Chapter 2: The Watch
Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the Labyrinth.
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Jareth's mismatched eyes had followed Sarah as she had sauntered down the stairs of her residence through a small crystal. She looked eager to start the day and Jareth found himself equally eager to set his plan in motion. He dismissed the crystal quietly and began to work.
He stood hidden behind the large oak trees in the park across the street from Sarah and he grinned at his own brilliance. He closed his eyes and relaxed every muscle in his body. His mind concentrated on the smell of the trees, of the September air and of the damp grass that surrounded himself. He raised his arms slowly from his sides and willed the elements to bend to his will. He brought his gloved hands forward and began twisting them gracefully in a mesmerizing pattern. Materializing from nowhere, a crystal ball appeared and began to roll back and forth along his hands and forearms. In the center of the glittering sphere swirled what looked like liquid gold. It glowed delicately as it twisted and swirled around itself and any human passerby would have been completely captivated by the sight. Suddenly, Jareth caught the orb and his eyes fluttered open.
"A gift for you, Sarah." Jareth murmured
He dropped the orb and it smashed onto the ground. He shards dissolved into the ground immediately and a shockwave of golden hue sprang forth from Jareth's feet. His long, white-blonde hair whipped around his face and every tree, bush and blade of grass swayed at its power. The smell of ancient magic seeped into every rock, every leaf. The Aboveground had been too long without this smell. It was the scent of mystical beasts, enchanted forests, of his people, the Fae, and of the natural magic of the Fall. Humans had been foolish to banish these gifts. Their cultures had suffered from the loss of it and Jareth absentmindedly felt a malicious bubble of pride rise in his chest.
"Their loss, entirely." Jareth's voice rumbled lowly
His eyes were glued on the front door of the building a distance ahead of him. Sarah stepped out quickly and headed straight towards the bus stop with determined steps. As quick as she started, she paused and turned towards the park and Jareth felt his breath catch in his throat. She looked completely ensnared by what she saw. She took in the entire park and suddenly her expression grew warm as pleasure washed over her.
Jareth, too, was captivated by the sight; Her mouth was opened slightly and her lips glistened in the golden hue. Her eyelids drooped low on her eyes and her skin flushed. She was the personification of sensuality. Jareth's face twisted once more in anger at his betraying thoughts. He had loved this girl once before and he had had his heart fed back to him quite viciously. He had vowed never to let his foolish heart wander again.
'I'll be damned if that wench steals my heart again.' Jareth thought bitterly as his eyes narrowed
He forced himself to concentrate back on his plan rather than the alluring image of Sarah Williams raking her eyes so beautifully over his work. She took slow steps forward and Jareth knew he had caught her. With a triumphant smile, he urged one more burst of sightless magic towards Sarah. The hypnotic scent blossomed over her and at once, her senses turned wild.
The flush rose along her pale neck and creamy cheeks and her chest almost heaved with her effort to breath in such delicious magic. Jareth's keen Fae eyes watched as it washed over her, clung to her hair and clothes, as it filled her lungs and befuddled her mind to a state of reckless abandon.
The sight, he admitted begrudgingly to himself, was delicious. Already, he found his ego soothed by the sight that he had done this to the wench who had dared ever to defy him.
Through the portal he had created between the Underground and the Aboveground, crawled out a few goblins. They stood near their master with their heads bowed down and their backs hunched as if expecting to be struck. They shuffled around uncomfortably as they awaited their lord's orders.
Jareth ignored the cretins at his feet and continued to observe the wild Sarah. At the rate she was being hypnotized, she would be his within the hour. Already, she looked as if she would strip off her clothing and run through the park to bask in the magic he had released. Such wildness had been lost on humans for far too long; they looked so beautiful in this state.
There was a tug on his leggings and he glanced down in annoyance.
"M-master? Your orders, sire?" the hunched creature stammered, its face pointed directly to the ground
He raised his arched eyebrow softly at the little beast and considered its question. He turned to look at the others as they shuffled their feet and anxiously glanced about. It was rare for these creatures to come to the Aboveground at all, especially at any time other than nightfall and Jareth almost felt pity. These creatures had been denied their rights by ancient humans who had been filled with fear by their false Gods and Deities.
Again, only one sentence could sum up Jareth's feelings on the matter.
'What a pity.'
"Holspurt, you may take the others and search for unwanted babes in this park. Heaven knows what goes on here when no one is looking." Answered Jareth softly as he swept his eyes over the endless park sprawled before them.
At once, their moods perked up and their eyes glittered. A moment later, they were scampering away through bushes and giggling to themselves as goblins tend to do. Jareth gave a small smirk and turned back to Sarah but was confused to see the look of raw sensuality and wildness wiped clean from her face. She was frowning, he could see, and also… tilting her head as if to listen carefully.
He held his breath and waited before he quickly sent another pulse of raw magic towards her. She calmed then and looked as if she were about to laugh.
Jareth let out the breath he had been holding in a sigh and waited. Sarah took in another lungful of air and held it, looking content with the world.
Impatience finally settled over Jareth and as he went to make his appearance known, Sarah froze and her eyes bulged. The look on her face would have almost been comical; her cheeks puffed out and her eyes wide with fear, but Jareth knew better than to laugh. He listened carefully for a moment and then he heard it. The giggling, the unmistakable footfalls. Damn those goblins!
He watched numbly as she turned tail and ran from the park and Jareth let out a string of curses before he willed his body to take the shape of a snowy owl. He took flight immediately and rose out of sight above Sarah. The plan would undoubtedly have to change from simply hypnotizing her and luring her back for another challenge of his labyrinth. He would have to infiltrate her life here in the Aboveground and extract his revenge that way. He made a quick decision and flew further down Oak Street and landed in an alleyway. Once he willed his body back into it's original form, he looked around with a sneer and made quick work of himself; his eyes drifted closed and he raised his arms from his sides once more. Extending them forward, he moved his hands in an intricate pattern and a crystal materialized between his hands once more. With his mind focused on what he desired, he dropped the crystal to the filthy ground. When it shattered, a black vapour swirled around Jareth's feet. It climbed his legs quickly and twisted itself around his torso before it enveloped Jareth's head, which he flung back. He stayed like his for a moment before he flung his arms out and dispelled the mist from himself and quickly summoned another crystal, which he smashed against the ground. Out sprung grey mist that twirled to form a floating mist-mirror.
Gone was his wild, Fae hair. It was replaced by short-cropped, sandy-brown hair. His arched, pointed eyebrows lowered and he sported a small patch of hair underneath his lower lip and chin. His attire had changed as well; gone were his leggings and dress frock as were his troll-hide leather riding boots and gloves. Jareth felt strangely naked in his new black dress trousers and dark blue dress shirt. He sported a black vest which had a dark crimson tie tucked securely behind it. His footwear was acceptable but nothing like what he was used to. His amulet was gone but was replaced by a ring on his pinky finger with the same symbol. He admired the glittering jewel for a moment before he looked into the mirror and smiled. He, as far as he could tell, looked the part.
He waved his hand through the mist of the mirror and it dissolved to nothing. He stepped out of the alleyway gracefully and waited at the corner of the street where he knew Sarah's bus would stop and he waited.
A few moments later, the vehicle rounded the corner and Jareth smirked when the doors opened for him. It would be a very, very long day for the little wench.
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A/N: Ahhhahahahahaaaaaa…Ha. ..Ha…. Review it, please