Exchange Fic #7: Shared Smiles
The actual identity of the writer will remain secret until all the submissions are in and posted.
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Title: Shared Smiles
Author: tsukisei
Recipient: surelady
Prompt: It's Jareth and Sarah's first date, and it doesn't turn out the way either of them expects.
Rating: G
Plot Summary/Author's Notes: A conversation between women.
A honey-haired girl looked into the vanity mirror at her mother styling her hair. Her mother liked to wear the long gowns with large bell sleeves and the hem that brushed the floor. Catherine’s friends in the court wondered why the queen didn’t get a newer wardrobe, but she liked them. They were a part of her mother, like the tough leather boots she wore instead of soft slippers.
Catherine was nervous, and it felt like a whole clan of Fireys having a party in her stomach. Today would be the beginning of her courtship with Prince Azir from across the desert wasteland. They had been acquaintances since they were children, but as they didn’t really know each other his suit had come as a surprise. No one else had asked for the Goblin Kingdom’s daughter and heir apparent’s hand in marriage.
Catherine winced when her mother pushed pins into her hair, scratching her head.
"Mom, what was your courtship with Dad like?" Sarah glanced in the mirror, meeting her daughter’s eyes.
"It was exciting and filled with fights." She saw the troubled expression on Catherine’s face and rubbed her shoulders. "Don’t worry, honey. I’m confident that your courtship with Prince Azir won’t be as rough as ours was. Azir seems to be a very calm man with a good head on his shoulder. Your father is all emotion and rarely takes the time to think things through." They were silent for a moment. Sarah touched pieces of hair here and there and Catherine picked at the sleeve of her dress.
"Tell me about your first time out with Dad." Catherine asked.
"You’ve heard the story a thousand times - "
"No, I mean your courtship." Sarah smiled and smoothed her hands down Catherine’s hair.
"Well, it started with me being on a date with another man actually."
Catherine turned around to face her mother. "That’s not what Dad said."
"Your father also likes to tell a story for the best dramatic response. I was out with a boy named Jeremy, or Jack… Or was it John? A plain and forgettable name. He had taken me to a fancy dinner and he acted so horribly, I was ready to walk out and end the date before it was even nightfall. I stuck through it though because I wanted to give him a fair chance, but when he drank too much and became sick it was the last straw. I put him in a cab and went home."
"Where does Dad come into this?" Catherine asked.
"I’m getting there. I was angry at how the night had gone and when Jareth showed up at me door I’m afraid I took it out on him. He just took it all in, leaning against the wall with his diplomat’s face on, and when I finally ran out of steam he smiled at me. He told me my problem was that I had been ‘restricting myself to mortal men’ and that I should ‘give Underground men a chance,’ that they were ‘much more to my taste.’ I thought he was joking, but there was something serious in his eyes. Jareth bowed to me and offered me his arm. He asked to be allowed the pleasure of right my ruined night." Sarah paused and Catherine leaned forward.
"I think it was his seriousness, with none of the playfulness or humor that he usually used that made me take his arm. He walked us through the doorway and into the Underground. He brought me to the east orchards and we just walked through the trees. Jareth pointed out any fruits I didn’t recognize, and even steered us away from the peach trees."
Catherine frowned. "That’s all? You walked through the orchards?"
"We walked for a long time. The sun hadn’t set down here yet, and we talked about anything and everything; even the past, until it began to get darker. Looking back now, I know that was when I began to know Jareth as he truly is, and not the Goblin King. He politely brought me home and when he took my hand and kissed it, I admit I was disappointed. He asked if he could call again and I said yes. I thought it was strange that he was asking now when he’d been popping by whenever he felt like it. He smiled then, and it was the first real smile I’d seen from him, Cat. It was beautiful."
Someone started speaking from the doorway when Sarah stopped. "And then I swept your mother off of her feet with my charm and stole her away to my castle where we live happily ever after." Jareth came into the room to stand beside Sarah. His hand automatically moved to rest on her back. Sarah snorted.
"More like ‘arguably ever after.’ I was telling Cat about how our courtship began, not the fairytale you like to tell."
"But my dear queen, they prefer it when you swoon at my handsome face and agree to marry me immediately."
"You don’t." Sarah said. Jareth smiled, flashing his pointed teeth.
"That is an entirely different matter." He turned to Catherine. She’d been ignoring them. "Your princeling has arrived, my girl. You’d best finish your toilette."
"I don’t take forever to get ready like some people, Dad. I’ve been ready; Mom was just fixing my hair." Jareth pressed a hand to his chest and looked at Sarah.
"Do you hear what this goblin princess says? Pure hearsay! And she gets it all from you."
"Yes, yes, Jareth. I’ve been leading the secret goblin rebellion with Catherine all this time because you can never figure out which outfit to wear in a reasonable amount of time." Jareth moved to loom over her.
"I could take that as a confession and have you arrested, Precious." Sarah rested her hands on his chest and reached up to kiss him.
"Ah, but then you’d be bored out of your skull again, Jareth." Sarah said. Jareth kissed her again.
"Okay, none of that, thank you. Please wait until I’m not in the room for massive displays of affection." Catherine protested. Her parents just smiled at her and bid her a good evening as she left. As she navigated the twisting castle corridors she thought about what she remembered of Azir from when they’d been thrown together at royal functions.
He had been a small, quiet child. But when Catherine had shown him the cramped passage way out into her mother’s garden he had smiled so wide she could see a couple of missing teeth.
When she entered the receiving chamber a tall man turned to face her. His skin was dark and his hair and eyes were even darker. His clothes were simple, but they fit his frame well. This older Azir seemed to be the opposite of her father. Catherine smiled at him and offered her hand. He took it and bowed over it. Azir looked at her again and smiled in return. She was pleased to see that it was the same smile as she remembered.
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Title: Shared Smiles
Author: tsukisei
Recipient: surelady
Prompt: It's Jareth and Sarah's first date, and it doesn't turn out the way either of them expects.
Rating: G
Plot Summary/Author's Notes: A conversation between women.
A honey-haired girl looked into the vanity mirror at her mother styling her hair. Her mother liked to wear the long gowns with large bell sleeves and the hem that brushed the floor. Catherine’s friends in the court wondered why the queen didn’t get a newer wardrobe, but she liked them. They were a part of her mother, like the tough leather boots she wore instead of soft slippers.
Catherine was nervous, and it felt like a whole clan of Fireys having a party in her stomach. Today would be the beginning of her courtship with Prince Azir from across the desert wasteland. They had been acquaintances since they were children, but as they didn’t really know each other his suit had come as a surprise. No one else had asked for the Goblin Kingdom’s daughter and heir apparent’s hand in marriage.
Catherine winced when her mother pushed pins into her hair, scratching her head.
"Mom, what was your courtship with Dad like?" Sarah glanced in the mirror, meeting her daughter’s eyes.
"It was exciting and filled with fights." She saw the troubled expression on Catherine’s face and rubbed her shoulders. "Don’t worry, honey. I’m confident that your courtship with Prince Azir won’t be as rough as ours was. Azir seems to be a very calm man with a good head on his shoulder. Your father is all emotion and rarely takes the time to think things through." They were silent for a moment. Sarah touched pieces of hair here and there and Catherine picked at the sleeve of her dress.
"Tell me about your first time out with Dad." Catherine asked.
"You’ve heard the story a thousand times - "
"No, I mean your courtship." Sarah smiled and smoothed her hands down Catherine’s hair.
"Well, it started with me being on a date with another man actually."
Catherine turned around to face her mother. "That’s not what Dad said."
"Your father also likes to tell a story for the best dramatic response. I was out with a boy named Jeremy, or Jack… Or was it John? A plain and forgettable name. He had taken me to a fancy dinner and he acted so horribly, I was ready to walk out and end the date before it was even nightfall. I stuck through it though because I wanted to give him a fair chance, but when he drank too much and became sick it was the last straw. I put him in a cab and went home."
"Where does Dad come into this?" Catherine asked.
"I’m getting there. I was angry at how the night had gone and when Jareth showed up at me door I’m afraid I took it out on him. He just took it all in, leaning against the wall with his diplomat’s face on, and when I finally ran out of steam he smiled at me. He told me my problem was that I had been ‘restricting myself to mortal men’ and that I should ‘give Underground men a chance,’ that they were ‘much more to my taste.’ I thought he was joking, but there was something serious in his eyes. Jareth bowed to me and offered me his arm. He asked to be allowed the pleasure of right my ruined night." Sarah paused and Catherine leaned forward.
"I think it was his seriousness, with none of the playfulness or humor that he usually used that made me take his arm. He walked us through the doorway and into the Underground. He brought me to the east orchards and we just walked through the trees. Jareth pointed out any fruits I didn’t recognize, and even steered us away from the peach trees."
Catherine frowned. "That’s all? You walked through the orchards?"
"We walked for a long time. The sun hadn’t set down here yet, and we talked about anything and everything; even the past, until it began to get darker. Looking back now, I know that was when I began to know Jareth as he truly is, and not the Goblin King. He politely brought me home and when he took my hand and kissed it, I admit I was disappointed. He asked if he could call again and I said yes. I thought it was strange that he was asking now when he’d been popping by whenever he felt like it. He smiled then, and it was the first real smile I’d seen from him, Cat. It was beautiful."
Someone started speaking from the doorway when Sarah stopped. "And then I swept your mother off of her feet with my charm and stole her away to my castle where we live happily ever after." Jareth came into the room to stand beside Sarah. His hand automatically moved to rest on her back. Sarah snorted.
"More like ‘arguably ever after.’ I was telling Cat about how our courtship began, not the fairytale you like to tell."
"But my dear queen, they prefer it when you swoon at my handsome face and agree to marry me immediately."
"You don’t." Sarah said. Jareth smiled, flashing his pointed teeth.
"That is an entirely different matter." He turned to Catherine. She’d been ignoring them. "Your princeling has arrived, my girl. You’d best finish your toilette."
"I don’t take forever to get ready like some people, Dad. I’ve been ready; Mom was just fixing my hair." Jareth pressed a hand to his chest and looked at Sarah.
"Do you hear what this goblin princess says? Pure hearsay! And she gets it all from you."
"Yes, yes, Jareth. I’ve been leading the secret goblin rebellion with Catherine all this time because you can never figure out which outfit to wear in a reasonable amount of time." Jareth moved to loom over her.
"I could take that as a confession and have you arrested, Precious." Sarah rested her hands on his chest and reached up to kiss him.
"Ah, but then you’d be bored out of your skull again, Jareth." Sarah said. Jareth kissed her again.
"Okay, none of that, thank you. Please wait until I’m not in the room for massive displays of affection." Catherine protested. Her parents just smiled at her and bid her a good evening as she left. As she navigated the twisting castle corridors she thought about what she remembered of Azir from when they’d been thrown together at royal functions.
He had been a small, quiet child. But when Catherine had shown him the cramped passage way out into her mother’s garden he had smiled so wide she could see a couple of missing teeth.
When she entered the receiving chamber a tall man turned to face her. His skin was dark and his hair and eyes were even darker. His clothes were simple, but they fit his frame well. This older Azir seemed to be the opposite of her father. Catherine smiled at him and offered her hand. He took it and bowed over it. Azir looked at her again and smiled in return. She was pleased to see that it was the same smile as she remembered.