After a long day of finals at school, Sarah just wanted to go to bed. She was certain she aced all of them except Trig. Ugh! I hate Trig! She grumbled. On top of that, those girls called her crazy again. Ever since she'd told her so-called friend about her adventures in the Underground, they all had teased her mercilessly. She had thought of having them over and then calling her friends through the mirror, proving they were real, but then thought better of it. She didn't want to put her friends in any sort of danger and she certainly didn't want those brats in her house. Not that they'd come over anyway. She seriously wanted to pay them back… she just couldn't figure out how. Yet. At least I'll be rid of them come May. She shuffled up the stairs toward her room, ignoring the prodding questions from Karen and the quasi-interest of her dad.
When she finally crossed the threshold, she flipped on her light and looked around. Instantly he eyes were drawn to the mess on her vanity and the floor just below. There were papers scattered around and make-up and jewelry everywhere. The drawers were all pulled out in succession, and the figurines were toppled over. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks.
"Dammit Toby if I catch you going through my stuff again I'll bog you myself!"
Bending over, she gathered all the papers and tossed them into the nearest drawer. The makeup and jewelry she was a little more careful with, depositing them all on the vanity. I'll go through this later. I'm just too worn out. She changed into one of her favorite over-sized shirts and a pair of shorts, turned off the light, and slunk into bed. Just as she started to get comfortable, she heard a scratching noise under her bed. She lifted her head from the pillow and craned her neck, waiting to hear more. After a few seconds, she heard it again. What the hell? Gripping the side of her bed she leaned over, her hair scraping the floor. She strained her eyes for a minute in the dark before finally realizing what she was seeing. She screamed and promptly fell on the floor in a heap of flailing limbs and blankets.
"What's going on up there Sarah?" Dad yelled up, obviously hearing the commotion.
"Nothing! Bad dream! Fell out of bed!"
She paused a minute to listen for steps. When nothing came, she righted herself and peered under the bed again.
"Jareth? What the hell are you doing here?"
The little figure huffed. "It's not as though this was planned, Sarah."
Sarah reached under her bed and scooped up the miniature Jareth, who immediately started scrabbling around trying to get free. She wrinkled her nose. She was not amused.
"Ah, ah, ah. Be good or I'll lock you in an oubliette of my own, like Toby's toy chest." Jareth stilled, though from the look on his face, he wasn't too keen about it.
"Just help me get back to normal. I can't rule the Goblin Kingdom like this! The goblins would chase me around like one of their confounded chickens. Or step on me!" Or eat me, he thought. A little shiver ran up his spine. Sarah's cheeks puffed from trying to hold back her laughter.
"I don't know. You make such a cute little Kingy-wingy!" Sarah tickled his tummy and made silly faces at him like you would for a baby.
Jareth felt his temperature rise, his blood beginning to boil. How dare she disobey him! He pointed his tiny finger at Sarah. "Don't defy me!" He had meant to sound intimidating but because of his small size, his voice only squeaked. Sarah couldn't hold it in anymore, and her laugh come out in short snorts.
"After all you put me through running your Labyrinth, Your Majesty, I deserve a little payback! Besides, you have no power over me!"
She snorted some more at the struggling mini-king, but then an idea began to form. A delicious, wicked idea. A smile crept along her lips and an eyebrow quirked. She let out a little self-satisfied chuckle that was almost Jareth-like. At the sound of that chuckle, Jareth stopped moving and his brows shot up so far they were nearly a part of his wild mane of hair. He did not like the look on Sarah's face.
"I'll make you a deal, Pocket Goblin King. I'll help find a way to return you to normal, but I have a job for you first…"
