Chapter one (Oh god, what am I thinking?)
Sarah, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny sat in a compartment alone as the train sped along the tracks, over bridges, through fields, drawing ever closer to London. Sarah sat, staring out the window, her chin in her hands.
She wasn't nervous, per se. Rather, cautious. She didn't know what would happen once she reached the station.
Dumbledore had promised to speak with her parents before she reached the station, and try to convince them that they should forgive Sarah, and let her be a part of their family again. Since their fight months ago, though Sarah sent them many owls, not a single letter of hers had been replied to.
Dumbledore had said that if he did manage to get through to them, her father and stepmother would be waiting at the station for her.
For Sarah, what followed would be a summer of Karen watching her every moment she was with Toby, waiting for her to slip up.
But it wasn't as if she had no other place to go. She'd received offers to stay with Hermione and the Weasley's, though the Weasley's home seemed a little crowded.
But still, there was one place where she really wanted to spend her summer.
Sarah smiled slightly as houses came into view, signalling the last leg of their journey through the city.
WATCHING NORTH AND SOUTH AGAIN, YAY!
A tall man walked through the station, his long hair tied back into a ponytail. He wore jeans, a white buttoned shirt, and a dark blue jacket, that seemed to shimmer. Women turned to look at him as he walked past, a strange man indeed. A black temple hat adorned his head, the brim pulled low over his eyes. (A temple hat is one of those ones with… a brim, which goes up a bit at the back, and on the top its sort of folded in with two flappy things on top…)
He leaned against one of the posts between platforms nine and ten. No one noticed when he slowly sank through the bricks, to arrive on platform nine and three quarters, just as a rosy red train was pulling into the station.
He moseyed over to lean against a wall, watching the students who got off reunite with their parents.
A brunette girl with bushy hair, followed by a black haired boy with glasses, accompanied by many red heads, got off, said their goodbyes, and then went their separate ways. They were followed by a girl who looked to be about sixteen, with straight brown hair, dark brown eyes and pale skin. She looked around eagerly; trying not to show the frustration on her face when she could not see what it was she was looking for. For ten minutes she stood, holding her trunk, an animal carrier by her side, waiting as the many students who had been on the train filtered away from the platform.
She stood alone, filled with rejection. This was when the man made his move.
"Who are you waiting for?" He called.
"My ride home…" She answered after a moment.
"Your parents aren't coming." He said.
"I'm not waiting for my parents."
"A friend then? A classmate?"
"Not really." She said.
"Sarah, who are you waiting for then?" Jareth asked pulling off his hat.
"You, you dingus!" she said. "Geronimo!" She cried, running over to him and jumping on him, knocking him to the floor.
"OW!" He yelled. "What was that for?"
"I saw it in a play once." She said. "What did you do to your hair?" She asked, poking the ponytail.
"I wanted to look relatively normal. On my way here, though, people kept looking at my top hat weirdly, so I switched it with another man's."
"You stole another man's hat?" Sarah cried
"No. I gave him the top hat instead, duh! Now get off me." He said, pushing Sarah away and standing up, brushing the dirt off his clothes.
"So, how we getting there?" She asked excitedly
"Getting where?"
"To the Underground."
"What about the underground?"
"Which way do we go?"
"Go where?"
"HOW ARE WE GETTING TO THE UNDERGROUND?!" Sarah yelled, poking him
"Not that again." He said. "You get in, this way." Jareth pulled out a crystal, threw it to the floor. Vapours began streaming up, creating a doorway.
"YAY!" I'm going to the Underground!" Sarah said happily, clapping her hands and running to the door.
"Hey, what about your bags?" Jareth asked.
"You can bring those!" She said, pulling open the door and stepping through. Jareth moaned, but obediently gathered her things and followed her, mumbling…
"I'm a king dammit; I shouldn't have to do what she says…"
JUST COS I FEEL LIKE A BREAK…
Sarah sniffed deeply, inhaling the scents of the mythical world. She stood atop a small round hill, covered in grass. If she looked around her, she would mostly have seen brick walls, a door on each wall. Jareth emerged through the door after her, opening the cage and letting Numy, Sarah's Fleagle, loose.
"Smells like a labyrinth." She said happily
"Gee, I wonder why." Jareth said sarcastically. "Why are you so damn happy to be here anyways? I mean, when you saw me for the first time, you were nearly crying!"
"I wasn't crying because of you!" She said. "I was crying because my life was being threatened by a goblin thingy, and I had no idea what the hell to do. Besides, I wasn't crying. Now, which way do we go?"
"Stop changing the subject!" Jareth yelled. "It's this way." He led the way down the hill and through the door on their left, Numair bounding after them, his tail wagging and his nose on the ground.
Sarah began to hum as she followed him, trying to take in all of the sights. It wasn't the same foreboding labyrinth she had seen before, nor the grimy goblin city she had fought her way through. This was like a real royal garden. The hedges trimmed perfectly, beautiful sculptures and flower gardens. Even fountains here and there.
"It's so pretty!" She said.
"Why thankyou, I do pride myself on my appearance." Jareth said, flicking his hair
"Once again, I wasn't talking about you…JJ" She said with a smirk.
"Never call me that name" He said angrily
"Ok, how about Geral…" She was cut off by Jareth
"Never even think about calling me that name, otherwise I'll give you two hours to run the labyrinth before I throw you to the mercy of the fireys!"
Sarah giggled.
"So, how long do we have left?" She asked.
"Not much longer."
And then they arrived.
"Not much longer?" Sarah asked sceptically. She turned to look at the castle and saw three familiar figures waiting at the door.
"Hoggle! Didymus! Ludo!" She called happily, running to hug them.
Jareth trundled after her, still weighed down with her luggage.
"Wait a minute." He said dropping it. "Come!" He called. A group of about eleven goblins scurried out of the castle.
"Take these bags up to Lady Sarah's rooms." He ordered. The goblins ran in circles, bumping into each other, before picking up the trunk and running across the lawn in a strange sort of curvy line.
"Incompetent fools." He muttered as he strode over to Sarah and her friends.
"My liege" Didymus said, bowing.
"Your majesty" Hoggle said nervously, avoiding his gaze.
"Jaweth!" Ludo said excitedly.
"Yes, yes, what is it?" he asked lazily
"Nothing my lord, we were merely greeting you in the proper manner." Didymus said.
"Uh, yeah, what he said."
"Jaweth, fwend?" Ludo asked
"Sure, whatever you say" Jareth said. "Sarah," he whispered. "The people are scaring me, let's get out of here."
Sarah slapped him in the middle of the chest
"What are you on?!" She asked, before turning to talk to Hoggle. He and Didymus stood, dumbstruck, their mouths open.
"What?" She asked
"Thou hast struck King Jareth!" Didymus said.
"Wh- why did you hit the King Sarah, he could have you… you… thrown into the bog of eternal stench!" Hoggle cried.
"Sawah! Hurt fwend Jaweth!" Ludo said.
"He was being an idiot. Though I suppose he can't really help it." She replied. "What now?" she asked again, they looked even more shocked.
"My- my lord, thou ist going to let her treat you this way?"
"Yeah, what's he going to do about it?" Sarah asked, laughing
"I could send you home. Or to stay with your dear friend Ronald." Jareth said.
Sarah stopped short, turned, and knelt on the ground, bowing to Jareth
"Oh great and mighty ruler, please, let your humble servant stay here for the summer holidays!" She said
"My servant, eh?" He said, tapping his cheek with his finger.
"Woah, woah woah. No." Sarah said, jumping. "It's not like you've got a choice anyway. I'm here, and you'll never get rid of me!" She said, smiling smugly
"Well, not until school starts again." He said.
"Oh yeah. But before then we have two months of super fun happiness ahead of us! Now, where'd that goblin go with my latte?"
YAY! END OF CHAPTER ONE!
Hello, and welcome to A Summer In the Underground.
What do you guys think of the title? Is it ok?
Anyways, this is the sequel to Goblin Kings and Magical Things, which I finished… yesterday.
I'm really annoyed at myself now, because I've started this only days after I posted the first chapter of another story, which hasn't really gone ANYWHERE! And now I will be heckled by people who want updates of this, Dangit!
But oh well, a twist in the tale shall have to wait
I'm tired…probably because it's 12:38 am…
Meh
Enjoy your Sunday (and Saturday for everyone who isn't in Australia…)
Lalalala
Your Queen, who totally wishes she was on holidays again… damn school grumble grumble grumble
WHERE ARE MY PANDA SLIPPERS?!?!?!
Queen of the Nymphs
PS!!!!!!!!!!!
WC1,675 words! Which is totally setting the standards for this story's average, lol…