"I too wish to know who attacked the Lady Dawn and why," Philoma said, her voice clear and steady even as her eyes started to show faint signs of exhaustion. Still, she sat upright and regal as befitted her status and the situation; privately, Emilie admired her for that, though the Goblin Queen kept her expression impartial.

"It is as you say, King Hathion," Philoma continued, lowering her eyes to the floor for a moment before raising them back up to meet Hathion's once more. "Jareth and I were courting for a little over ten years, as the custom in my land is to court for ten years before a marriage is arranged. Any shorter would be considered hasty, unwise.

"It's true that our courtship ended shortly before the Lady Dawn came to the realm of the Labyrinth, but that was a mutual agreement between Lord Jareth and myself. We parted on amicable terms, and agreed to keep the friendship between both our kingdoms and ourselves intact.

"Actually, it was I who wanted to end our romantic relationship." She glanced over at Jareth, as if for confirmation, and he nodded at her, smiling slightly. Taking a breath, Philoma went on, "I noticed that in the last five years of our courtship, he had become distant, distracted. I could tell that he had something on his mind, and that something was neither myself or matters concerning his kingdom. So I asked him... and he confessed that he had taken to looking upon the human realm, and one girl's heart, shining brightly with a wish and love for her family, had captured his attention and his devotion.

"Truth be told... I was somewhat relieved to hear about it. I had noticed my own feelings towards Jareth not advancing towards considering him as any more than a wonderful friend and companion. I just... had not known how to approach him about it until he told me about Lady Dawn. I fear I was terribly unfair to him by not telling him sooner, but after hearing about her of course I couldn't keep him bound in courtship with me.

"I still consider Jareth a great friend," she continued, her voice deepening slightly with emotion. "Though we agreed that we did not love each other enough after all to consider marriage, I am so happy that he found someone else whom he could share his life with in love."

Philoma stopped speaking to smile at Dawn, before wiping away a tear from a corner of her eye.

"I'm sorry, I know this emotional state of mine is unbecoming of the situation--"

Personally, Emilie thought she was exercising remarkable self-control.

"--but I truly would not want to hurt Jareth or anyone he loved. How could I ruin his happiness like that? It is... unthinkable. Even now, he's one of the few that I trust the most."

Her voice trailed off in a murmur, clearly done speaking for the moment. Emilie and Jareth exchanged glances.

"What think you, My Lord Hathion?" Emilie asked after a brief pause.