Was she marked?

"Why is she here?" Vera wondered, her breath quickening in confusion. As everyone began to gather around the body, she sat down on the ground and instinctively curled her feet.

"What are you all staring at?" she exclaimed, nervously tearing at her fingers.

"My lady, should I inform his highness?" Vera's maidservant approached her, but was met with a shove.

Vera remained seated, trying to avert her gaze from the lifeless body. The murmurs of the crowd were focused on the deceased, not realizing that Vera had replaced her former maidservant with a new one. It was only now that they took notice of the body and recognized the maid.

Vera suddenly looked at her maidservant with narrowed eyes. "Where were you? Did you put the body here after his highness summoned me? Why didn't you follow me?"

"My lady, I didn't know you were being called," her maidservant replied, confused and bowing her head in apology.

"You...you killed her," Vera gasped, silencing the murmurs of the crowd. All eyes turned to her.

"How dare you kill my childhood friend, my maid!" Vera put on a show, tears streaming down her face.

"My lady, I didn't do it," the maid wailed, avoiding her lady's gaze.

Before the argument could continue, Raynell intervened and took the maid away. Despite her pleading and insistence of innocence, it fell on deaf ears. The body was carried out of Vera's room and everyone left too quickly.

Vera sat on her bed and wiped away the fake tears. She never thought someone would find her old maidservant's corpse. No, only Scarlet could uncover her secrets. Lately, Scarlet had been acting strange, as if she was a completely different person than the timid maid Vera once knew.

In this moment, her certainty was unwavering - scarlet was not scarlet, and she was determined to uncover what changed. She sounded crazy and yes she knew that. 

"He belongs to me," Vera muttered under her breath, her grip on her clothing growing tighter.

She rose with fury, hurling objects around in a fit of rage. How dare scarlet? How could she ascend to the throne as his empress? It was unthinkable.

"I am his empress. No one else has the right to claim that title," Vera screamed, throwing a queen-sized glass cup in anger.

In this moment, she needed Alvin more than ever. Where was he? She wondered, her heart racing.

********

As the prison door swung open, Emily rushed to embrace scarlet's slumped form. They held each other tightly before reluctantly pulling away, and jareth watched them with admiration.

"I was afraid, my lady," Emily said, her voice trembling with emotion.

"You have nothing to fear anymore, Emily. With this uncle here, he will protect you," Scarlet reassured, gesturing towards jareth. Jareth's brow furrowed at the unexpected title of "uncle."

When had he suddenly become an uncle? He was only twenty-four years old.

"Ilvia, take Emily to her chamber. I need to speak to his highness," Scarlet commanded, passing Emily to the waiting ilvia.

Ilvia bowed to both jareth and scarlet, before exiting with Emily.

"Thank you," Scarlet said to jareth, raising his brow in confusion.

"I owe you one," Scarlet continued, shifting her gaze to the ground. "Tell me what you want in return."

Jareth grinned cheekily and wrapped his arm around her waist, leaving scarlet baffled. "I want to mark you," he said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Scarlet playfully hit his shoulder and pushed his hand away, standing at a safe distance from him and covering her petite frame with her hand. "Besides that," she challenged.

Jareth placed his hands behind his back and replied, "I'll think of something when the time comes."

He chuckled and stepped closer to scarlet, his eyes filled with desire. "Uncle? Since when did I become an uncle?"

Scarlet unconsciously retreated as she saw the look in his eyes, still protecting her chest with her hand.

"What? Aren't you an uncle?" she countered, adding with a smirk, "And you're not getting any younger either."

"Then let me show you what this old man is capable of doing," Jareth said, pinning her firmly against the wall with a strong grip on her hand.

His eyes scanned down to her heaving chest, the sight only further arousing him. His eyes shifted to a deep, passionate red as he aggressively began to suck on her neck.

He tightened his hold on her hand, causing Scarlet to feel the same pain she experienced that night when they were meant to consummate their marriage.

"Jareth," she called out, but he did not respond. The sucking slowly turned into a bite on her shoulder, causing her to wince in pain as she cried out "Darcie."

Darcie paused and looked at Scarlet's shoulder where he had just bitten her.

"I am sorry," he quickly said, avoiding her gaze. Her blood was tempting, and he couldn't understand why, but he believed it was because she was his mate.

His red eyes soon disappeared, returning to their normal blue.

"Scarlet," he turned back to her in shock. Scarlet stared at him, unsure of who he was.

"Jareth," she said uncertainly, but something within her told her it was indeed Jareth.

He removed his gaze on her shoulder and looked at her face, she was certain now that it was Jareth.

"I didn't mean to do this," he said, his voice filled with sadness.

"It's okay, Jareth. It will heal," Scarlet reassured him, wincing in pain as she tried to move.

He picked her up in a bridal style and carried her to her chamber. He gently placed her on the bed and fetched some ointment from the bedside table.

"It might sting," he warned her before applying the ointment to her shoulder.

Scarlet winced and clenched the bedsheets, closing her eyes tightly in pain. Suddenly, she felt a cooling sensation on her shoulder and opened her eyes to see Jareth blowing on the spot where he had bitten her. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt, and she wasn't afraid of him despite what had happened. But was she marked?

She knew he was actually Darcie, and not Jareth. This man standing before her, caring for her, was slowly making his way into her heart.

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she sat up awkwardly and covered her bare shoulder.

"I am feeling better now. You may leave," she stated with discomfort.

Though she secretly desired for him to stay, his presence overwhelmed her with unwanted emotions.

Jareth noticed her uneasy demeanor and promptly stood up, leaving the room.

Opening the door, he was met with Athena, who stood at a distance, gazing at him from the scarlet chamber. Her sudden departure left him bewildered and he pondered on her identity.

********

As he sat in his chair, he reminisced on Scarlet's expression. Despite not appearing frightened, he couldn't deny that he had harmed her with his bite. And it was all Darcie's doing.

What was the use in placing the blame solely on him when Darcie refused to even speak to him? Ever since his mother's passing, Darcie had become mute. If only he could confront him for his actions. If only he could become human, then he wouldn't have so many adversaries within him.

But how could he communicate with Darcie? A thought crossed his mind and he swiftly grabbed the dagger from his waist and stabbed it into his hand.

He slowly opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar place. Where was he?