First attempt at a story on here. I used to write fanfiction, but broke the habit because my stories always got too cliche and sappy. This is something I just wrote out of thin air. I had no plan for it but if you all like it, then I hope I can keep it to your liking.
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CHAPTER 1: Dolce Amore
"Just Fear me, Love me, do as I Say, and I will be your slave."
Sarah awoke, beads of sweat running down her face. There was that dream again; the memory of her last moments in the Goblin King's presence. She took a deep breath and switched on her bedside light.
"Oh, Hoggle! Sir Didymus, Ludo? Where are you? I need you." "We're right here, Sarah."
Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo all appeared beside her on her bed.
"Sarah sad?" Asked dear, concerned Ludo.
Sarah sighed, defeated. "I don't know what's come over me! I keep having these reoccurring nightmares…dreams…I don't know…about Jareth."
She fell hard on her pillow as Ambrosias curled up beside her. "What am I to do?"
"Sarah…things have been going on in the Underground lately; Ever since your departure, in fact."
"Yes, My Lady, his Majesty, the King, has been very distressed."
"Jareth angry Sarah."
Sarah picked up the small red book that guided her through her previous experience. It was as if she was living the play that she was a star in at school. Since her experience, her rehearsals had gotten better, but it wasn't the same. What was she thinking? Of course it wasn't the same!
"Do you know what he's so upset about?" She looked to Hoggle, expecting and answer. He was involved in Jareth's attempts to manipulate her, after all.
"W-well why are you asking me?" He huffed and put his hands to his sides. "I don't know nothin' about what's going on up there! He ain't told me anything!"
"Well, I don't suppose he would." She said thoughtfully. "After all, you had betrayed him, hadn't you, Hogwart?" She smirked lightly; she knew getting his name wrong irritated him.
"It's H-O-G-G-L-E, Hoggle! And that has nothin' to do with it! It's not my fault that he doesn't want you to know that the kingdom is going to ruin without His Majesty's wise decision-making and all because you never loved him!" Hoggle clapped his hands to his mouth in sheer amazement at his abrupt outburst.
Sir Didymus looked on in astonishment, Ambrosias and Sarah both lifted their heads up in surprise, and Ludo was in pure bewilderment. Hoggle was known for messing up sometimes, but they never expected him to say something like this.
"Oh, damn you Jareth! And damn me too. I'm sorry Sarah. I didn't mean that."
Sarah simply blinked. It was so uncharacteristic of Jareth to be so…humble. She never pictured Jareth as anything near human in any right. Let alone loving in such a pure aspect. Could it be that Jareth did love her? She thought back to two nights ago when she'd told Toby that story. But what nobody knew was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl and had given her certain powers. It was the only part of the story that she'd told Toby that didn't come true. She fell again back onto her pillow and threw a stuffed animal against the ceiling.
"Oh, how can I have been so blind? Hoggle, I think you're right!" Frustrated, Sarah pressed her pillow against her face. "What can I do, Hoggle?" She sighed and removed the pillow.
There was no way that she was going to go back to that castle again. Jareth was a crude, mean, angry thing that she wanted to have nothing to do with! Suddenly a cry reverberated throughout the house. Sarah sighed and got up.
"Oh, I'll be back." Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo, and Ambrosias all nodded their heads while Sarah tended to Toby.
Sarah walked through the hallway. Her father and stepmother were here, but Sarah had lately taken the liberty of taking extra care of Toby whether her parents were home or not. She wanted to get closer to her brother no matter what the cost. She opened the door and peered inside then walked over to Toby's crib.
"Alright, alright; now quiet down." She bounced Toby up and down. "I'll never wish you away to the goblins again. I promise."
She smiled lightly and hummed a song to him. Before she realized it, she was humming the song that she and the Goblin King danced to at the masquerade and was dancing with Toby under the moonlight that creeped through the window. A pair of large mismatched eyes peered at her through the window. They were filled with love, anger, and sadness. When Toby and quieted down, Sarah smiled lightly; but then she got a very odd, eerie feeling. A feeling of such that if she were to leave Toby alone in here, something may happen. She bit her lip softly and carried Toby into her room where her friends were bunched together talking in low whispers. When they heard Sarah approach, they stopped their chatter and looked at her.
"My Lady, we have an idea!" Sir Didymus said, brightly. When he got a look at Toby though, he stopped talking. "Toby's going to spend the night with us." She said quietly.
She sat on her bed and laid Toby softly on the bed. She smiled at her sleeping little brother, then looked at her friends and talked in a low whisper. "So what are we going to do? I mean, what exactly is going on in the Underground that has Jareth so distracted? Other than me…" She added, softly.
"Well, we're not sure exactly, Sarah. But Jareth has a lot of concerns. There's some sort of threat hanging above the Underground. Jareth's forces have been asking what to do, but Jareth refuses to answer. It's as if he wants the Underground to disintegrate. As if, there's nothing worth ruling over if he can't have you." Hoggle explained, hesitantly. Sarah shifted uneasily.
"It's not your fault, My Lady!" Sir Didymus added quickly. "It's just that, as of now, His Majesty is very lost. He's confused, and very hurt. He doesn't know why, for the only reason he allowed you into the Underground is because he knew that you didn't mean to get rid of My Young Lord." He said, meaning Toby.
"So he's mad because I chose my little brother, my flesh and blood, over him." She said, bitterly.
She had the urge to go back to her old habits. It's not fair. The words hung over her head for a moment before she shook them away. No. She would just be playing into his hand. "I won't go back." She said, after a moment of silence. The group seemed to breathe an empty, silent sigh together.
"Sarah, if our world is destroyed we'll be destroyed too." Hoggle admitted. He didn't want to play that card, but Sarah had left them with no other choice.
"Sarah…" Ludo said sadly.
"It's too soon! It seems as if I only just came back, now you want me to leave again? What if I can't come back again? What will my family think? What will Toby think? Will all of my fighting have been in vain?" She wanted to cry.
She wanted to break free and be rid of all the pain and frustration. But she also wanted to keep her friends. She didn't want them to disappear. And she most certainly did not want to face Jareth again. The last encounter was played out. It followed a script. This time, it wouldn't. This time, Sarah would be all alone. She didn't know if she could do it. And want about this mysterious entity that was threatening her world? Yes, her world. She knew that she couldn't belong anywhere else, but she also knew that she couldn't face a new one. She wished that the worlds could just merge together, but she knew it was impossible. She didn't even know about this danger. She lifted Toby up gently and leaned against Ludo. The owl was now peering in through her window listening to the conversation. Was Sarah really coming back? His heart leaped for a moment; a one happy moment in time.
"What can I do?" She said quietly; as if condemning herself to her fate. "And what will we do about my parents?"
