Author's Note: I do not own the Labyrinth obviously, but with that being said this is just a little something I've been working on for a couple of months since David Bowie died. Was sitting at work and just came up with an idea and wanted to roll with it, so whenever I had a little down time I would scratch a few words down before my boss could catch me. Anyways I hope y'all enjoy, I do plan to put another installment in maybe a third but probably not going to do much more than three parts to this one.
Upon Wings She Came pt. 1
He appeared within the forest with a dramatic shower of glitter, one of the fireies had reported the appearance of a girl in the clearing that laid at the center of the deep forest. Wading through the crowd of creatures that inhabited the forest that had decided to gather around the strange girl, he came upon the most astonishing sight. Upon seeing the girl up close he stiffened, though her face was veiled by her hair she still held an odd resemblance to Her; the long chestnut hair, the shape of her body was about right, and the age were approximately all the same and reminded him of Her. However, there were a pair of translucent fairy-like wings gracing her back, and if this girl was who he thought, then the wings were a new development. One of the fireies stepped closer to her and was reaching out a hand to touch one of the wings, but before he could snap out a warning to his foolish subject a crack of lightning streaked from the girl and struck the offending creature. The rest of the crowd of creatures either moved further away or fled all together, the sight of the cowardly creatures made a crooked smile creep onto his face out of habit. Whatever had happened to her since she was last in his realm had made her stronger than he had ever imagined she could be, even with the amount of power she took from him when she conquered the labyrinth. Her magic protected her even when she was unconscious and unable to defend herself, this ability was rare and considered a gift among his kind, only a handful of people in the Underground were powerful enough to obtain this ability, and all of them were upper nobility or royalty. With a sharp tone, he commanded the few stragglers remaining to leave the area. Once they were all out of sight he waved his hand in an arc in front of him casting a spell over the girl's body, it lifted off the ground then was encased in a giant crystal sphere. He walked closer to the sphere knowing that he was safe from her powers while she was encased, her face remained veiled to him much to his annoyance, but he could see other disturbing things about her, like all the scars that covered her exposed skin. Something had happened to her, but even he couldn't imagine what. There had been no reports of new inhabitants arriving in the Underground in the last 20 years, before She had ever set foot in his kingdom.
With a slight nudge he sent the crystal to his castle, then vanishing himself only to reappear in one of the guest rooms. He waved his arm in an arc once more casting a spell over the room to revive it from the disuse, all the colors within becoming instantly more vibrant. A fire roared to life in the ornate fireplace and began warming the room of the damp chill. Summoning one of his young goblin maids, he instructed her to stock the bathroom with towels, shampoos, soaps and oils fit for royalty, and to also bring up some plain day dresses from the storage, particularly one with low rising backs. After the goblin had left he walked over to the balcony window and swung it open, outside hovered the encased girl, he directed the orb through the room to the queen-sized sleigh bed, when she was directly in the center of the bed the crystal dissolved and her body gently floated down onto the mattress. Walking over to the bedside he looked down at the young woman, her face finally visible; it was Her, and if not he was being cursed to see her doppelganger. He grabbed the comforter and pulled it up over her legs until it covered her stomach, he watched her for a few minutes, the only break in his thoughts being the little maid's return. He never imagined he would see Her face again, not in the flesh anyways, that face haunted his every dream since the day she left. He wanted to touch the porcelain skin of her cheek, but refrained as to not receive the same punishment has his subject earlier, instead he turned and walked out of the room.
Over the next few days a healer came in and without touching the girl did as much as she could so not to raise the girl's body's defenses, but without the skin to skin contact there was very little that could be done to truly heal the girl. The small ministrations she was able to do only helped relieve her body's natural healing abilities of any extra stress. After each session the healer reported in to Jareth, each visit she looked just as disappointed as the last, but regardless, Jareth thanked her graciously. When he was alone again in his study he would sink back into his chair with a deep, disappointed sigh of his own; until she woke up he would have no answers to his questions, he wouldn't know if she really was his champion or just a mere copy, and with his entire being he was hoping it would be her there in front of him once again. She was his weakness, not just the conqueror of his labyrinth, but of his entire being, every fiber of him belonged to her, even when he tried to hate her for her success and innocence. He understood that at the time she had just been a mere child and did not fully understand what he had been asking of her. Should this girl be his Sarah, he had no intentions of ever letting her leave his side again.
Another two days went by with much the same results, but on the third day her eyes fluttered open startling the healer, who ran from the room as fast as her legs could take her all the way to the throne room where Jareth was holding court. She bolted through the door causing all the courtiers to turn and take notice of the interruption.
"She's awake!"
Jareth calmly took note of the out of breath healer, but inside his body was trying to fly from his throne without a second thought to the people around him, however, with a slight nod of acknowledgement to the healer, who immediately went back to her charge, he turned back to his audience doing everything to remain calm like his station required of him.
"My guests, it seems I will need to cut this session short and see to my guest who was not well upon their arrival to our kingdom. To show my thanks for your understanding I will cut this month's tax in half for those present, so please give your names to my advisor Sir Didymus on your way out."
With that said he got up from his throne and left the throne room, excited whispers filling the room behind him. When the door to the corridor closed, he vanished to the doorway of the guest chamber in which the girl laid. He opened the great oak door and walked in, quickly going through the sitting room to the main sleeping area. As he walked in he saw the girl being helped into a sitting position.
"Be careful of her wings, they are very sensitive."
"Yes, You're Majesty."
The girl's eyes flew up and landed on him as if shocked to see him. He dismissed the healer with a wave of his hand, the girl scurried past him with a quick bow, leaving him alone with his guest.
"Goblin King?"
"That is correct, and what is your name?"
"Do you not know me anymore? It's me, Sarah." She almost sounded hurt. "I cannot believe I made it here." She smiled for a second, but it quickly faded into a frown. "Goblin King?"
"Call me Jareth."
"Jareth, why can't I see, what's wrong with my eyes?"
His brow furrowed in confusion, they had not noticed anything wrong with her eyes. He walked to the side of the bed, her head following the sound of his boots clicking on the stone floor, but as he got closer he noticed her eyes were not focused on anything. Reaching out his fingers he brushed her cheek, her first reaction was to pull away from him, but she relaxed after a moment.
"Sarah, I'm going to need you to trust me and allow me into your mind. Can you do that for me?"
She nodded softly. He pushed magic outwards, Sarah gasped in surprise as she felt him enter her mind. Images flashed through his mind, they were blurry and dark for the most part, but then there was an intense flash of light in one of the memories and then nothing but utter blackness. He opened his eyes and looked down at the trembling girl before him, he could tell she felt completely vulnerable without her sight, it was almost enjoyable to see her powerless and in his debt for a change. However, he had always loved the fire that burned within her as well; his thumbs stroked her cheeks almost absently, her lips parted in wonder and her small hands came up to gently grasp his wrists, he began to lean in as if to kiss her pink lips.
"Jareth?" He pulled back at the whisper of his name. "Jareth, what's wrong with me?"
"You were in some kind of battle, you must have looked right into an explosion, the light must have been extremely intense and temporarily blinded you. There is no external injuries to your eyes so I'm fairly confident your sight will return soon."
"You think so?" A smile began to grace her lips again, but again it faltered. "How can you be so sure though?"
"Well, I'm no healer, but as I mentioned there are no outward damages to your eyes, do I'd say it is a safe bet your sight will return with time; I'll update the healer for her next visit but until then let's keep a sash over them to protect them from the light. He conjured a velvet sash and tied it around her eyes.
As he was tying the sash she couldn't help but feel the closeness of his chest, the heat of his body radiated off him, and she could smell the faint scent of magic and bark on his skin. She felt her cheeks warm as a blush stained her face. As she felt him move away from her, she felt his long fingers graze her collar, the sensation sent chills across her skin, she heard him chuckle and knew it was at her expense.
"Do I embarrass you, Sarah?"
" .."
"I'm only laughing because you look very beautiful when you blush like that." He watched a small smile grace her lips and stay this time. "Sarah, I'm going to have one of the servants come in and help you bathe and dress, I would like for you to join me for lunch and dinner, there are a few things I'd like to ask you about."
"Like how I came to be back in the Underground?"
"Among other things, will that be alright?"
"Well, as I did everything I could to make it to the Goblin Kingdom and beg for your protection it would only be fair to tell you everything I can."
He wanted to ask her everything right then, but refrained and instead summoned the maid that had prepared the room when he brought her to the castle. When the little creature arrived he took one of Sarah's hands and placed a kiss on the back of it and bid her farewell till later. He left the room and went to the Royal Wing, along the way pulling goblin servants from their present responsibilities, he ordered them to prepare one of the royal rooms for a new resident, and to make sure it was fit for a noble lady. Afterwards, he went down to the kitchen and informed them they'd be cooking for two from here on out, and to have lunch brought up to his private study.
Sarah allowed the little servant to lead her around, listening without much interruption to the creature ramble about life in the castle and Goblin City. She was helped with her bath, hair, and dressing; of which he dearly hoped was not overly revealing like the dresses she was forced to wear at the last castle she was at. The mere thought of that place made her skin crawl in the most unpleasant way, she hoped and prayed that man never found her ever again, even if it meant she had to be a slave for Jareth for the rest of her life. She felt slippers being gently pulled over her toes, the silence of the goblin registering in her mind.
"I'm sorry, I spaced out there for a moment..."
"Brigy, Lady." The goblin said shyly. "And it's alright, I know our lives aren't as exciting as the nobles, you all have so much more exciting lives."
"It's not like that, Brigy, I was thinking about how grateful I am to be in a better place than I was. The Goblin Kingdom sounds wonderful."
She stood up, a little shaky at first but she used the wall for support and followed by hand her guide out of the room and through the twisty hallways, stumbling slightly from the height difference. After a few minutes she felt the goblin come to a halt, there was a knock which was shortly followed by Jareth's voice telling them to enter. As the sound of the door squeaking open she felt the gentle breeze of warm air hit her face.
"Ah, Sarah, welcome. I hope you are hungry?"
"Yes, You're Majesty, quite actually."
"Good, and didn't I already explain, you can call me Jareth. There is no need for formalities, at least not in private."
"My apologies, force of habit I suppose, most royalty do not allow their subordinates to call them by name." She fumbled slightly as she took a step forward, she felt his gloved hands grasp her by her elbows and help her upright, her skin prickled at the contact and she felt her face warm in embarrassment. "I'm sorry."
"For what exactly, Sarah, you have nothing to be sorry for." He guided her to a chair and helped her get seated and pushed her chair in. "And just so we are clear, while you are under my protection you will not be considered my subordinate, you are a guest of nobility."
"But I'm not actually of the nobility in the Underground."
"Well, we will have to make that known then, by rights the power you obviously carry within you now would rank you as high nobility if not royalty."
"NO!" Her sudden outburst startled him, and looking at her he could see that she was shaking. "I'm sorry to be so impertinent, but I don't want anyone to know where I am. I don't ever want to end up back in that place again."
"Sarah, I'm not going to push for an answer right now, but at some point I'd like to know exactly how you came to be back in my realm and what has happened to you since you've returned." He sighed, he wanted to know everything now, but her obvious distress kept him from bombarding her with questions. "There is only so much I can do with limited information on who I'm protecting you from."
Her composure paled even more, and he knew he was causing any hope of safety to leave her, he had to find a way to reassure her. "Sarah, can you at least tell me where they rank in society? Are they of nobility, or royalty"
"They are not ranked in Underground society," her voice shook. "All they are and will ever be are monsters. No race in any society will accept them as part of their circle."
He nodded in understanding though she couldn't see it, and did not press for more information. They ate in silence for the rest of the time, he could see she was starting to tire again, so with one of his crystals he summoned Brigy back to his study. Standing from his chair he walked over to her chair and helped her back to her feet, in a quiet voice she thanked him; to anyone else it would only have appeared to be for helping her up, but he knew it was for not pressing for information just yet. Brigy met them at the door and took Sarah's hand to lead her back to her room, he told Sarah that he would have the healer meet her back in her chamber to have a look at her eyes.
Sir Didymus entered his office about an hour later and inquired about the girl, "Is it truly Lady Sarah, Sir?"
"It is, and it seems she has been a resident in the Underground for a while now, but not by choice or in any way pleasant either."
"Where has she been then?" Didymus said slightly shocked. "And who would want to hurt her?"
"Vampires." The venom in his voice thick. "Without even realizing it she gave me more information than she intended to, now it is only a matter of weeding out who dared capture her. Also, how her body changed physically, I'm curious to find out what brought that about as well."
"What kind of changes are you talking about?"
"Fairy wings, and I wouldn't be shocked to find her ears are pointed like a fairies too."
Sarah sat up in the bed, she could feel the healer hovering over her, her fingers ever so slightly fluttering over her body and eyes. The lady had explained that there were several cuts and bruises all over her body, and that this was the first time she'd been able to properly provide healing. Her eyes would take a few days to completely heal, but they would be perfectly fine as the King had thought. With the first session on her eyes done she was able to see light and shadows, but everything else was completely blurry and without real shape. The healer told her to leave the blindfold on to help protect them for another day or two, just to allow them to fix themselves along with her work.
"So what sort of trouble did you get yourself into that brought all this physical damage?"
"I escaped from a very bad place, but I don't know any other people in the Underground except the Goblin King and the people who took me from my home." She hugged her knees to her chest. "I doubt my brother even remembers me, I've been gone for so long."
"When did you get kidnapped?"
"When I was seventeen, he would have been three then."
"And how long have you been in the Underground?"
"I'm twenty-five now, so, eight years," she hugged herself tighter. "I miss my family so much."
"I can understand entirely, my dear. Family is the most important part of life, and you want to know what I think," Sarah turned her head back to look at the woman once more. "I bet your brother and family remember and miss you very much too."
"Thank you."
"All in a day's work. I haven't had anyone to care for in a long time, it's nice to feel needed again."
"I take it His Majesty doesn't get sick or injured often?" Sarah chuckled.
"No, most certainly not. His Majesty is healthy as a horse, always...sometimes I wish he'd catch a cold every once in a while so I'd have some more to do, but don't tell him I said that."
"I won't, I promise."
"Well, I am all finished for today, you get some rest. I'm sure Brigy will be back this evening to get you for supper. I will see you again in the morning."
"Thank you again."
When the door closed behind her the healer vanished to Jareth's study, he looked up expectantly at her appearance. "She's been down here for eight years, and from what little she mentioned she was not brought before any other residents of our realm outside of the vampire race."
"That's not entirely surprising though, very few of the other races would lower themselves to associate with those vermin. It is extremely rare and usually only meant as a means of torture to a prisoner." He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I need a name, I cannot get the backing I need to confront these monsters until I know who I am dealing with."
"Are the fae not more powerful than the vampires, Sire?" Sir Didymus spoke up from his place in front of the King's desk.
"Yes and no, we have one advantage over them, and that is the fact we are born with magic. However, should one of them manage to drink a fae's blood they too will have the same type of magic that fae controls, at least for a short period of time. Regardless, a vampire amped up with magical blood is a dangerous and formidable enemy. They are like leeches, and that is why they are not accepted into the rest of society, no one wants to be associated with a leech who could easily drive a race into genocide without an ounce of remorse."
He dismissed his two subjects saying he needed to consult some of the other rulers about the vampire movements. When they had gone he summoned one of his crystals and called forth Odin, King of the fairies, when the older fae's face appeared within the orb he explained rather vaguely his situation, giving just enough information to intrigue the other monarch to meet in person. Not long after the connection was broken one of his guards knocked on the door and announced the arrival of the Fairy King in the throne room. He instructed the guard to bring his guest back to his study and to make sure they were not interrupted while they spoke, after only a few more minutes the guard returned with an imposing figure looming behind him. Jareth dismissed his servant with a small flick of his wrist while rising to greet Odin.
"Now, what is it really that is making the mighty Goblin King get all his feathers ruffled up with the vampires? You are one of the few kingdoms that does not have to worry much about them invading your territory."
"I'm asking for your help in this because you are one of the few rulers I trust, but it's not so much worry about invasion as it is about the safety of a guest in my castle." He returned to his seat and motioned for the other king to take a seat opposite him. "You may remember some years ago there was a young girl who ran my labyrinth to win back her baby brother." He paused to see the man's reaction, at the nod he continued. "It would seem after her return home sometime, a vampire crossed over and took her from her home. She's been a prisoner in their kingdom ever since. She by stroke of very good luck managed to escape and make it to my kingdom to ask for asylum from them."
"Shouldn't you be glad she has had to suffer after she defeated you and destroyed half your kingdom in the process? Not to mention if they left her alive they have probably already turned her into one of them..." Seeing Jareth shake his head he stopped with a slightly dumbfounded look on his face. "She hasn't been turned?"
"No, they didn't turn her into one of them, of that I am certain, but I don't know what all she has been put through while trapped there."
"Well, that brings me back to my original question, should you not be happy that she's miserable?"
"No, I am not, I wouldn't wish that fate upon her even after she defeated me. If you had met her then you would understand; with everything she's went through she has changed drastically, like that inner fire has nearly gone out."
"You fell in love with her!?"
"As I said, if you had met her back then you would understand. There are not many humans with her kind of spirit and courage to face a full-blooded fae in the face and not only openly defy them, but to declare that they are equal in every way. Most humans fear us when they are confronted by one of us, they prefer to believe that the faerie folk are only stories they tell their children at night. Sarah was different though, she believed with every fiber of her being in our realm, and not just believed in it, but wanted to be a part of it if only for a little while."
"So how can I help?"
"Just like that? No other explanation needed to convince you?"
"No other explanation needed, you are my friend and have helped me without question in the past." The great man said with a rueful smile. "However, I do not deal with the vampires as often as people think, they've more or less come to the realization that crossing into my territory is a suicide mission. Only their truly brave or stupid attempt to cross now days, makes life more peaceful when their attacks become fewer and fewer."
"All I need is for you to have my back when I find the wretched bastard who did this to her." The venom in his voice thick. "I'm not so foolish as to go up against them unprepared, one wrong move and we will have given them the power to destroy the fae race all together."
"Well, I will get an army ready and prepare them for who they are going to be facing. Let me know when you get more information."
"I will."
Sarah woke to a soft caress on her face, the shadow of the person was very close to her face blocking almost all the light from her vision. The person's shadow was still shapeless and not helping her discern who was touching her. They whispered her name, but the voice she heard had her screaming and flinging herself across the bed and rolling to the floor.
"Sarah, are you alright?"
This time it was Jareth's voice that she heard.
"Sarah, what is it?"
"I'm sorry, you just startled me that's all."
He came around and helped her to her feet, her body was shaking hard and silently telling him that she wasn't simply startled, but something had truly scared her. Her hands were clenched tightly in his shirt as they stood there in silence; her wings flicked slightly behind her as his thumb made circles on her hip, his other hand came up to cup her cheek. As he ran his thumb over her bottom lip he heard her breath catch in her throat.
Sarah couldn't control her breathing as is caught in the back of her throat, she was not used to such tender ministrations from a man; she felt the slight pressure of him leaning in, he was going to kiss her was the only thought she could get to run through her muddled brain.
"My lady, are you awake?"
Jareth pulled away from the lovely creature before him, dropping the hand that had been holding her face and looked over to the doorway where Brigy was standing with the healer.
"You're Majesty, is everything alright?"
"Yes, Lady Liza, I just came to check on our guest and accidently startled her in the process. I take it you are here to start another session?" He helped Sarah sit back on the bed again.
"Yes, this should be the last she will need on her eyes, they should be back to normal, everything else has already been taken care of."
"Well, I shall leave my dear Sarah in your skillful hands. Sarah, will you join me for lunch later?"
"Anything you wish, You're Majesty."
Desire clouded his eyes, and he was almost thankful she could not see that at this very moment. Taking her hand in his he placed a kiss on her knuckles before departing the room.
"What in the Underground have you done to the King, Lady Sarah?" Liza's voice rang with amusement.
"I have no idea what you mean by that."
"He is quite bewitched by you, my dear." Liza said with an air of laughter in her voice. "He has barely been able to hide the fact he watches you every chance he gets. Are you sure you are not a sorceress?"
"I'm pretty sure about that one. I'm sure you are mistaken, His Majesty does not see me as more than a blind begging girl, it is more than likely pity you see."
"No, it most certainly is not pity. Lust, yearning...love..." Liza began her ministrations, the words quietly dying on her lips.
Brigy went to the bathroom and began to run a hot bath for her mistress, then went and pulled out a beautiful emerald dress from the closet. She buzzed about the room finding matching shoes and jewelry, then cleaning up the few things that had managed to make it onto the floor.
After a few more minutes Liza proclaimed that she was finished and for Sarah to open her eyes; after a few blinks she claimed that she could make things out much better than before, but her vision was still slightly blurry. Liza told her to go bathe and see if the blurriness went away on its own, and if not then she would try again. Sarah did as she was told, the bath felt wonderful as she washed her hair and scrubbed down with the available shampoos and soaps left around the tub's edge.
When she got out she dried herself with the towel then slipped into a silk robe provided for her. Her vision had cleared completely, and with her new found vision she took in her surroundings, then looking down at herself. She looked down at her arms and pulled the silk sleeves up to reveal the skin beneath, for the most part they were blemish free except around her wrists where silver scars lined the skin. These marks were in the shape of bite marks, her captor had fed off her multiple times, and these scars would never go away. Walking over to the mirror she pulled her long chestnut hair away from her neck and saw matching bite marks there as well, with a sigh she dropped the robe away from her shoulders and letting it rest at her waist. A sad expression spread across her face as she took in the scars covering her chest and back, she felt tainted and could still feel the vampires mouth on her skin. A knock sounded on the door effectively pulling her out of her dark thoughts, she pulled the robe back into place and opened the door. Going out into the room she allowed Brigy to help get her dress on, the little goblin didn't make mention of the marks all over Sarah's skin, much to the girl's relief.
"Brigy, will you show me to the gardens? I wish to see me of the castle grounds before I join His Majesty for lunch."
"Yes, my lady."
Brigy led her down the stone hallways to a side entrance to the massive gardens, but as big as it was it also wasn't much to look at which explained the confused note in the goblins voice when she had asked to be brought here. She dismissed Brigy and said she would be fine on her own until it was time to meet the King, when her companion was gone she walked deeper into the half dead garden, noticing also that it was overrun with weeds and garden fairies. She leaned down to one of the fairies and held her hand out to them. The little creature climbed up into her hand with a puzzled expression.
"Now, no biting me. I just want to ask a favor of you," she gave the creature a pointed look and only continued when she got the creature's nod of consent. "If I fix up a place in the garden just for you and the other fairies will you leave the rest of the garden alone?"
The fairy nodded vigorously then flew down to his fellow companions who grew excited at his announcement. She had them show her their favorite spot in the gardens, and as they flitted away she followed them to the far corner of the garden, the spot was tucked away at the very back of the gardens. Kneeling down on to the stone pavement she placed her hands on the ground and concentrated her magic on the area they had picked out. The brush slowly grew thicker and greener, tiny trees came up resembling the larger ones already spread throughout the pathways. A replica of the Goblin King's castle appeared and was fully functional; colorful flowers filled in the spaces, and grass covered up the dirt around everything else to create a soft turf for them to walk on. The final adjustment she made was a fruit garden along one side of the castle, several types of berries popping up on the vines that weaved around on the ground. When she lifted her hands from the ground she had a thin sheen of sweat on her brow and was slightly out of breath, but as all the fairies whizzed around the area gleefully she admired her handiwork, and was rewarded as each fairy took a turn to come kiss her cheek as a thank you.
She got up and moved to another spot in the garden, lightly touching the existing plants she weaved her magic around them allowing them to regrow and take on a healthier green. She repeated this process in several more spots as she slowly moved closer to the castle again; it wasn't until she began to feel the lightness in her head and the heavy weight of her limbs that told her she was over exerting herself that she stopped and sat down on the ledge of one of the flowerbeds. She decided she would rest here until she had to go meet Jareth, it wouldn't be much longer now anyways. She tilted her head back and enjoyed the feel of the sun's rays on her face, the warmth was something she had dearly missed when she was being held prisoner. She hadn't realized she'd allowed her mind to wander off until she felt an all too familiar hand trace her jaw, opening her eyes she let out a shriek.
"There you are, my bird, oh how I've missed you." Her captor stood before her with a smug smile on his face. "This is where you've been hiding since that little stunt you pulled."
"Get away from me, you bastard!" She shoved him away then darted for the entrance of the castle. "Jareth, I need you!"
Jareth appeared in front of her, she flung herself behind him just as the vampire came into view. The two men stared each other down, silently sizing the other up, and each clearly prepared to fight for the woman before them.
"Well, well, the mighty Goblin King makes an appearance at last."
"Barnabas, I should have known you were involved with Sarah's kidnapping. Did you think she would help you invade the kingdoms of the Underground, or that she would simply surrender herself to you?"
"Hummingbird, have you not told him about our arrangement?" Barnabas grinned maliciously. "Oh it was a delightful little arrangement, she actually thought of it. She is quite clever, in fact, her cleverness is why I am so fond of her. And she tastes so sweet, in more ways than one if you get my drift. Go on, Hummingbird, tell him what we were."
Jareth glanced over his shoulder at her expectantly, the terror of being abandoned by him filled her to her very core. "Jareth, it's not like that I swear, I just didn't want to die, not there and not without a fighting chance."
"Go to my study, I want a full explanation when I get there." She nodded then raced inside, the vampire made to go after her, but was halted. "Don't even think about it, you filth."
"I want what belongs to me, Goblin King."
"She belongs to no one, and you are trespassing into my territory now, that is something I do not take lightly."
A crystal flew at the vampire, hitting him in the shoulder and sending shards of glass into his skin. Barnabas growled in pain and anger then launched himself at the fae man. Thus their battle of will began, each countering the other's attacks and landing several blows upon one another, until finally Jareth summoned his sword from the armory and with a swift swing of the blade he took off the monster's left arm. With a pained screech the vampire took off at lightning speed, Jareth dismissed the sword then went to his room and changed his clothes before joining his guest in his study.
When he entered the room he saw her standing by the window staring blankly up at the sky, her arms crossed as if to protect herself. He closed the door with a small bit of force to announce his presence in the room, but she did not turn to him as he had expected her to, the only reaction he got was a slight flinch at the noise. He went to demand an answer from her but she beat him to it...
"I was seventeen when that man appeared in my home. I was alone at the house with my brother, I had already put Toby to sleep and was just sitting in my room working on schoolwork when I looked up into my vanity mirror and saw him standing across the room with a strange expression on his face, I later learned that the look he gave me that night was one of hunger...I got up and tried to get to my phone before he could grab me but he was too fast, he had me pinned against my vanity and had buried his fangs in my neck. I tried to struggle but I was growing too weak to really fight back, and eventually passed out. I woke a couple of days later in a dingy cell back in the Underground, I had no recollection of arriving there and could only assume I'd been transported there while I had been unconscious. I was never given a reason why I was taken, or why I had been kept alive, they hadn't turned me as of yet, but they came every night to feed on me and the other prisoners in the other cells.
There was another prisoner being held captive in the same cell as me, as the days wore on I learned from our brief conversations that she was a fairy noble that they had captured a few months earlier. I never got her name, but it really didn't matter, she was unconscious and very weak most of the time we were around one another, so conversation was always short lived. About a year after I had been brought back down here, Barnabas and his goons brought me and the other lady into a room where they held fights between prisoners and each other at times when they were bored. They threw us down into the pit and basically told us we had to decide which one of us was going to die first, after that we were left alone for hours, and during this timer my cell mate explained to me that these monsters had taken her entire family. They had already slaughtered her husband and children while making her watch. They had drained them completely of their blood then ripped the bodies apart. They kept her simply to feed on her, something about temporarily gaining the magic she possessed. I suppose they expected her to kill me or make sure I was the one to die by their hands, but instead she transferred her powers to me then attacked them when they came back for us. Barnabas caught on though, he knew what she was doing, knew that she wanted them to end her suffering, and instead called off his goons and put an ultimatum on me; I had to either kill her myself or he would turn us both into vampires. She pleaded for me to do it, she had no desire to live, and as I plunged the knife I'd been handed into her gut she made me swear to escape from there no matter what it took.
My first surge of power came late that same night, it was one of the most painful experiences in my life, every inch of my body felt like it was on fire and being struck by lightning all at the same time. My body was changing and conforming to the magic now coursing through my veins, the wings were the worst, they felt like blades pushing out of my skin very slowly. Due to my screaming, Barnabas came down to the dungeons to see what the commotion was, the look of pure delight on his face is something I'll never forget. The next day he came to me and took me up to his personal rooms and asked me what I wanted to be to him, and like anyone in my position I answered that I wished to be rid of him, but he made it clear he had no intentions of letting me ever leave there alive unless I became one of them. So I bargained with him to make me his personal servant rather than being turned, made food for his goons, or ripped apart as he was fond of doing to those who defied him. I had not realized what I was getting myself into at the time, and for the first couple of week following I was merely a servant and a source of food just for him. But as my body got stronger he began to take more and more blood from me, then one night he drained me enough to make me too weak to fight back, but not enough to make me pass out, and that was the first night he raped me."
She paused at the gasp that came involuntarily from the man behind her, her arms tugged more tightly around herself. Sighing she proceeded. "This became my life everyday for the next five years, if I tied to fight back I was beat until I couldn't move, and he would ensure to double the abuse knowing at this point there was nothing I could do to stop him from violating me. And about two years ago, I became pregnant with his child. That was the only time I had any real relief from him, he wouldn't risk the child's life, so during that time I began to try and control my magic and learn how to use it against him. He made sure I was never alone for very long so learning anything was almost impossible, he wanted to ensure I didn't try anything that could harm the thing growing inside me. Thankfully, when it was born Barnabas spent less time torturing me and more time teaching that child all his horrible habits. I trained myself as best as I could and the day you found me I had pulled up every ounce of magic in me to attack him and transport myself to the one place in the Underground where I felt I'd find sanctuary, even if it meant I'd be made a slave; anything was better than being Barnabas' doll and toy to play with as he pleased."
Jareth moved to the other side of the window and looked at her speculatively for a moment, until she turned to look over at him, her eyes pleading for him not to abandon her to the mercy of the man who had held her captive for most of her adult life. He reached across the space between them with a gloved hand and cupped her cheek. She nuzzled her face deeper into his hand, feeling the warmth of his hand through the leather, and it was in this moment he realized he didn't care if what she had told him was the truth or not, he would protect her no matter what. He wanted to spend eternity with her. He stepped closer to her and took her face in both hands as he watched her look up at him innocently, her lashes brushing her lower eye as they opened and closed almost as if in slow motion; he leaned gently in allowing her time to tell him no, but she didn't pull away or refuse him. When his mouth touched hers her eyes fluttered shut and she melted into his embrace.
She didn't quite understand why she felt this attachment to a man she barely knew, but she knew she had never felt as safe as she did now in the confines of his arms. He took them to his room where it was guaranteed they wouldn't be disturbed by any of his subjects. He laid her down on the bed then climbed above her, he kissed her lips again then trailed them down her neck, but as his hand began to pull her dress up she froze, her whole body stiffened beneath him. He stopped and looked at her, she could see the disappointment and desire in his eyes, but he seemed to understand she was not ready to be so intimate with him. He smoothed her dress back down and rolled onto his side beside her, she followed suit and rolled onto her side to face him, allowing him to run his fingers through her hair tenderly. She nudged herself closer so they were touching and buried her face in his neck, his free hand traced patterns on her hip and arm repeatedly, the sensation sending goose bumps up and down her body. They stayed like this for the rest of the afternoon, lunch forgotten, neither one caring about the world outside, just enjoying the feeling of being together.