Father and Karen were out. Of course they were out, they were always out. They hadn't bothered asking me to watch Toby, knowing I was busy brooding in my room. Since senior year started that's all I had done. Brood.
What was the point of school, now that I knew about magic? Hoggel, Ludo... Heck, even the bog of eternal stench. Everything magical made me realize that my world, the aboveground was just so damn small. Everyone went on with their small lives without a care. Everyone except me.
I pushed The Labyrinth away from my head as I laid on the bed. No point in reading it again. It wouldn't bring back my friends. I had essentially memorized the words after coming back, but it only made me sadder. There was nothing in my heart except anger that I hadn't figured out how to get back.
"Should you need us." I mused out loud. "Should you need us. Of course I need Hoggel. But that doesn't give me much information. Actually, none." I fell back, defeated.
My eyes flickered to Lancelot, laying on the floor like a rag. Toby wasn't the most careful three year old with his possessions. I reached for the bear. The soft fur had been covered in spit one too many times to be worth anything now. Not that it mattered. Lancelot was the reason I was had experienced magic in the first place. Had Lancelot not been missing, I never would have been angry. Well, maybe I would have. But still.
As I sat in my misery, my stomach rumbled. For all my suffering, I had a sudden desire.
"I wish I had a cake."
I didn't really think about what I had just done.
I got up from my brooding and slid down the banister for something to eat. Not cake, I decided. There was no cake. Karen was eerily health conscious. She generally stuck to lettuce and air. Thin figures and all that.
The fridge was halfway open when I got to it. Strange because I hadn't touched it since lunch when they left. Had it been open the whole time? I felt the milk. It still had a layer of condensation, so It couldn't have been open long. It probably just swung open, I told myself. In any case, I grabbed an apple from the crisper and closed it properly.
I climbed back up the stairs to my room, expecting to lie back down for awhile before finishing homework.
I didn't expect him.
XxxxxxxxxxxxXxxx
"Jareth." My voice shook.
He stood in glorious apparition in front of me. His hair was a little less chopped, and his pants slightly less tight. He didn't look any older, however. On the contrary, his eyes were brighter and his -makeup- Was less obvious. The insolent smirk of a thousand years hadn't changed, taking his usually attractive features and ruining them.
He leaned against my desk with his stupid orbs, an eyebrow raised in challenge. "Hello, Sarah."
"What do you want?" I couldn't control the shake in my voice. I wanted to sound confident. I wanted to sound beautiful and strong. But his eyes... They were so cruel.
"Sarah. You act as if you aren't glad to see me."
Was I? I couldn't tell. My heart was pounding like I had just run a marathon. "I'm not." I decided.
He crossed his arms in front of his skinny chest. "Your eyes say otherwise."
"My eyes say nothing. Why are you here? What do you want from me?"
He slithered across from the open window. His cape blew back, revealing a rather nice looking button up and silken pants. The whole getup reminded me of a wedding ensemble.
"Let me see. Well. I was just at a party in the underground. I was having a wonderful time, laughing and joking with my fellow underlings, when a certain... Occurrence occurred." He crossed his arms, but continued to pace towards me. "I heard a wish."
I quickly realized what he was getting at. "I'm sure you hear a lot of wishes."
"Not from you."
"I know what they do." My mouth felt slack and useless. "I know how easily they can be misused."
The apparition in front of me crept even closer, until I had to crane my neck to see his face. He bored his eyes into mine, all beautiful and cold. It had been two years since I had seen anyone so cruel, so knowledgable...
...So beautiful.
"You can't take back what has been said." He whispered against my lips. "You have made your wish."
For a second, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. All I saw was blue and fire. Then I remembered.
"Did you bring me cake?"
At first, he only stared.
Then his eyes crinkled.
And he laughed.
"Cake?"
Well. "That's what I wished for."
I quickly realized I was wrong when he couldn't stop laughing. He actually doubled over in legitimate laughter that seemed to go on forever. Was he okay?
"Jare-" but he stopped me.
"You're a fool, Sarah. Beautiful, unyielding, but foolish. It's not a wish you made out loud. It was a wish," he pointed at my heart, "you made in here."
Oh no.
"I didn't wish anything."
"You wished to go back, Sarah. You wished to be there with your little underling friends."
My heart resumed its pounding. "You can't be serious. I didn't wish it out loud. You have no power over my internal decisions."
"Oh don't I? Food for thought." Without a seconds notice he grabbed my arm in a gloved hand. "Remind me of that the next time I send you a nightmare."
He snapped a finger, and the scene changed. There was a dank smell, and a dark sky. Or was it a sky?
"Welcome to your new home, Sarah!" He said, his arms outstretched. "I do hope you like the dungeons provisions. I hear they're full of rats."
My eyes started to water without my
Permission. "You can't get away with this!"
"I can."
He turned around without another word and shut a gate behind him, effectively leaving me in the dark.