"And the king as an owl flew away into the night. The end!" Sarah read dramatically to the small group from the small red book she always carried.
They all cheered loudly.
"Oh boy Sarah, you can sure tell good stories!" her friend Laura said, clapping.
Suddenly an orderly came over to the group. "Hey you guys need to keep it down. I am pushing it as it is. Letting you all meet in here this late."
Sarah ducked her head. "Sorry Mr. Jones. You know we are grateful you let us meet so we can have our storytelling group away from everyone else."
The older man smiled a little. He was gruff, but he liked the dark haired girl a great deal. He had a daughter who had been very much like her. She was long gone now, dying young. So he had a soft spot for this girl.
"It's okay Sarah, just try to be a little quieter okay?" He reminded her. Then he went back to the old metal desk in the corner and picked up his book.
"Ahh Sarah, you have him wrapped around your finger." Came a smooth accented voice from beside her.
She turned and met the blue eyes of her secret boyfriend. They don't let you have relationships in the hospital, but she couldn't help herself.
When Jerry had been admitted a few months before, she fell for him quickly. He looked so much like what she had pictured The Goblin King to look like, and he was the man she had always loved most. Until now. Jerry had taken the time to get to know her and win her trust, and her heart. The two men together were, in Sarah's eyes, the perfect man.
At first she thought The Goblin King would come for her. He never did, so she resigned herself to a lifetime in this place.
She made the best of things. She made friends and got lots of privileges from behaving well.
Eventually she did accept that The Goblin King might be lost to her forever. She could not blame him. She refused him, and had regretted it ever since.
Jerry had even kissed her a few times. She loved his wild blonde hair he kept in a messy ponytail.
She poked him in the side. "No I don't. He just trusts me. I've been here a long time now. 7 years. Besides even if I could leave, I could never leave you behind." She said, blushing.
He smiled widely his slightly pointed teeth making him look a bit wolfish.
"I would never leave you behind either, precious. That is why I'm here." He told her, poking her back. "Where did you hear this story?"
She frowned slightly at his words. "I found this book a long time ago. It's what got me in trouble. I thought it was real. Well, I know it was real. No one believed me though, and I was put her due to psychotic delusions. Plus my stepmother hated me and it was an easy way to be rid of me for good." Then her eyes brightened and she smiled again. "It's cool though huh?"
Jerry nodded. "I like the idea of being a wicked Goblin King. Sounds like it would be gobs better than here. Would you be my Queen, Sarah dear?"
Sarah laughed. "Of course! But you have to ask me properly."
He got up and pulled her with him, taking a serious pose and holding out a ball of wadded up paper on his palm and repeated the lines she had recited minutes ago. "Fear me, love me, do as I say..and I will be your slave."
Sarah giggled and took the ball of paper from him. "Yes, Goblin King, I will stay with you forever. I wish you would take me away, right now."
Jerry smirked at her and gestured to the paper. "Read it love."
She smoothed out the paper, taking it in one hand and reading it as he took her other hand.
Her eyes grew wide and she gasped. She look up into his eyes, speechless.
Then a little smile played over her lips and she squeezed his hand.
"Took you long enough." She said softly. He smiled back. His sharp teeth glinting under the artificial light.
There was a collective scream from the others in the group and Mr. Jones got up and went over to shush them again..but when he got there...
"Hey, Where did Sarah and Jerry go?" He asked.
Laura looked at him, scared at what had just happened. "They just disappeared Mr. Jones!"
The man sighed. He hated this. He so liked the girl too. Now he would have to find her and lock her up in solitary for the night. He thought she knew better.
He picked up a piece of paper that had drifted to the floor in front of him, reading it. The words puzzled him, but he shrugged and laid it on the chair. This group was always playacting.
It was real. I am sorry it took so long. Let us go home, My Queen.
I have all these weird little one shots floating around either on my computer or in my head. I noticed a recent trend of Sarah as a mental patient, and this came to me a while back, so it fits right in.
You know Jareth would never leave her behind to rot, even if it takes a while to find her :o)
