1Chapter 2: With or Without you:
A Goblin King does not vomit. He would never do something so undignafied as kneel with his head in a toilet. With Sarah, he discovered, this was not the case. She had been wretching rather violently for the past 15 minutes, and try as he might to tell her it was her own damned fault, he couldn't help but feeling sorry for her. That the gods her parents were sound sleepers.
Sarah finally emptied her stomach and wondered groggily back into her bedroom to find the Goblin King gazing out her window. He turned as she entered and gave her a disapproving look, shaking his head. She glared.
"What? I didn't ask you too come to my rescue, so don't look at me like that."
"Well, perhaps I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't snuffed so much of that powder up you little nose. I'm surprised you even have a face left."
"You can leave now." She sat on her bed and glared at him.
"Nope. I'm staying until I know you won't put any more toxins in your body." He sat on her window sill and folded his arms in defiance.
"Fine, suit yourself." She undressed, ignoring him and climbed into bed. The Goblin King politely looked away from her bare skin.
Sarah lay there, not sleeping. The Goblin King sat, unmoving, staring out the window. Finally, she fell asleep. It was then that Jareth stood and padded softly to the edge of her bed. He knelt to brush the long dark hair from her face and pull the covers up. He gazed at her finally peaceful face. His poor babe, what could he do?
Karen reminded her o a hawk guarding prey. The woman had not stopped discreetly watching her since she had come down the stairs. Sarah was slowly but surely eating the first meal she had had in days. She had managed to not eat a single thing at dinner the night before. She didn't want Karen to realize she hadn't been eating again. Finally, Sarah had had enough.
"Karen, if you have something to say, say it. Quit pretending that those scrambled eggs you are making are the most interesting thing ever." Sarah took a long drink of her orange juice.
Karen turned and ace her step daughter. "Fine. Did you come home drunk last night?"
Sarah laughed because she could not resist. "No, I wish. I got food poisoning from something I ate yesterday. No big deal."
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not." But she was.
"Okay, fine, I am going to believe you because I want to. Please don't make me regret that." Karen went back to her eggs, adding shredded cheese and diced red peppers.
Footfalls on the stairs made Sarah turn. Her favorite person in the world stood, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Toby came into the kitchen and sat in the chair next to Sarah's.
She ruffled his hair. "Good morning, sleepy head."
"Morning." He yawned. Karen set a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of him. "Thank you mommy."
Sarah smiled and turned back to her breakfast. But her mind turned to a day, three years ago, when she had nearly lost her little brother. This inevitably led her mind to the Goblin King, and the first day she had seen him after she had defeated his Labyrinth. It had been the evening of her 16th birthday. She had said good bye to her party guests, and, arms loaded down with cards and presents, she stumbled to her room, only to find him waiting for her. Sarah had dropped her arm load and gaped open mouthed at the King.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to give you a gift, that is all. It is your birthday, is it not?" He stood from where he perched on the sill.
As he walked toward her, she backed up until she was against the door and could back up no further.
"Sarah, I mean you no harm." He held out his hand, presenting a crystal that shined so brightly, every thing else around her seemed dim by comparison.
Sarah was awed by it, but her hand was shaking and she chose not to reach for it.
"Take it. I brought it or you." He held his hand out further, his eyes pleading.
She took it, eyeing him. He smiled Sarah stared at his face, for it was the first genuine smile she had seen from him. She found herself smiling too, for his was infectious.
They sat, he on the sill once again, her on the edge of her bed.
"Sarah, you defeated and humiliated me, but you put your brother before your own desires and dreams. You gave him the chance to experience his own some day."
"I love him."
"That is why I have come back, Sarah. I want to take you with me. To the Underground. I know you want to be there, with me." His eyes were serious, their intensity a tangible weight against her own.
Sarah gulped. "What makes you think that I want to give up my life here for anything you have to offer?"
He cocked his head to the side, a pensive look on his handsome face. "I'm wrong then?"
"I never said that."
"Sarah, don't play games. Which is it?" he asked.
Sarah didn't answer. She sat, deep in thought. The King sighed, and finally he stood. Sarah looked up as he turned and pushed the window open.
"I'll leave you to think it over." He leapt forward, out the window.
With a yelp, she dashed to the window and peered out. All she saw was a large white out vanishing on the moonlit horizon.
It hadn't stopped there, she thought to herself. He had kept coming. Ever since, they had been some sort of, well, friends. In fact, he was probably her best friend, despite his constant torturing, she could tell him anything. She suspected that maybe he loved her, as much as a Goblin king could love, and maybe she loved him too. He had offered her the world once, and she had denied him. Now, it had become a standing offer, whenever she was ready. Would she ever be ready? Could she really leave behind her family for a life in a place she had convinced her self didn't exist? She never even called on Hoggle or Ludo any more. It had been two, maybe three months since she had seen them. She used to call them every week. What had changed?
Sarah knew what had changed. She didn't like to think much about it, but it burned across her memory like a brand. When Sarah was 17, she had been rummaging through her fathers desk, looking for stamps. She had come across a tan folder with her mothers name, Linda Williams, written across the tab on the top. Upon opening it, she discovered her mother's medical files. As Sarah read them, she became increasingly alarmed. Her mother had had a history of mental illness; she had been manic depressive most o her life. Sarah then found the coroners autopsy report from her mothers death when she was 12. Sarah nearly bit through her tongue. Her father had told his little girl that her mother had died in a car crash when a drunk driver hit her. This, however, was not the case. Linda, had in fact killed herself. She took all her medication at once and rented hotel room, where she drowned in the bathtub.
Things were never the same after that. George was angry at her for going through his things. Sarah hated him for the lie which he had gone to such great lengths to keep real. He had had the news paper leave the cause of death out of the obituary. After the supposed car crash, Sarah had never seen her mother's Mustang ever again.
Slowly, and with forced progress, Sarah and her father tried to rebuild their relationship. But Sarah still harbored a certain hate for him. He had lied to her for five years. She was knocked out of her reverie by Karen's voice. She looked up, as if out o a daze, and realized Karen had been trying to get her attention for some time.
"What?"
Karen rolled her eyes. "Welcome back for the millionth time. What time is the pageant luncheon tomorrow?"
"Noon, the time most people eat lunch." Sarah gave her mother a withering look.
Karen frowned and sat at the table, eating her eggs. "Well, we will need to go shopping later. You need a new dress suit."
"I have plenty of dress suits, Karen, I'm sure the committee won't mind that I have wore them already." Sarah hated Karen or her trivial mind. Did that woman ever look past appearances? Had she any idea what was out there in the world? After all, things weren't always as they seemed.
Karen looked at her. "Sarah, if you weren't going to try, then why did you even do the pageant?"
Sarah scooted her chair back. She put her plate in the sink and turned, walking towards the stairs. She began to climb them, much to the infuriation of her step mother.
"Sarah, don't you dare walk away from me when I am talking to you! Sarah!" Karen slammed her hand on the table.
But Sarah did just that, climbing the stairs to her room and locking the door. She wanted to move out. Tears stung her eyes, which made her angry. How dare she let that stupid woman make her cry. She collapsed against the wall and sank down to the floor. The tears came, and she let them. She thought briefly how glad she was that no one was here to see them. That was soon spoiled.
"And you still refuse to leave. She doesn't own you. No one can ever own you, Sarah."
Wrong again. Why was he here? "Don't you have a kingdom to rule or something?" She wiped the salt water from her face and glared at him.
Jareth chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that big tough Sarah cried. It's against my nature to tell secrets. But really, pet, you should get away. Let me take you to the Underground. You can rest where no one can find you. You can come home whenever you are ready."
Sarah looked up at him, and found herself thinking or a bit. "Fine, I will go away. But I decide when and where. I am not ready for that place yet. You may accompany me if you wish, but I shudder to think who will watch your kingdom while you are gone."
He had the grace to look disappointed before his face broke into a grin. "Fine then, where shall we go?" He beamed at her, obviously pleased to have been invited along.
"I don't know yet. Come back later and I'll tell you. Come back tonight and I'll have made my decision."
He bowed. "As you wish." And he was gone, in his usual puf of smoke and glitter. Sarah coughed it from her lungs and stood.
So she was off to ind her self. This would be, if anything, interesting to say the least.
Sarah opened her eyes to ind her gaze equal with someone else's. She nearly screamed, but Jareth managed a hand over her mouth. She sat up, fighting him off.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed.
He stood, trying to look imposing. "It's nearly nine o'clock. You fell asleep and I grew tired of waiting. Where are we going?"
She frowned at him. "I don't know, I fell asleep, remember?"
Jareth frowned back. "Well if you don't think of some where soon, I will whisk you away to the Underground and keep you there until I see fit."
She laughed. "You can't do that. I have to wish myself there of my own free will."
He knelt over her so that his face was very close to hers, his breath warm on her cheek. "Sarah, I am the King, I can do what ever I want. It is what I choose not to do that makes the rules."
Sarah gulped but stared back defiantly. "Well, I would prefer if you didn't. Besides, my aunt has a cabin on the lake. It's remote but within walking range of a small general store. I don't think she'll mind if I use it. Maybe she is still awake." Sarah rolled away rom him off the other side of the bed and ran down the stairs to grab the cordless phone.
"Damned shrew," Jareth muttered to him self. He sat in her chair and propped his feet up on her vanity. When Sarah came back, she shut the door, locking it, and turned to look at him in annoyance. She then preceded to dial her aunt's number.
The phone on the other end rang and rang, and she considered hanging up, but then a laughing woman answered the phone.
"Hello?" Her laugh was high and infectious, and though Sarah smiled, she felt a pang in her chest at it's familiarity.
"Hi, Aunt Di?" She tried to keep the nervousness out of her voice.
"Yes? Who's this?"
"It's Sarah!"
"Oh my god! Sarah, my darling, how are you? Hang on a moment." Sarah heard she shhh the voices in the back ground. "Hush, hush, it's my niece."
"Are you busy? I can call back."
"No, no, of course not. I haven't spoken with you in ages. I was just having a small dinner party with a few associates from the gallery. Hang on, I'll pick it up in the other room."
Sarah waited until her Aunt picked the phone up again. "So tell me, how is your life? What have been up to?"
Sarah laughed. "Nothing really. Just more of Karen's pageants. I'm the newest Miss Richmond."
"Congratulations darling. That is fantastic! Thank god you got your mothers looks! But my girl, while the late call? Is everything alright?"
"Yes, yes, everything is fine. I just, I wanted to know if you still had that cabin on the lake? The one we used to stay at when I was a kid."
"Why yes. I could never give that place up. Though it does cost me a small fortune. Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if I could go stay at it, you know, for a week or so. Summer's here, and I just need to get out o this house for a while and not have to look in a mirror." She laughed nervously.
"Of course you can! The old place could use some company. I haven't been able to get up there in quite a while."
"I could pay you-"
"Nonsense! You are my blood, girl. But she could use a bit of fixing up. I'll tell you what: stay there free of charge, and just ix it up a bit for me. New shutters, maybe some paint. There is a gardening shed out back that should have most of what you need, and what ever isn't there you can put on my tab at the general store."
Sarah laughed. "Well, I don't know if I'd fix it or the better, but I will definitely try."
"Excellent. When shall I expect you. You'll have to stop by for the key, and to see me of course."
"I'll leave tomorrow morning around six. So I should be there by nine."
"Perfect. See you then."
The phone clicked off, and Sarah turned to the Goblin King. He was grinning at her. "What?"
"Nothing, really, I just haven't seen you smile like that since, well, since a very long time."
Sarah reused to let his teasing spoil her mood. She threw her hands up. "I can't believe I'm really leaving! Oh, Karen is going to be so pissed!" she shouted gleefully and flopped on her bed, rolling around. Then she jumped up rather frantically. "Shit, I have to pack!"
Jareth sat watching her run about, amused and hiding a smile behind an elegantly gloved hand. Finally, she ceased her frantic rummaging to look at his in puzzlement.
"What are you still doing here? Don't you have to go pack or something?"
"I can conjure anything I need for the trip. I have put some very loyal subjects in charge. I even hired Didymus to teach the goblins how to fence. It will keep them out of mischief while I'm gone."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that I plan to stay here tonight and leave with you in the morning." He stood and walked to her.
Sarah was suddenly very aware of the closeness of his very being. He reached and brushed strand of hair out of her face. She turned away and continued to pull things rom her dresser, silently wishing her pounding heart would just cease all together.
Sarah refused to let him know how happy it made her that he was staying. "Suit yourself."
"Oh, I always do."
His voice behind her made her choke back a laugh. He was so cocky, so arrogant and sure of himself. But then again, if anyone had a right to be, it was him. He was so beautiful, the way no other could ever be. It was cold, calculating beauty, the kind that made you painfully aware of your own imperfections. He was flawless in every way, like no other man she had ever met, and yet, Sarah had never attempted to make love to him. She had never flirted or teased, the way she did other attractive and utterly smitten boys. With him, it was different. He was to beautiful, to good for her. Next to him she was ugly, imperfect. She did desire him, but never let on. She wondered if he desired her. It didn't matter really. He would never breech the boundaries they had silently laid out. Not unless she did first.
She turned to find him lounging on her bed. "And what do you think you are doing?"
"Why, I'm getting ready to sleep. And you?"
"Oh no you don't. You sleep on the floor."
He sat up, looking rather alarmed. "Sarah, a Goblin King cannot sleep on a floor. I have to sleep here." He flopped back and closed his eyes.
Sarah grumbled. She shook her head. He was not going to bother her, not tonight. She climbed into bed, under the covers and rolled as far away from him as she could. He chuckled.
"Sarah, I promise not to bite."
She reached up and turned out the light. "It's not the biting I am worried about."
