jareth tark + ulek tark: āno, i donāt need you.ā
BYSSYA, 4012
In all his eighteen years, Ulek Tark had rarely left Karth.
His mother had died when he was very young and his father seemed to only think of his children when it suited him. Ulek had strived to earn and keep his fatherās attention, but it never seemed to be enough. His father thought more of him now than he had in years past, but that was not because of anything Ulek himself had done.
Jareth had risen to the throne after his brotherās betrayal and with it meant that Ulek was now the heir. The title still felt odd to him; every time someone addressed him as āYour Highnessā he expected to see one of his cousins. He was determined to make his father proud, now. Before he felt replaceable and unloved, but now he would follow in his fatherās footsteps and rule after him. The thought alone made him stand a little taller.
This was his first trip to Byssya.
He had been excited to see a new planet. Heād spent most of his life on Karth, broken up by the rare trips to Arvor at his fatherās side. He meant to see all of Velorum Nocate, as he would one day be one of five of its rulers.
He had had grand illusions of his time here with his father, but so far nothing had gone to plan. He did not like this place and as he trailed behind Jareth, he could not help but feel uneasy as they passed through the glass halls of the underwater palace. He knew that this had stood for hundreds of years, but he couldnāt help but think about what would happen if the glass should suddenly crack and break: leaving them to drown in the dark waters.
āKeep up!ā His father growled, picking up his hurried pace.
Jareth was angry and with those words, Ulekās fears of the Byssyian palace melted away: it was nothing in comparison with his fatherās present wrath.Ā
Jareth had been made to look a fool at dinner. Konstantine Secura and his nephew both had a rather mischievous sense of humor and, paired with their ready wit, had been making jabs at the Karthine King all throughout the evening and it wasnāt until it was nearly over that Jareth had noticed at all. It had put him in a particularly foul mood.
Ulek moved a bit faster, but still kept his distance. Heād learned from a young age that this was best whenever his father was upset. But he hadnāt listened well enough and a moment later Jareth turned abruptly and grabbed Ulekās arm, pushing his roughly forward, āWhen I give you a command, you follow it,ā He yelled, āI am your father and your king and I will tolerate nothing less. Do you think because you are my son that I shall show you leniency? Do you think that I need you?ā He laughed, then, āNo, I donāt need you. I will just as quickly put your sister on the throne. When I speak, she listens.ā He said, eyeing Ulek closely as he compared him to his sister, āShe is only a woman, but perhaps she is still your superior. And you ā¦ you just canāt seem to keep up, can you?ā
