Sarah sat stunned. Her mind was having a hard time comprehending the new information the critter had given her. One thing was clear, though- he had caused this. The tricky, scheming fiend! Only pretending to be her friend to get revenge! Well, she'd show him. "Jareth," she bellowed, causing a small flock of birds to erupt from nearby foliage.
"Giving up already, my Dear?" his smooth voice came from behind her- causing Sarah to whirl around on her rock.
"What? No!" She stood and stomped over to him and poked him squarely in the chest. "I never said 'I wish,' you bastard."
He frowned, "I assure you my parents were joined well before I was conceived." Brushing past her, he lounged on her rock, picked up her discarded satchel, and started rummaging through it.
"Hey, that's mine!" She attempted to snatch it from him, but he was quick and held it out of her reach.
"Actually it, along with the clothes you're wearing, are all property of my kingdom. Or did you forget that I provided all this," he waved his hand indicting both her and the bag, "for you?" He pursed his lips and affected a demeanor of deep thought. "With such disrespect to my generosity, I could take everything back," he mused, raising his hand and pausing just short of snapping his fingers. "But that would render you rather indecently dressed, I'm afraid." He watched as Sarah's eyes widened as she comprehended the meaning behind his words."
"Don't you dare…" she started but he cut her off.
"Don't I dare what?" he snapped, standing and looming over her. "Have you also forgotten just who I am?"
Sarah smartly swallowed her tirade and took a calming breath. "I appreciate your generosity," she muttered, not sounding appreciative at all, "but this doesn't change anything- I never said the words."
"Are you sure of that?" he asked lightly, knowing full well that she wasn't. When she didn't reply, he went back to her rock.
Dipping his head low, he examined the contents of the pouch. All human food. But oh, what's this? Beef jerky. Jareth was glad that he wore his hair on the longer side- for it effectively shielded his face from the woman currently pacing in front of him- shooting dirty looks. He took the private opportunity and openly grinned.
While most human items were merely okay in his opinion, he was addicted to beef jerky- having first been introduced to the snack as a child by his older brother who smuggled it back from the Above.
Sure, the Underground had their version of jerky, but there was just something about the Aboveground delicacy that couldn't be replicated.
Truly, a wonder. One of his many, many vices. A guilty pleasure that he was most unapologetic about. Unfortunately, his indulgence was extremely rare. Between minding a kingdom, monitoring (mostly) infrequent Runners, and trying to be friends with Sarah, he barely had time to himself.
He had a secret flat in Soho that he liked to visit once every five years or so. It was well stocked with his favorite Underground brandy and Aboveground beef jerky. Not that he would spend his entire vacation drinking and eating dried meat, no- he visited local establishments (both reputable and irreputable) and took the time to relax- free from all royal responsibilities.
But of course, she would interfere with his plans once again. The last time he had planned on a holiday in the Above, she had called- which, normally wouldn't be a problem. A Runner and child dealt with in a 13-hour time frame. Less for her, come to think of it- he recalled deducting three hours from her journey as punishment for running her smart little mouth. If things had gone as he had planned, there would have been plenty of time to settle his affairs here and then pop up to the Above for a few weeks.
Except she had won and, in the process, desecrated parts of his kingdom. Granted, some of them she had help with like the bridge over the Bog of Eternal Stench, the robot guard, and the Goblin City. But his Escher Room was all her!
And it took years for him to slowly rebuild everything, and just as he was putting the finishing touches on buildings and bridge supports, with the idea that he could finally take that long overdue holiday in Soho, she called again.
But no matter. At least this time she had beef jerky with her. A small compensation for delaying his trip once more. After pilfering her stash of jerky and sending it to his study, he unceremoniously thrust the sack towards her with a curt, "here."
She snatched it from his hands and stooped to dig through it properly- not daring to sit next to him on that devilishly inviting sun-warmed rock. This was Jareth, the Goblin King- Not Jareth, her so called friend. Sarah frowned seeing that all that was left of her provisions were her granola bars and couple bottles of water.
Now, she knew that the food would be useless here for her, but she had hoped that whatever magical food laws would be broken once she returned home, and the $20 worth of beef jerky would be edible again.
Except there wasn't any beef jerky. In its place, nestled among her other things, he left three pieces of fruit: a peach, an apple, and a pomegranate. "Each one gives a different kind of dream, Precious, and you do look incredibly hungry… tired even. Why not stop and sample a bit? Why, I would even be so generous as to pause the clock for your much-needed break." The honey in his voice was thick and enticing, and Sarah almost obeyed… almost. Closing the sack, she slung it across her body.
Sarah deliberately avoided his bating and chose a more benign topic. "I presume the water is still safe?" She had a feeling that the water was, but since he had been digging around in there… who knows if he had tampered with it.
He snorted dismissively. "I have no claim over water- it sustains all lifeforms, both here and in the Above."
She studied him for a moment, waiting for a more satisfactory answer, but apparently that was it. Nodding once in his direction- an acknowledgement of sorts, she turned and started down the path, before stopping and turning back. She had to try and reason with him somehow about the circumstances that brought her and her family here.
Sarah had to admit that the whole reappearing suddenly let's try at being friends thing was weird at first. It took some getting used to- he took getting used to. But when Jareth wasn't barging in on her at inopportune times, she found that he was an excellent companion, charming, witty, and could hold his own on a variety of subjects.
However, in the mere moment she had her back turned, Jareth had taken the opportunity to part the ruffles of his burgundy shirt and expose his chest to the sun. Lounging on his elbows with his eyes closed and head tossed back- he resembled a large cat in the act of sunbathing. Large cats came with claws- she needed to remember that, but she had to try and make him see reason.
"Do you consider yourself a gentleman, Jareth?" She asked softly.
He ran a hand through his hair carelessly and collapsed fully onto his back, hands resting lightly upon his flat stomach. "Depends."
Sarah took a step forward and continued. "You would never take advantage of a drunk… person… would you?"
Jareth sighed pleasantly- warm sunbeams making him drowsy. "Generally, no. However, there was that one time in France, where a drunken father wished his brood to me. Normally not something I'd bother with, but the children are better off."
"Hmm, and yet you did the same with me," she pointed out, not unkindly.
Jareth opened his eyes and turned his head so that he was facing her. She did have a point. Damn her. He propped himself back up on one elbow and conjured a crystal. "Fine. All in the sense of fairness," he sneered as he lobbed the object at her and she disappeared with a faint 'pop.'
****
Unable to react quickly enough, Sarah fell to her knees- expecting to land upon packed dirt and was surprised to find her landing yielding. Sand. Her knees were cradled by the grainy softness of it. Orientating herself quickly, Sarah stood and looked around. She was surrounded by clear blue water. Jareth had dropped her on a small island.
A breeze kicked up bits of sand and threaded itself through her increasingly messy ponytail- caressing her almost like fingers. His voice carried with it as well. "You are now 100 meters closer to your goal." Sarah grinned- happy that her logic had gotten through to him. Her eyes scanned the area, spotting a dark patch directly west of her- exactly the direction she wanted to go. Wandering over to a pile of driftwood, she examined the larger pieces- hoping to be able to lash them together into a raft of some kind.
The wind kicked up again, catching smaller pieces and blowing them into the lake. Once again, his disembodied voice sounded, "I highly recommend the pomegranate this time, Sarah. The dreams it gives are more…. satisfying."
****
Back in his throne room, Jareth cackled as he watched the woman in the orb throw a rude gesture in his general direction. Of all the fruits he supplied her with, he had hoped the pomegranate would be picked. For that fruit was the only one that he could fully control the dreams of the person who ate it.
And what better dream to act out than that of Sarah wearing nothing but strategically placed pieces of jerky? Pieces that he would pull off one by one…
****
The island wasn't much- barely ½ a mile long and 1/8 of a mile wide- a mere strip of land really. It was littered with bits of driftwood and one scraggly tree- not unlike the one on the hill that overlooked the Labyrinth.
It took Sarah a little over 45 minutes to select and drag pieces of driftwood into the rough shape of a small raft, now all she had to do was bind them somehow, and hope it would keep her aloft, but there was nothing remotely rope-like on the island. And seeing how last time, the only body of water she encountered was the Bog of Eternal Stench, she didn't think to pack any.
"Something to tie you with…" leaving her boots on land and rolling up her pants, she waded out into the lake until the clear water came up to her knees and looked for anything string-like to use on her raft. Nothing useful presented itself to her. Turning back to shore, scanned the area that she had been working in- hoping the new perspective would prove useful.
It did. Her old college sweater had reappeared on the beach. "How odd," she murmured. She remembered it being taken from her. Eh, no matter- at this point, she'd accept (almost) any help she could get. Besides, it was rendered practically useless due to numerous holes, tears, and snags. An idea bloomed in her mind- she could cut the garment into strips and tie the wood into place.
Happy with her innovative solution, Sarah decided to take a bit of a breather. The sun was relentless and beat down on her, and the water was cool and clean- inviting her for a quick swim. "That wouldn't be a good idea," she mused aloud, instinctively knowing that he was listening, "swimming would mean indecent exposure on my part, and we wouldn't want that, would we?"
The sun seemingly upped its intensity in response.
Deciding, that she'd dry off well enough on the raft, Sarah waded out a bit further and ducked under the water for a few minutes' clothes and all- feeling instant relief. Wet clothes coupled with the gentle breeze, she would be her own evap cooler. Ringing out her hair as she waded back to land, Sarah quickly plaited it into a braid and fastened the end with her hair tie. Feeling refreshed already, she started tearing her sweatshirt into long strips and tying together the four corners of her frame into place, and then looping the fabric over and around the planks to form the main body of the raft.
Attending all those Cub Scout meetings with Toby had finally paid off. She was no master at crafting something like this- especially with her sparse supplies but felt that the final result was perfect for her current needs.
Not wanting to weigh it down too much, but still be sturdy enough to hold her, she placed the planks 2" apart, which worked well in her favor- she had plenty of room to weave strips of the shirt into place. Satisfied, she grabbed the last usable piece of wood, which ironically looked a little like a paddle.
Now, if only she had a sail. Sarah had shaped a sturdy bit of wood into a makeshift mast, whittling down the bottom and notching it on either side until it seated itself nicely betwixt two pieces of plank in the middle of her vessel. Notching it again, about 3 inches up, she secured it to her craft with four more strips of her tattered sweatshirt- by first tying them to the mast, and then to the planks- and prayed that it would hold upright.
Too bad, there wasn't anything that she could use as a sail.
Except, now her stomach decided to grumble at her- rather loudly, interrupting her thought process on suitable sail material.
"Quiet!" she admonished empty the organ. "We'll eat when we get home."
It grumbled louder.
She tried washing down a mouthful of ashen granola bars with sips of water but ended up half-choking on the mess until coughing it out onto the sand. "Maybe I could catch a fish…" she wondered, but decided that it would take too much time, and for all she knew the fish were enchanted as well… or poisoned.
That left the fruit- fruit that she knew she shouldn't even think about eating.
"What if I only have a sliver? Maybe it won't be as strong." Besides, she couldn't remember feeling hungry after her mouthful of peach the last time she was here. Perhaps a sliver would tide her over until she returned. But which one to pick?
An idea popped into her head and she grinned to herself. "you know," she addressed the emptiness around her, "if I were to take a break, I'd need something to protect me from the unrelenting sun. Wouldn't want to get a sunburn, you know." And like that, a palm tree sprung from the ground standing proudly as if it had always been there, effectively shading both Sarah and the raft.
The pomegranate rolled freely out of her bag, hitting her hip. "You really want me to eat that, don't you?" What was it he had said? Something about it being 'satisfying.' Well, 'satisfying' most likely meant 'perverted' to him, and she wasn't ready to go there.
That left the peach and the apple. Tossing the pomegranate over her shoulder without a backwards glance, Sarah dug the other fruits out. Holding the peach in her hand, she looked it over. It looked just as ripe as before and incredibly tempting. Peaches were light and sweet but had an underlying bite to them- just like that masquerade from so many years ago.
Not wanting to revisit that scenario, the peach went the way of the pomegranate, which left the apple. "If peaches are a dangerous innocence, and pomegranates are well, just dangerous- then apples must be in the middle?" she pondered aloud.
"Unless… knowledge." Like Eve in the Garden of Eden. "Maybe the apple will enlighten me on what happened last night. What caused this." Sarah chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. She could toss the apple away like the others, climb the tree, cut a few fronds for a sail and be on her way… or…
Her stomach grumbled and cramped, making her decision for her. "Just one slice." Rinsing the blade of her pocketknife in the lake water, Sarah cut a bit of apple- about the size of her finger and settled onto the shaded platform. Balling up what was left of her sweater, she stuck it behind her head and stretched out.
"This better give me answers," she warned- knowing that he heard. She gobbled up the slice like, well, a starving woman, and waited.
Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth or any recognizable characters. They belong to Jim Henson and Co.
AN: Long-ish chapter to make up for not posting last month. I don't know if Jareth having a beef jerky fetish is a little too far-fetched, but it made me laugh when I thought of it. Also, my raft building skills are limited to grade school projects consisting of popsicle sticks and glue (mine sunk to the bottom, by the way). Hope the driftwood and sweatshirt one is at least a bit believable.