A/N: I found this very nearly finished short from many moons ago on my hard drive, so I finally tidied it up enough to post (after promising Whack-the-beetle I would do so months ago. Sorry, for my slowness. )
First Meetings
Time was a tricky business.
Speeding forward was easy.
Backward was harder.
Much harder.
"There must be a knack," Jareth confided to the toddler before him. He rolled a crystal along the back of his hand, to the child's delight.
In any case, the his duties would have to wait until he could make his way back to them.
He had all the time in the world, though. Or he would have, once he mastered the reversal of it. And the humans had become so interesting as of late. Jareth was certain that given another decade or two, they would be even more so.
Thus the Goblin King found himself in a dreary little park out of place and out of time.
"You!"
He ignored the screeching female and continued to amuse the babe in its carrier.
It was not as though adult humans could see him, after all.
The slap to the face surprised him so that Jareth nearly forgot to be angry.
"Goblin King, get away from the child!"
Adult humans could not fathom his ilk in this realm. Unless they were fae-touched.
Insult gave way to intrigue.
The king straightened, taking in the blazing green eyes of the irate human before him. The mother took her child and scurried along; rushing away from the perceived mad woman shouting at thin air.
"I do believe you have the advantage of me," the king inclined, diplomatically.
The young woman crossed her arms- her posture clearly defensive with the promise of a challenge.
How very novel.
"Don't act like you don't know who I am, Jareth."
He cocked his head, bemused. She most certainly knew him, but-
"I do not know who you are," He concluded.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
His lack of recognition caused her great offense- a fact which he found amusing.
"And when precisely did we meet, Miss-" Jareth let the question hang. Two minutes with this mortal already proved to be more diverting than the whole of his last century.
"Like hell I'm telling you who I am, if you don't remember. You'll use it against me."
Clearly, this would be an interesting tale.
He decided then and there that he would have her Name.
Before the king could reply, a young man crested the hill. Catching the direction of his attention, the woman placed herself in between he and the lad.
"Sarah! Come on! We're going to be late!"
"Crap."
Sarah. A start, though not quite what he had in mind. It needed to come from her and in its entirety.
"Oh, and who is this, Sarah?" He would have to make a point to reward the boy for his assistance, unwitting or no.
"None of your business. I don't know what kind of game you're playing this time, but you stay away from him."
Hmm. Oddly protective of children. Though, the boy was hardly a child. A flash of insight eluded him. Jareth resolved to let it alone and find out in due course.
And thus, his momentary dilemma: the boy had come to take Sarah away before he'd solved his puzzle and that was unacceptable.
Reordering time may not have been Jareth's strongest suit, but stepping out of it was child's play.
The woman noticed the change immediately; as though she could actually sense the magic.
Yes, he needed that name.
"What did you do!?" Sarah shouted.
"The lad sought to remove you from my presence; however, I could not permit your premature departure. I seek only to reach the natural conclusion to our conversation. "
"A natural conclusion would include time flowing normally, and you dealing with the inconvenience of me not standing around to entertain you," Sarah complained.
He did not attempt to contain his mirth.
"You are refreshing."
The woman stared at him as though he were mad.
"And you've clearly suffered a head injury. Did you fly into a window or something?"
"Are you always so frank?" Jareth asked.
"Where you're concerned, yeah. I learned to always mean what I say the last time."
Excellent.
He could see her eyeing her surroundings looking for a means of escape. Seeming to come to a decision, she began to walk.
The young king followed.
"I will ask you but a few questions and then send you on your way. You have my word."
"Right."
She did not break pace as she made her way away from him.
"You do not trust me. Perhaps wisely," he inclined, hoping to garner a reaction. He was not disappointed.
She bucked, spun around, and pointed at him in an accusatory fashion.
"Trust?! You tried to kill me!"
Jareth doubted that; she was far too entertaining. Unless-
"Ah. You ran my Labyrinth. For that boy." He nodded to the motionless lad. She had obviously been successful.
It would not do to spoil their game so early in his acquaintanceship, and he needed only confirmation of his assumption to determine how to proceed. Her trip through his Labyrinth would be worth his wait. That did not mean he should squander this time together however.
"Finally."
"Mere inference. Rest assured that I have no interest in him. The boy is quite safe unless you are foolish enough to wish him away again. He's grown a bit old to become a goblin, however. I'm sure we're you to do so, I could find some place for him."
"Stop. Just say whatever you wanted to say and put me back," his Sarah snapped.
"Very well. Your treatment of my person is unacceptable."
The woman crossed her arms and raised a brow, skeptically.
"But I am generous-"
She snorted. Actually snorted in disdain.
"Don't waste your breath. I'm more than familiar with your brand of generosity. So, you can shove it."
He grinned.
"Truly, and how generous am I, miss Sarah?"
"Not enough, and all in all the wrong ways."
She sincerely believed that, which made him more curious, if possible.
"You must allow me to make up for it. First, I shall generously forgive your transgressions on this day."
"Whoa, whoa whoa. What transgressions?"
"Why, striking your King," Jareth said.
"You are not my king. I beat your stupid Labyrinth, you returned my brother, and that's it. You have no power over me."
The words carried a tangible weight, and that was truly the most interesting finding yet.
"Perhaps, but the mere fact that you hold audience with me means you bear a connection with my lands. Humor me, please."
"Like hell." She began to stomp away again, but Jareth moved quickly enough to block her path.
"For striking your king, I shall not have you beheaded."
"Great," her tone implied this boon was anything but.
She waved her arm in exasperation. "Now fix this time mess you've got going on. I'm going home."
Sensing the woman would not respond well to further detainment, the king capitulated.
"Very well."
He interrupted her assuredly snarky return before she could give it voice.
"Though, I have one condition."
The woman rolled her eyes at him. Rankling her was a delight he doubted would ever grow boring.
"A gift."
"I don't want it," Sarah said eying his hands warily.
"You misunderstand."
"Wait, you want me to give you a gift. Seriously. And what do you want, Oh generous one?"
"A single kiss, nothing more."
She eyed him skeptically.
"I kiss you... You leave me alone?"
"I kiss you, and yes, until our next meeting."
"No dice. I don't want to see you again. My life has been magic free, and I want to keep it that way. "
The woman was completely intractable, and Jareth thrived on a challenge.
"It is as much a gift to you as myself- a gift between equals, as it were. Someday, you may wish to find me. A kiss will ensure you can. I will not come to you unless you will it."
He neglected to mention that the reverse was also true, and that perhaps she would be seeing him again sooner rather than later.
"You're not going to let me go back until I do this, are you?"
"It is a simple request and more than fair."
She weighed his words and sighed.
"Fair, huh? I don't see how a kiss can do any of that, but fine. Let's just get it over with."
Jareth did not grant her the opportunity to change her mind.
Their lips met in a disappointingly chaste fashion, the woman electing to keep her own firmly closed, and that would not do at all.
Jareth nipped her bottom lip and savored Sarah's gasp that allowed him entry. The kiss turned as she opened willingly to him, perhaps to her own surprise. The old magic blossomed.
He felt the heat of her brand rush through him as his own trickled sweetly into her.
Sarah broke away as swiftly as she was able.
"What the hell was that?"
"My name, Miss Williams. I trust you will use it wisely. Just as I shall treasure yours."
Her face contorted from shock to rage as she realized the exact nature of their exchange.
"How did- no!"
The king could hardly suppress his glee, but he endeavored all the same. It was not his goal to completely alienate his Sarah.
"Our next meeting shall be most eventful," He Foretold, "Perhaps, I'll even move the stars."
The rage drained away and young woman paled. Somehow his words had struck their mark.
It was a pity he could not properly appreciate Sarah's most recent reaction.
That was the problem with reordering time; things did not always occur in the right sequence.
Ah, well. Chronology was boring anyway.
He faded from her sight, as he returned her to the normal time-flow. In his absence, she cursed him with every epithet she could imagine.
I will call on you soon Sarah Williams.