Serene

By Ever Lasting Night Life or Leon The Echidna

This was the price she knew she had to pay for abandoning a life full of fantasy and adventure – something that at the time she wasn't sure if she should be involved in something like that, but that, she knew was mainly the influence of someone else. Someone who watched her when she thought that no one was there, a certain male that she was certain she so feared, chills creeping down her spine every time she was so sure she saw him.

Fear lies inside of you…

My name begging to surface itself…

But you hold it inside…

I will not remain inside of you…

Thoughts of words that made no sense seemed to push themselves through each other in her own mind, often in the vocal sounds of someone she wanted to forget, knew how to and yet didn't even try. It was as if HE had remained inside a part of her mind where the gates had already closed themselves on each side and it was impossible to penetrate that side of the mind. Sarah Williams was a woman of twenty-one now, possibly no older in physical form than her stepbrother Toby, who was actually considerably far younger than her in general. He was actually a child, no older than ten but he was tall for his age, meaning that he would become considerably taller, possibly to the height of the person who was begging for her to remember his name. However, her mouth refused to form the word, let alone grasp it all together.

You show me dreams of emotion…

But I find you so cold…

Your heart has beaten it's final beat…

But I demand one thing of you…

She walked along the side of the fountain, paying no attention to the women who were loitering and gossiping with their noisy children beside them, singing songs that they had obviously learnt from the small nurseries that were dotted here or there throughout the area. She hoped she would never have children. Baby-sitting Toby was enough for her now. After all, it was mostly like a part time job with a splash of love that she felt towards her baby stepbrother. Taking a small area beside the stream of the fountain, she gazed over into the pool, feeling slightly revolted as a woman she hardly recognised stared back at the dowdy matron. Then she turned and gazed up at the sky, not noticing the rippling of the water.

Call my name my love…

Say what is on your mind…

Say what is on the tip of your tongue?

…A name you need to say…

She froze at the sound of the voice. Unlike before where the voice seemed only to remain inside her head as if it was a thought, this one seemed as if it was quite real and it was coming from behind her. She turned, her mouth catching in her throat as she noticed that it wasn't the dowdy matron who looked back at her this time. In place of the matron was a man of at least late twenties, looking back at her from the water, the mouth moving as it slightly curved upwards, forming a grin as each word was spoken clearly before the vision disappeared. She blinked once, twice, three times, the name on the tip of her tongue now just like what he had said in the vision. Jareth, no she didn't want to think about it, her fear of him growing ever so quickly and yet, at the time, she didn't quite realise what was growing alongside the fear, something that even she couldn't dream about at all now. She thought of him then, thought of his attractive face that seemed both fearful and memorizing, and the way he held the glass crystals in his hands before dealing out something that seemed worse than death. It all seemed so confusing to her now. Then her attention was drawn to a child crying. Like any old event that always happened in the area where she lived, it always involved a child crying, but this one seemed different. There was no love in the child's eyes as they stared with tears in his eyes at her, before looking at everyone else.

Remind you of someone?

…This could all go away if you would love me…

…Sarah…

…Say my name…

Holding back her tongue, she made her way over to the child, pushing back anyone who tried to get in the way as she reached the little boy, crying his eyes out for his mother or father who both seemed nowhere in site. Pulling out a tissue, she dabbed at the eyes of the child, all the while promising that she would help him find his mother and father. They seemed to stroll around the park, her mind somewhere else, not realizing that someone was calling after her until the child began to scream again but unlike the miserable scream from before, this one was full of joy at possibly seeing his mother who called out to Sarah, accusing her of trying to kidnap her son. Sarah didn't really care what the woman said; no one had any power over her now, not after what happened all those years ago when she was fifteen.

Say the words Sarah…

…say it for me…

…Please…

…Please…help…

As soon as she handed the child back and apologized repeatedly, all the while explaining what happened and why she picked up the child, she trekked faster than usual away from the fountain area, her fast walking becoming jogging, her jogging then evolving into sprinting as she ran towards the cover of a tree, tears in her eyes. Never before had she felt this truly scared of something that she had managed to overcome once before. She felt that she was being stupid, that she could easily ignore him but something sprang to mind and before she knew it, she had made her first real mistake of the whole day.

"Jareth…" She wasn't wishing for anything this time, and she didn't quite realize why she had said that but she had curled up into a ball, crying her hardest as if she needed someone to comfort her. At this moment in time, she realized anyone would do for now, even if it was a complete stranger. She didn't know how long she was there but she did realize that the wind began to pick up, causing her to look upwards as the flesh like skins of leaves flew towards the heavens. A tissue had been dabbed at her eyes, one that had been placed in her palm for a long time, since she gave the child back to its rightful mother. Then a voice as smooth and soft as velvet seemed to penetrate the atmosphere around her, the figure so close she could embrace him and cry into his shoulder without realizing who he was.

"Sarah?" Teary irises gazed over at light ash blonde hair and a face that seemed both attractive and concerned, something that she thought she would never see for a long time if she were to ever see him again. Wiping at her eyes slightly ever more than she did, he let out a sigh as…for the first time, he embraced her, his feelings bubbling to the surface, the main reasons why he kept calling out to her. After all, all the Goblin King wanted was to be loved. And loved he was going to be.