Sarah couldn't help but do a little dance as she entered her bedroom with her arms loaded down with gift bags and boxes. She placed her haul on her bed and carefully sorted through the gifts she'd received: a book from her grandmother Williams, a gorgeous sweater that she'd been eyeing for weeks from her best friend Jennifer, other assorted clothing items from other assorted friends and a charm bracelet from Karen. Her father had given her a little engraved owl keychain because he knew she loved owls. As nice a thought as it was, Sarah had been a bit disappointed by her father's gift until he handed her a set of keys to put on it.
"Look out the window," he'd said with a smile.
Sarah had done so and let out a gleeful shriek at what she saw. There in the driveway sat a little red hatchback. It clearly wasn't new, but Sarah didn't care. She'd thrown her arms around her father's neck as her friends clapped and cheered.
Sarah jangled her new car keys and smiled to herself. She was fully mobile at last! She could hardly wait to show Hoggle, Sir Didymus and Ludo. They had promised to come see her after her party and even hinted at bringing her presents.
Sarah turned toward the closet to begin hanging up her new clothes, but stopped in her tracks when she heard something tapping at her window. She was briefly reminded of the gothic poem she had recently studied in school and shuddered. The tapping came again and Sarah smiled, realizing what and who was outside her bedroom window. She unlatched the window and opened it and the soft white owl flew out of the dark night and into her cheery bedroom. Sarah watched it do a circle around the room before landing gracefully on her vanity chair.
"Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!" Sarah told the owl with a smile and a dramatic flourish.
The owl shimmered and shapeshifted from its feathery form and into the black leather-clad figure of the Goblin King.
"Nevermore," he replied with a half-smile.
"Nicely done, Goblin King," Sarah said, genuinely impressed.
"What?" Jareth haughtily answered. "You don't think I read?" He stalked over to her bed and looked over the pile of presents she'd left stacked on top of it.
"What is all this?" he asked, picking through wrinkled sheets of colorful tissue paper.
"Those are my presents," Sarah told him, watching as he rifled through the wrappings and studied the books and clothes she had received. "Today's my sixteenth birthday."
Jareth turned and raised an elegant eyebrow at her. "Your birthday, eh?" he asked with a chuckle. "No wonder those imbeciles asked for the night off." He tossed the book he'd been perusing onto the bed and shook his head.
Sarah marched forward and glared up at him.
"Don't talk about my friends that way," she angrily demanded, her eyes flashing.
Jareth stepped backward without thinking and didn't miss her pleased grin at his retreat. Drawing himself up to his full height, he produced a crystal from thin air with a wave of his hand and rolled it around in his gloved palm.
"Very well," he said nonchalantly. "You should be grateful though, Sarah. I very generously gave that treacherous lot the evening free even though it was most inconvenient. While the four of you eat cake and play Pin the Tale on the Dragon, my hedges will go untrimmed and the bog will be left unguarded."
Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and fought the urge to tell him to chain a boulder to his ankles and take a headlong dive into the bog. She was not going to let him rile her today. Taking a deep breath, she addressed him calmly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," she said sweetly. "I won't keep them long, I promise."
Jareth stared at her, obviously taken aback by her refusal to argue. Sarah stared back at him and her eyes dared him to push her further.
"There it is," he thought with an inward smirk. "Playing the shrew, are we?"
Jareth silently paced the room for a moment, taking note of the changes that had been made since his last visit. The wall of stuffed animals was gone, replaced with large bookcases, some colorful posters and an impressive stereo system. The other toys were missing as well. In place of the puzzles and games and dolls, there were magazines, cassette tapes and makeup. He carefully surveyed the bookcases and was pleased and relieved to see a familiar red leather-bound book in a place of easy reach on one of the shelves.
He turned back to Sarah who was pretending not to watch him.
"Just what inspires such loyalty from that motley crew of yours?" he asked, narrowing his strange eyes at her.
Sarah shrugged. "I don't know," she answered. "I was nice to them."
"Hmph!" grunted the Goblin King. "I'd rather be feared than loved."
"That's funny," thought Sarah. "I could have sworn it was both."
She tried to hide her smile behind her hand, but the ever-observant Goblin King noticed and grimaced.
"What is so amusing?" he asked, cocking his head to one side.
Sarah was spared from answering when a gruff voice called out from the mirror behind her.
"Sarah? We're here!"
Sarah and Jareth both turned to see Hoggle, Sir Didymus and Ludo emerging from the vanity mirror. The glass rippled and warped as they pushed though, chattering excitedly. Their chatter ceased suddenly as they realized Sarah was not alone.
"What's he doing here?" Hoggle asked grumpily, crossing his stubby little arms over his chest and glaring at the Goblin King.
"Your Majesty!" cried Sir Didymus, sweeping into a low bow. "I didn't know you had been invited to fair Sarah's birthday celebration."
"I don't need an invitation, you miserable little-" Jareth spat, but Sarah jumped in, lightly laying a hand on his arm.
"His Majesty and I have an agreement," Sarah told her three friends. "He may visit with my permission."
She looked at Jareth who tried not to outwardly show his gratitude. Instead he looked at Hoggle and sneered.
"Hmph!" Hoggle grunted. "I don't trust 'im, Sarah." He eyed Jareth warily.
"That's fine, Hoggle," Sarah told him. "You don't have to, but he has my permission to stay here and may do so if he wishes."
She glanced eagerly up at the Goblin King, waiting for his response. Her bright-eyed expectant gaze nearly made him plop right down and make himself at home. However, he didn't miss the uncomfortable shifting of the other three. They were obviously less than thrilled at his being there. Jareth swished his dark cloak around him and moved toward the window.
"Actually," he began. "I have quite a lot of business to attend to this evening. I'll be going."
Sarah's face noticeably drooped at his announcement, while the faces of the dwarf, knight and rock caller brightened considerably.
"Oh, okay," Sarah mumbled. She wanted to say more, but her friends were already pulling at her, showing her the packages they had brought for her.
Jareth watched them for a moment before stepping onto the window seat to fly back home. He paused as Hoggle's voice broke through the chatter.
"I'll bet that rat didn't even bring ya a birthday present."
Jareth shook off the dwarf's comment and puffed his chest out. He stepped off the window seat and out the window, transforming as he fell. Just inches from the ground, his wings caught the wind and he swooped upward and into the sky, a black shadow against the full moon. He flew home to the labyrinth without stopping.
The party continued in Sarah's room for several hours. She and her three friends enjoyed cake and some dancing followed by several rounds of Scrabble. The trio gave her their gifts before returning home through the vanity mirror.
From Sir Didymus, Sarah received an illuminated book about King Arthur. Ludo gave Sarah a polished round rock that shone iridescent when wet. Hoggle gave Sarah a potted pink Fairy Flower.
"It's fertilized with fairy poop," he told her proudly.
Sarah thanked them all over and over and bid them goodnight as they scurried through the mirror and back to their homes in the Underground.
Exhausted from a night of partying, Sarah pushed her stack of presents aside and fell onto her pillow and was quickly asleep. She awoke the next morning amidst crumpled tissue paper and squished gift boxes. Yawning, she gathered up the mess to sort it and put it away when a glimmer from under one of her birthday cards caught her eye. Lifting the card, Sarah saw a jeweled pendant lying on the bed. It was encrusted with what looked like rhinestones and black pearls in a cross pattern. It was pretty, if a bit gaudy. Her mother must have sent it. Sarah picked up the pendant and studied it, noting that for costume jewelry it was rather heavy.
"It looks familiar," she said out loud. She knew she had seen it before, but couldn't remember where. Perhaps in her mother's jewelry box. It would be like her mother to pull out some forgotten piece of junk jewelry to send to her for her birthday. Still, there was something about it...
Sarah wasn't sure why, but she wrapped the pendant in some of her leftover tissue paper and gingerly placed it in a little birch box with an owl carved on the top. She didn't see another owl, watching quietly from the tree just outside her window.
A/N:
Thanks for all the nice reviews and comments! I know this is cheesy and fluffy and whatever, but after the angst-fest of "Seven" I just wanted to write some good ol' cheez-flavoured candy floss. Soo... here it is.
About Sarah's car: I love 80s hatchback vehicles. My parents had one when I was a kid and I always rode in the back. (This was back in the good old days before seatbelt laws, kiddies.) Yes, I am old.
About the gifts: What else would they give her?
About the pendant: Yes, it's that pendant, and it took me a bloody long time to find a picture big enough to use to describe it.
