Summary: Sarah takes a stroll in Bowie Park and dreams of Jareth. An adventure through the Underground ensues.
Author Notes: Thank you to Kelsey, our beta, and Alex for
helping us out along the way.
Bowie Park
by Gizzard and Gullet
CHAPTER 1: JARETH PINES
King Jareth gazed out of his high palace window, his thighs perched
precariously on the stone sill. He had been waiting for his love. As his eyes
roamed over his domain, he searched desperately for Sarah's dark head weaving
in and out through the labyrinth walls. Yet Jareth knew that he would never see
the sweet face of his beloved again. Her passionately furious gaze would never
again grace his halls, but was imprinted upon his mind forever.
Sarah sipped her chocolate shake as she strolled down the avenue to Bowie Park,
the fateful place where the owl had appeared to her first. Her dog walked beside
her.
"Merlin," she called, "come along."
Ahead of her lay a sloping hill that led down to a pond. A willow tree's
graceful branches hung over the water like the protective arms of a lover.
Sarah felt the urge to lie down and close her eyes, and did so without
hesitation. As her head gently rested on the ground, she peered thorough the
gently moving branches. The sweetly swaying leaves brushed her ivory cheek, and
as her eyes fell shut, she thought she saw the white fluttering of a winged
creature...
She found herself in an ocean of green. It took a moment for her to realize
that she was in fact in a forest of huge trees. She heard the gentle cracking
of twigs behind her and spun around on her booted heal, nearly loosing her
balance. Fortunately, a pair of strong, sinewy arms broke her fall and she was
suddenly gazing into the piercing stare of King Jareth. His gaze devoured her mercilessly
and her thoughts were overwhelmed with bewilderment, fear, and a faraway sense
of longing. The scent of moonlit silver encompassed her. She felt the violent
urge to run away, but she found herself unable to move an inch. The feel of his
fingertips on her bare arms burned; his very touch ignited a fire within her.
"Sarah," he said, and his low, arrogant voice
made her shiver in delight... or was it apprehension? She didn't have time to
decide before he continued. "I've been waiting so long." His voice
sank to a whisper. "I see we've been strangers till now." He paused.
"But..."
"But what?" Sarah breathed, almost against
her will.
"But I need you." She could barely hear his
voice over the murmur of wind in the trees. Though her mind was clouded by his
commanding presence, a wrench in her heart reminded her of the pain she had
suffered at his hands, and she knew deep down that this man was not to be
trusted.
"No..." Sarah stammered and broke his gaze
and his firm grip for the first time. She willed her feet to run, and was
relieved to hear the crunch of her heals upon the dirt. She felt a trickle of
blood on her dark brow as a thorny branch left its mark. As she fled, she heard
Jareth's cry and then heard no more as she crashed through the underbrush.
Her eyes opened to the dark branches of the willow. They swayed and sighed in
the wind as though they were trying to tell her something. She sat up slowly
and looked around. Brushing a strand of hair from her face she felt something
cool and sticky on her fingertips. Holding them up to her face, she saw
moonlight reflecting on a dark red smear. She was bleeding.
Everything had been real, she realized with a start. Then, she remembered that
as she had closed her eyes, she had glimpsed a familiar flapping of white downy
feathers. Jareth had been there with her.
She needed to get out.
Sarah leaped to her feet and rushed to the footpath. As her eyes searched the
horizon, she heard the song of crickets. Dusk hung over the park like a cloak
of velvet. For a moment, she lost herself in thoughts of romantic strolls and
chaste kisses under the Brobdingnagian night sky.
Suddenly, rough hands grabbed her from behind. She opened
her mouth, but found her scream stifled by calloused fingers that smelled of
fish grease. The oil smeared across her cheeks, and she gagged. Hot breath
invaded her ear and she felt moisture on the side of her face as her assailant
snarled and then spoke. "I wa' ma'ey!"
In
the midst of her frantic struggle, Sarah tried to make sense of his babbling.
She felt one of his large hands moving over her hip and felt a moment of panic
before she realized that he was reaching for her pockets.
"Ma'ey, ma'ey..." He stammered desperately and she felt a pain in her
neck. Then it hit her, as chilling and piercingly as the splinter of trout bone
he had just spat onto her. He wanted her money. She wrestled a hand free and
dug into her pocket to extract the few coins she had left after buying her chocolate
shake. Something brushed against her hand as she withdrew it and Sarah saw a
small white feather fall softly form her pocket to the ground.