have to remember those), truth spells, spells to bring someone back from the dead, but no spells to make annoying tricksters vanish.

The fae known as Puck had been bothering him for the better part of an hour. He hadn't said anything, but was just grinning like a fool.

"You wouldn't be trying to get rid of me, would you?" the white-haired imp asked innocently. "That would be poor form, Jareth."

Jareth finally looked up at him. He had to, as Puck was sitting cross-legged and floating several feet off the floor, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

"Why are you here?" Jareth asked exasperatedly.

Puck's smile widened, if possible. "My little Brightdawn comes of age next month, and I wanted to share the good news."

"My little Brightdawn?" Puck must have been into the goblin wine again, Jareth thought.

Puck was known far and wide as being the biggest party animal in the Underground. He loved goblin wine, made from things Jareth didn't even want to think about. It was Jareth who insisted that the name be changed to goblin wine.

"She's my granddaughter, several generations removed, of course," Puck continued. That explains it. I heard Puck had fathered a half-human son centuries ago. But why would an Earth child, especially one born in this century, have such a fae name?

"Of course, that's not what her parents named her, but it's what I call her," Puck went on. "It's more fitting than that human name she was born with."

"And that is?" Jareth asked, his curiosity roused.

Faye Rosemary Adams had always known she was different. Her looks were far from ordinary. Porcelain skin, long white-blonde hair, and lavender eyes would have made her a flawless beauty, but her ears, though small, were pointed, and no one let her forget that. Everyone knew she was different, and they avoided her. At least that was better than having them still torment her. Faye never forgot being called Spock, weirdo, and freak all through grade school. There was one place she could go where people didn't treat her like an outcast.

The residents of the Sunset Retirement Home didn't care about her differences. Faye was grateful that most of their generation judged by what was inside. She had started volunteering at the home when she was in high school. Now she went there every evening after work, and spent Saturday and Sunday afternoons there too. Tuesday was always Poetry Day, and Faye would read aloud to some of the residents in one of the common rooms. This week, the focus was on love poems.

"Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again!
For then the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.

"Come, as thou cam'st a thousand times,
A messenger from radiant climes,
And smile on thy new world, and be
As kind to others as to me!

"Or, as thou never cam'st in sooth,
Come now, and let me dream it truth;
And part my hair, and kiss my brow,
And say: My love! why sufferest thou?

"Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again!
For then the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day."

Her six listeners smiled and clapped. One gentleman remarked, "Sounds like something you'd wish, eh, Faye?"

"Leave the girl alone, Harry," one of the ladies said. "Our Faye can have any man she wants, no wishing necessary."

"And she doesn't waste her time daydreaming about finding a man," another woman added.

If they only knew, Faye thought. It seems like I spend almost all my time thinking about the perfect man for me. Of course, that will never happen. Prince Charming only exists in stories, right?

Jareth lounged on his throne and gazed about the room. The goblins were congratulating the winners of the daily chicken-grabbing contest and the goblin wine flowed freely. A few goblins had already passed out.

Bored beyond belief, Jareth formed a crystal and watch an image of Faye as she went about her tasks at the law office. He could not believe that a descendant of Puck, who was infamous for bending the rules, was a legal secretary. She's more human than Puck likes to acknowledge.

"That may be, but she is more fae than any human has been in a hundred years," Puck declared, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, but Jareth knew that the trickster had been watching him and reading his mind.

"Puck, is there a reason why you were spying on me, or did you just want to annoy me?" he asked.

"I could ask you why you spend so much time spying on my granddaughter. Why, one would almost think you were interested in her."

Jareth ignored the imp's speculation. "Does she know of her heritage?"

Puck scowled. "No. With her parents dead, she has no one left to tell her." His face brightened. "Therefore, it is up to me."

"Poor girl. Having to listen to you trying to lecture will certainly drive her over the edge."

"So humorous, m'lord. Come now, Jareth, you don't believe I can tell my granddaughter her story without boring her to insanity?"

"You speak in riddles and nonsense half the time, and the other half you spend deceiving. No, she won't make any sense of the story at all."

"Then perhaps you should tell it."

Jareth looked at him like he had gone mad. Puck noticed that many people looked at him that way.

"She'll probably accept it better coming from you."

"Alright, but if she tries to have me arrested or institutionalized, I'll know who to blame."

Faye loved the Internet. She loved finding new sites with new information, but most of all, she loved the anonymity. Faye had a few close online friends, but none of them knew what she really looked like, and she intended to keep it that way. Suddenly, someone sent her an ICQ message.

~J the GK: Hello, Faye.~

She wasn't concerned, since her real name was in her bio. Lots of strangers messaged her out of the blue like that.

~Valentine: Hello. Do I know you?~
~J the GK: No, but I know you.~

Uh oh, Faye thought. Why do I get the feeling I'm in a bad horror movie?

~Valentine: How do you know me?~
~J the GK: I know your ... grandfather.~
~Valentine: Know? Both of my grandfathers died before I was born. How could you still know either of them?~
~J the GK: I'm sorry. I meant your ancestor.~

This is too weird. The guy must be mentally imbalanced. Just as she was about to put him on her Ignore List, he sent her another message.

~J the GK: Faye, I know how strange this all must sound, but it's the truth, I swear it.~ ~Valentine: Why should I believe you? You can't even prove something like that.~
~J the GK: Yes, I can.~
~Valentine: How?~

There was a flash of white light beside her and a man she had never seen before appeared in her living room. Faye did the only thing she could -- she fainted.

Good to know I haven't lost my touch with women, Jareth thought wryly. He picked up the unconscious young woman and laid her on the couch. For some reason, he felt compelled to stroke her cheek. Jareth did, and learned Faye's skin was satin-smooth. When she opened her eyes to look at him, he felt like he was looking into the sunrise.

Faye felt someone touching her cheek as she regained consciousness. She opened her eyes to see the man from before with his head very close to hers, staring deeply into her eyes. Faye saw that one of his eyes was sky blue and the other was forest green. His skin was as pale as hers, but on him the color seemed more natural.

Like he's made of moonlight, she thought.

The man's hair was also the same shade as hers, but it was strangely cut -- long but spiked on top. The style hid his ears, but Faye had a feeling they were pointed. Her eyes traveled down his lean body. Faye could see he wore a fine white linen poets shirt, a black velvet vest, gray tights, and black suede boots.

What is this guy, a Goth or something?

There was something in his mismatched eyes that she couldn't quite place. Alarm shot through Faye like an electrical shock. She sat up quickly, accidentally banging her head on his.

"Ow!" Jareth gingerly placed a hand to his aching head and backed away from her a little. Normally, he would have moved away in time, but he was too busy gazing into her lovely eyes to notice anything else. I must be losing it.

Faye glared at him. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Jareth held up his hands and Faye noticed he now wore a pair of black leather gloves. "I'm not going to hurt you, Faye. Your ancestor wanted me to speak with you."

Faye gave a disbelieving laugh. "Mister, you're off your rocker. I suggest you leave before I call the cops."

How did I know this was going to happen? Jareth knew he had to explain, and explain fast. "Faye, please, just listen to me. My name is Jareth. I'm a ... friend of your ancestor." Oh, what a lie!

"You keep mentioning him," Faye interrupted. "Who is he?"

"Robin Goodfellow."

Robin Goodfellow? Puck? What kind of fool does he take me for? Shakespeare made him up when he wrote "A Midsummer Night's Dream." "Okay, I've heard enough. GET OUT."

"It's true. I'll prove it to you." Jareth had no idea she would be so stubborn. Then again, she is related to that imp.

That I'd like to see.

"How?"

"I'll take you to him," Jareth said simply.

"And just how are you going to do that?" Faye asked.

"Like this."

There was a flash of bright white light. When it faded, Faye found herself and Jareth in a meadow filled with wildflowers of every color imaginable.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Another voice said, "You're in the kingdom of Fae, my dear Brightdawn."

Faye turned at the sound of the unfamiliar voice to see a very strange-looking man standing there. His pointed ears were larger and longer than her own, his skin was pale, his hair was pure white, and his eyes were ice blue.

On second thought, maybe he isn't that strange-looking after all. "Okay, two questions. How in the heck did we get to Fae, which doesn't even exist, and who the heck is Brightdawn?"

The pointy-eared man, who Faye assumed to be Robin Goodfellow, gestured to Jareth. "In order," Jareth said, "I transported us here, Fae does exist as you can see, and Brightdawn is the name Puck gave you."

"And it will be your official name when you come of age," Puck added.
"Huh?" Faye asked, totally confused. "Why would I need a name change, and when do I come of age?"

"You need a more fae name," Puck said, "and you come of age when you turn twenty-one."

"Why do I need a more fae name?"

That was one question Puck didn't want to answer at the moment, so he again gestured to Jareth.

"A human name isn't exactly appropriate for someone who will be ... staying here."

"WHAT?!"

Puck sighed. "Jareth, I think you had better tell her the whole story."

"Alright," Jareth consented, "but shouldn't you be doing that? She's your relation, not mine."

"True, but we already decided it would be better if you told her, so go ahead."

Faye quickly got sick of the two of them talking about her like she wasn't right there with them. "Excuse me, guys, I am still here." They finally turned to her.

"I think it would be better if we went to my castle now," Jareth said.

"Castle?" Faye echoed.

"Yes. I am the Goblin King and the ruler of the Labyrinth." He noticed the look of confusion return to her face. "Don't tell me, you've never heard of me."

"Can't say that I have."

Puck grinned. "Finally, someone who hasn't read that idiotic book."

Jareth glared at him. "Perhaps I should just leave you here and take her to the castle myself."

"And let my granddaughter alone with the playboy of the Underground? I don't *think* so." Puck winked and the three of them appeared in Jareth's throne room.

Faye saw the disgustingly ugly creatures that crowded the large room and was about to scream when she felt a hand gently clasp over her mouth.

"They're just goblins," Jareth said softly in her ear. "They won't hurt you, I promise." He slowly removed his hand and stepped back.

The sight of the goblins and the feeling of having heard Jareth's whisper in her ear made Faye a little dizzy. "I think I'd better sit down," she said weakly.

Jareth led her to his throne and helped her sit down. Puck noticed how natural it seemed for her to be sitting on Jareth's throne, but didn't mention it.

"Go ahead, Jareth," he said.

"In the year 1578, Puck fell in love with a human woman named Rosemary."

As Jareth told the story, Puck walked behind him, making sure that Faye was watching him. Fortunately, Jareth ignored him.

"She fell in love with him. They became ... intimate," his cheeks actually reddened slightly, "and a son was conceived."

Puck held up two fingers behind Jareth's head. Faye cracked a half-smile at the sight of the bunny ears. Glad that he got her to relax, Puck wiggled his fingers. Faye smiled wider. Jareth thought that Faye was smiling at the thought of Puck being a father. Smiling slightly back at her, he continued.

"The boy was born with Puck's features but his eyes were turquoise blue, unlike either parent."

Puck stopped with the bunny ears then floated a few feet off the ground and silently played "air drums" on Jareth's head with his index fingers. Faye couldn't help a giggle. Jareth didn't understand what she found so funny about the baby having bright blue eyes.

"The child, named Robin after his father, also inherited Puck's power."

Puck lowered himself back to stand on the floor then winked and his hair turned as spikey on top as Jareth's, and he was wearing identical makeup.

Faye could no longer hold back her laughter. "Oh, Puck," she said between laughs, "you're just too much." Faye cracked up again.

Jareth turned to glare at the trickster, but by then he had already changed to his normal self and was whistling innocently. "Puck, if you truly want me to tell her the story, I suggest you not try to distract her."

"Who, me?" Puck asked. "Was I distracting her?" He turned to Faye, grinning. "Was I distracting you, my dear?"

"Well..." Faye said, smiling.

"You see?" Jareth asked.

"Traitor," Puck teased, still grinning. "I believe I will go. I shall prepare Brightdawn's chambers."

"Chambers?" Faye asked, surprised.

"Yes," Puck said, smiling. "You will be staying here until you are presented to the Fae court. After that," his smile widened, "who knows?"

"Faye's chambers were already prepared by me," Jareth said, annoyed.

"Then I definitely have to prepare them, or should I say repair them?" With a final grin, Puck vanished.

"Finally," Jareth said, glad to be rid of the annoying imp. He sighed. "Where was I?"

"You were telling me about Robin, Jr.," Faye said, still smiling.

"As I was saying, before I was so *rudely* interrupted, Robin inherited Puck's powers."

"Such as?"

"As you have seen, he can fly, teleport, and change his appearance. Most fae can teleport. And, like most fae, he can materialize and vanish things at will. Observe." Jareth waved his hand as a long-stemmed peach rose appeared, then gave the rose to the smiling Faye.

"Thank you," she said, sniffing the delicate flower. "It's lovely."

Jareth smiled back, and Faye found that she didn't even mind his pointed teeth.

Puck appeared in Faye's room and groaned. "What is with that man and this color?"

A large Persian rug of peach, light green, and white covered most of the oak floor of the square room. A smaller white rug was in front of the white marble fireplace set into the south wall. An oak-framed rectangular mirror hung above the mantle, and a full-length mirror was to the right of the fireplace. The walls were pure white.

Against the north wall stood a queen-size oak bed that sported a peach satin canopy, comforter, dustruffle, and silk sheets. An oak writing desk and a matching chair stood at the foot of the bed. The chair's seat and back were upholstered in peach velvet. A crystal vase holding a dozen peach roses rested on the desk. On each side of the bed was an oak door, one leading to the modern bathroom decorated in peach and green, and the other leading to the walk-in closet.

Facing the fireplace was a peach velvet-upholstered armchair, perfect for reading any of the books from the oak bookshelf to the left of the fireplace. The door to the bedroom was in the northeast corner of the room. Against the east wall were an oak dresser and an oak vanity with a matching chair, also done in peach velvet. The vanity also had an oval mirror. The west wall boasted a pair of white French doors that opened to a private balcony. Long, sheer, peach drapes decorated the doors.

"He really has to get over this obsession." Puck winked and everything peach changed to pale pink, one of Faye's favorite colors. "Much better." He thought about Jareth's room, which was a few doors down the hall. "Hmmm."

"Let me see if I've got it right," Faye said, trying to keep her family history straight. "Puck had a son with a human woman. That child, Robin, Jr., was more fae than human. His daughter was more human, and didn't resemble her father or Puck at all. The same with her son."

"And so it went until a hundred years after young Robin was born," Jareth continued. "A daughter was born with traits much like yours, except that her eyes were the color of opals."

"What was her name?"

"Her human name was Briana, and her fae name was Jewelheart."

"That's one thing I don't understand," Faye said. "Why were she and I given names that you say are fae, but aren't anything like your and Puck's names?"

"Because you already have a name, the fae name Puck gave you is your formal name. Puck's formal name is, as you know, Robin Goodfellow. As Goodfellow is his family name, your full formal name is Brightdawn Goodfellow."

"What's your formal name?"

"I am royalty, so I do not have a family name. My family has ruled the Labyrinth for ... well, longer than you can imagine." Longer than I even know, Jareth thought. At least two millenniums, if not three.

"Is the Labyrinth a large kingdom?" Faye asked.

"It is about average for an Underground kingdom, but for me to compare it to the kingdom of Fae would be like you comparing Luxembourg to Russia."

"Wow. Fae must be huge."

"It is. I have no doubt that Puck will show you around." And show her off. Probably can't wait to get her married to some fae nobleman who will never appreciate her, Jareth thought darkly. He quickly forced himself to lighten up before Faye noticed his mood. "We were talking about names. Formal names here are unique, since nicknames are common. No one else is named Jareth, so I have no need for any other name."

Puck suddenly appeared next to Jareth again, grinning in a way that made the Goblin King very suspicious.

"What have you done now?" he asked.

Puck lost the grin, but his eyes were twinkling as he held out his hand to Faye. "Come, my dear, I will show you to your room."

Smiling at him, Faye took his hand and stood up. "I can't wait to see it."

Puck couldn't help grinning back at Jareth again. "I've made improvements ... to both rooms."

"Both?" Jareth asked, confused. "Faye only has one room."

"Hers wasn't the only one I improved."

Jareth's shout could be heard from several miles away. "PUCK! CHANGE IT BACK THIS INSTANT!" Jareth stormed out of his chambers and into the hall to see Puck laughing at him, and Faye looking at both of them like they were crazy.

"You really should see yourself, Jareth," Puck said between laughs. "You're as red as a beet!"

"That's because someone moved the Bog of Eternal Stench to my bedroom!"

 

 

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