I have never been more indecisive with a chapter! It could have gone so many different ways! Hope you enjoy and please review, it helps me write more :3
Chapter 7
The nights were getting darker. Stars no longer sprinkled the midnight sky, and shadows crept so silently they'd scare you half to death because of how solid in colour they looked. Bushes and trees were bespeckled with tiny lights from the fairies that roamed them, although normally quite lovely to look at, tonight it looked like the leaves were burning in the orange glow. It was colder as well. That must be what that storm cloud just past the city walls is, the change of temperature marked by Mother Nature's wrath. But it didn't look like a normal storm cloud, it was too dark and it just felt… different.
At least, to Hoggle it did.
Sighing gently, Hoggle made his way over to the Labyrinth's outer wall, feeling his heart palpitate leaving him out of breath. He clutched at his chest as he lent against the wall, exhaustion taking over him completely as he drifted off to sleep almost instantly. His nightmare caused his weak heart no more good than when he was awake for he dreamt of dark beings chasing him through the Labyrinth's ever increasing darkness. Time was closing in, engulfing him in the shadows that were in his pursuit. With a jolt Hoggle woke, an instant sense of dread taking over his mind. He wiped the sweat off his brow with his tattered sleeve before adjusting to his surroundings.
"Ahhh!" Hoggle cried at the sight before him, waving his hands around his head.
"Hello, Hogwart," the Goblin King stood afore Hoggle, his impressive frame a silhouette against the fiery bushes behind him. "I am in need of you." His voice was smooth and tainted with darkness.
"Ah, yer Majesty, I-er- was just waterin' the flowers and such, I-I ain't been sleepin' if that's what yeh were thinkin'." Hoggle tried, his breath now caught in his throat as he waited. Jareth eyed him, his eyebrow raised unimpressed. He began slowly pacing around Hoggle, his black boots clicking against the stone slabs making the dwarf flinch with each threatening step. And then they came to a halt.
"Higgle—"
"It's Hoggle,"
Hoggle now paralysed with fear watched as Jareth knelt down to his eye level, gloved hand on chin. His eyes grew dark and menacing, black beads through a mass of dishevelled blond hair. The dwarf gulped and tentatively took a step backwards, recognising his mistake too late. Jareth's eyes narrowed and a bitter tension ran through the air around them. It was so silent, the only thing Hoggle was even aware was making any sort of sound was his own heartbeat which would not hush! Painful seconds ticked by before Jareth's tensed jaw relaxed and his eyes turned back to their original mismatched ones, releasing the death grip he hadn't noticed he had on Hoggle's tiny white shirt.
"Higgle, your voice repulses me," he said gently, almost whispering, "and the only reason I have kept you alive" Jareth gave a weak smile, "is because of a certain girl within my possession." Jareth stood now and turned to face the deserted plains that surrounded his Labyrinth letting Hoggle absorb this information.
"S-Sarah? But she beat yo—"
"Silence, you degenerate little shit. I chose to not kill you myself, do NOT think that I won't change my mind." A purple electric ball of energy spat around Jareth gloved hand, heat radiating from it like it were on fire. This magic was new to Hoggle as he stumbled onto his hands and knees, tears streaming down his face as he pressed his head to the dusty ground. He crawled just short of Jareth's feet, deciding it was not a good idea to touch the goblin king.
Yet Jareth's boot made contact with the back of the dwarf's head, squishing his nose against the stone beneath him.
"For a moment there I was worried you were going to stand up for the girl," Jareth pressed down harder procuring a strangled groan. "Standing up for the girl who you claim to be your friend, despite knowing that she hasn't even thought of you since she left. Pity, really. But it is a good thing that you've gone back to your old, selfish ways, Hoggle.
"Let me make a deal with you then," Jareth sneered, "I'll pardon all of your sinful acts of treason," he removed his foot from Hoggle, "if you make my precious little Sarah's life a living hell. Knowing you, that'll be easy…" his mouth screwed up in disgust as he took in the dwarf's now sand encrusted face.
Hoggle adjusted his tunic and wiped at his face a little before standing up to face his Majesty. "I ain't doin' nothin' to my poor Sarah," he huffed finding his newfound confidence inspiring although lacking in lustre.
The goblin king raised his hand, picking up the now weak dwarf, and magically threw Hoggle into the wall he had previously been resting against. Hoggle released a winded moan, coughing up a small amount of blood into his grubby hands. He was still pinned against the wall, Jareth's outstretched hand was holding him up from 10 metres away. The man's eyes were in shadow, his stance showing off his tensed muscles and the power that he not only metaphysically had, but physically as well. Hoggle grasped at the wall behind him, hugging it for dear life as he watched his king stalk towards him, his face harder than he'd ever seen it before. I low growl coming from behind his bared teeth.
"Oh, yes! You shall do as I say," Jareth spat, "because If you don't I shall torture Sarah myself and It will be far worse than you could even imagine. I have been generous, even to you." His snarl made Hoggle's hair stand on end, he couldn't help but whimper at the goblin king's words.
"Y-yes yer Majesty, anythin' yeh say I'll… I'll do it," Hoggle exclaimed, fearing that Sarah will only hate him more than she already did for this. 'Oh damn you, Jareth. And damn me too'. Jareth let Hoggle fall to the ground before he turned on his heel and briskly walked away. Turning back just as Hoggle had gathered himself up, he spoke again.
"Do not think you can run from this, dwarf. Any signs of treason, anything at all, and I'll hang your limp body on a hook by your groin." The gobbling king gave a guttural laugh before cloaking himself in darkness and leaving Hoggle to collapse for the second time that evening only this time he was in tears.
"Why, oh why are you such a coward Hoggle, you're a fool to yourself and now you've let your only friend down." He sobbed into his hands, his mind whirling with thoughts about Sarah, and Sir Didymus, and even the huge lug; Ludo.
'Why me?'
The dim light from the candle beside Sarah's head created a soft orange glow against her pale face. Like a liquid sun poured on her milky face. Her breath deep and languid, the small rise of her chest drawing attention to her sizeable bosom. Her hand lay next to her head, her lusciously dark hair entwined with her fingers and small tendrils stuck to her shining cheeks. Her other hand lay resting against her abdomen which was covered by a towel.
This was how Jareth found Sarah in his bed. She was all that innocence could offer to him. He knew that he had not been the first to taint her much to his frustrations. The boy that had placed his grimy hands across Sarah's fresh skin was a mere mortal, a blubbering idiot, a morsel of the very ground that Jareth stepped on. He could not have done anything to prevent it. After Sarah had rejected his proposal five years ago, Jareth plummeted into a state of utter pain and agony, leaving him feeling weak, betrayed, deserted, and so he was not aware of what Sarah had been doing with her life for the next year and a half. It was just after her sixteenth birthday he knew, that she had fallen for that obsolete boy, Tom, and had become intimate with him. A small act of rebellion on her part towards her step-mother was a large act of distrust towards Jareth who had overheard the boy one day telling the story to one of his horny friends. His anger reached further than it ever had it that moment he found out Sarah had been touched, violated, dirtied, and not by him. He had watched the boy begin to fall in love with her, felt himself fall in love again. He killed a lot of his subjects in these moments, loathed their happiness and their contentedness. Every move he made was uncomfortable and suffocating, restrictive and tense. Jareth was mildly surprised that he hadn't killed more, hurt more, done more; he felt like he could have.
Jareth stretched out his hand and hovered it over the girl's face, his own tortured enough to make his eyes water in bitterness. With an effort his hand drew away slowly and moved to the bridge of his nose, allowing him to focus on what he was planning.
'Torturing her by my hand is not good enough. She won't love you for it,' he admitted. 'The dwarf will become her torture, he'll mess with her precious little head, he'll crush her hopes, and then who will she run to then? I'll be her protector. I'll keep her safe, comfort her, and please her, to an extent of course, and then when she is just and ready, I'll let her fall. Fall hard into the depths of the hell I will create for her.' His thoughts darkened further as he designed more torturous ways of bringing his girl to her knees.
His eyes trailed over to her wrists. Several small and scabbed puncture wounds dotted her pulse. One large bruise circled her left wrist, wrapped around like a cuff. Her right hand wasn't touched the same way and obviously Sarah had used that hand to haul herself up to hold her weight when she was chained to his trap not too long ago. The delicate curve of her neck and chest was painted with scars and yellow smudges from when she first arrived here.
It was beautiful, it was serene, and it was good.
And knowing this was all it took. Jareth could swallow down whatever emotion this was, whatever it was that made him feel so fucking happy. Why? Because he knew revenge had to be precise, to make it feel all the more better than it already felt. Sarah knows what he can do with the unlimited power he holds. It was impossible not to realise in front of the Goblin King you are absolutely powerless. Most would cower, most would understand; not her.
No, not her.
Jareth grazed his fingers over his mouth and gave a low chuckle under his breath. 'Oh, she does know how to play,' he thought whilst staring at her still silent and still form. He wouldn't be joining her tonight, instead focussing his attention on Kyran's punishment. He could taste the magic within him, feel it flow as his anger started to show. Not here, not anymore in front of her. Not so soon anyway. But he craved the blood, the pain, the emptiness he felt. It is oddly relieving to torture someone.
And that he will.
She was in that moment between dreaming and awake. It was light against her eyelids, a bright red colour. It was beginning to feel painful how bright the sunshine was on her face so she had to accept that she wasn't caught in ignorance anymore, so she moved away deeper into her bed trying to escape the feeling. Then it came to her sourly; not her bed. She didn't want to wake up and her brain stubbornly wouldn't let her go back to sleep. It was too early, she could feel the cold air brush against her back. Her naked back.
Sarah's eyes shot open as she realised she wasn't wrapped up in the safety of her towel and the bed covers were crumpled at her feet. Sarah quickly rolled on to her knees to grasp the duvet but let out a small scream when she came face-to-face with a woman. Her heart bounced erratically as she made to cover her naked self with her hands and the covers. The woman didn't look frightened, more subdued than anything else. She was pale and freckled dotted her cheek, she had gorgeous red hair, like blood. She was wearing a white ruffled blouse (much like Jareth's) and a floor length teal skirt. She was absolutely radiant.
"Miss Williams, my services are available to you. I am your assigned educator, dresser, make-up artist, maid, servant, model, feeder, massager, reader; anything. I am here to guide you through the ways of the kingdom, to make you fit to rule and be the queen our king so generously offers to you." The woman spoke quickly, her eyes downcast and her hands clamped in front of her, "We shall travel together as you learn your new ways until our king deems you suitable enough for you to bear his children."
Sarah's eyes were wide like a deer caught in headlights. 'Who the fuck,' she thought her face now contorting in bitterness and rage and confusion.
"That slimy mother-fucker! Who the fuck does he think he is? Bear his children, my ass! How can someone be so fucking… disgusting?!" Sarah's breathing came in small hitches as she tore away from the bed, duvet in tow, and backed away from this… thing in front of her. "Look, I am not going to do anything that asshole says, ok? So you might as well give up now because I'm not conforming to your twisted views!" Sarah huffed out, her face set and a finger pointing aggressively at the woman.
The red head, turned to face Sarah, finally wiping that depressing look off of her perfect face. She lifted her arms in fear, inching away from Sarah in a low bow. "Oh please, Miss! You must not speak of our king that way, he will punish us, oh he will punish us!" She brought her hand to her chest and the other to her mouth and then spoke quietly to herself, "My god, he will punish us."
Sarah retracted a little before softly saying; "He is not my king."
The girl was almost hyperventilating as she leaned against the bed post. Sarah bit her lip and waited for her to calm down before approaching.
"What is your name?" she asked. Her question was greeted by a pair of huge blue coloured eyes.
"Lana, miss."
"Lana," Sarah swallowed, "I don't want you to be my— my slave! Your king is cruel. He's not who he was and I don't think he'll ever be … normal again," shuffling slightly so that she could place her hand atop Lana's. "We can work together, we- we can beat him and be free! Please, Lana don't let him poison your mind." Sarah pleaded with the girl who now wasn't shaking anymore. Lana lifted her head and stared into Sarah's eyes, fear leaving her own.
"Miss, I need to help you get dressed," Lana whispered as she got up and moved towards a cupboard that hadn't been there before. "The king has requested that you be comfortable in what you are wearing," she extracted a pair of dark jeans and a black laced halter neck top. It was pretty but comfy to Sarah meant joggers, t-shirt, and a hoodie. Lana then pulled out some underwear from a drawer and to Sarah's dismay it wasn't innocent. 'Sarah, if he wanted to touch you that way he would have already. You have time to defend yourself, time is all you need' she thought, shaking her head as she took the items of clothing.
"How long have you been here Lana?"
The girl paused awkwardly before speaking. "I— all of my life, miss." She shuffled off into the bathroom, her skirt fluttering between her legs, before she returned with a large towel in her arms. "Please, miss. You must get ready."
Sarah sighed before making her way to the bathroom. When she had finished and dressed herself Lana entered the bathroom and stubbornly wanted to put make-up on Sarah. It was only light — some blush, eyeliner, and mascara — but it really did make her look less sallow than she had been before and even made her look pretty. This wasn't what she needed, she didn't need to attract anyone and she was already confident without the make-up. No matter what happened to her these past few days. Maybe in the moment she'd learn not to push her luck, but that won't deter her.
She knew she wouldn't get anywhere with Lana so dismissed her rather grudgingly. Sarah stood in the silent bedroom watching the thirteen hour clock that hung next to the large window. It was just turning 9am but there was no longer any sunshine, just large billowing clouds of purple. There was no any colour anywhere she looked, it all seemed so black and white, even her clothes! Her shoes (if they could be called that) were a pair of extremely high black ankle boots. The heel so thin it made it hard to walk. That was all that was given to her. 'Comfort my ass!' She threw them off with a clunk. Then it came to her.
Picking up one of the heels again Sarah made her way over to the arched window. She weighed it in her hand before launching it as hard as she could. The glass shattered spectacularly in an abnormally slow motion then zoomed back to its original state as if it hadn't been touched at all. Sarah let out a pained and incredulous huff. She marched towards an armchair in the corner of the room and lifted it with ease with her new found adrenaline, and hauled it to the front of the window. Taking in a few breaths before she lifted it and screamed with all her might, a ferocious feral scream, and hurled the chair at the window. The chair disappeared below the wall but not before the glass reconstructed itself. Sarah made her way to the edge and looked out as she watched the chair hurtle towards the ground and smash into a thousand splinters below her. Nothing in between.
She knew she wouldn't commit suicide, she had Toby to save for Christ's sake! But it would've been nice to know that this castle wasn't completely impregnable. Lifting her fist up to her head she made a move to punch the glass but a hand had kept her from it.
"I wouldn't do that, you'll only get stuck."
Sarah still held her arm up as Kyr held her wrist. This was the perfect moment. Sarah gave a harsh tug of her arm and rammed her elbow into the side of Kyr's face, he released her arm and let out a groan. Sarah turned and ran for the door and yanked the door open, only to find that Kyr was standing on the other side, blood trickling down his nose and his face hard and angry. Sarah backed up, "I— I'm sorry," she stuttered, his face relaxed slightly before she continued, "that I didn't hit you harder."
Kyr's whole body tensed up, she could see his muscles bulging because today he decided to wear just a black tank top instead of the leather jacket. He stormed into the room, slamming the door hard behind him. He backed Sarah into the bed post and loomed over her, their faces almost touching. She could see herself reflected in his dark eyes, she could smell his masculine scent, she could feel the heat from his body, hear his breath as is brushed against the nape of her neck.
"Why are you here?" she whispered, her eyes darting between his.
He spoke back harshly. "Your educator was dismissed."
"I don't need an educator, I won't be here long." Sarah spat as she noticed his arms circled her and held on to the bed post effectively entrapping her.
"I highly doubt that,"
"Well I wasn't asking for your opinion," she whispered. She placed a hand upon his chest keeping him away from her. His eyes lowered to her lips for a split second pulling back to her green eyes. 'He's going to kiss you,' she wouldn't have noticed that her fingers slightly pulled at his top or that her breath quickened, but they did. She tilted her head up a little towards his face, her mind unaware of her actions. She watched him gulp before he pulled away from her, his hard face pointing to the ground.
"Then I won't give it next time," he growled. "You'll need to learn something today or the king will … well," he sighed bringing his head up to face her again. "Come." He turned and left Sarah alone in the room. Not wanting to have such a confusing confrontation again, Sarah hurried after Kyr, padding along barefoot.
He took her down the long corridor which now had several turnoffs into more halls and staircases and other rooms. He brought her to the dining room, the one she had been so magnanimously been laid in after her date with the devil. There was a steaming hot breakfast at one of the seats with coffee and fresh orange juice. She launched past Kyr and made to grab the piece of toast but was stopped by an invisible barrier. Turning towards Kyr with a look of confusion she noted that he was by the wall, his arms tucked behind his back and his stance like a military man.
"What ar—" she tried to ask but quickly went silent as Jareth materialised in front of her. He looked magnificent in his leather waist coat. So otherworldly and brilliant, almost like she could feel his power although he was a few good feet away from her.
'Oh come on!'
Jareth eyed her first before moving his glare towards Kyr, whose demeanour stayed unchanged. Jareth smirked addressing him with an appraised tone. "I'm glad you listened to my … request last night, Kyran. Have you touched her today? After last night I should think not"
Sarah was taken aback by this, though she knew she shouldn't be. It seems Kyran, as Jareth called him, has gotten a scolding from his highness as well. She waited for his answer, knowing full well that he had done something more intimate than touching her. He had gotten to her; that she had to admit.
"I have not touched your lady today, your highness, nor will I" the lie was quick off his tongue. And convincing.
Jareth turned halfway to regard Sarah a half smile on his lips, his eyes … soft? Sarah held her breath as the king stalked towards her, his boots padding against the carpet and the slight creek of his gloves as he reached out and took Sarah's hand.
"Did he touch you?"
"No, he did not," was her response. Jareth smiled then. He had done a complete 180 over night!
"I have a … gift for you tonight. Something pleasant. I hope you won't be too mad at me to not accept it. It is, however, your choice." He spoke with surprising sincerity, it took Sarah a few seconds to nod at him. He squeezed her hand lightly, and a warmth overcame her, her aches and pains disappearing. She watched as her bruises evened out to become pink patches of skin before returning to her normal skin tone. She gasped at the feeling, it was all so confusing what he was doing. She pulled her hand away from his and was momentarily surprised that he had let go as if he were human!
Sarah just stared into his mismatched eyes, wondering how he could change so much and all because of her? She had hoped he was just a figment of her imagination, a fantasy within a book. That he would stay that way forever. A part of her still held on to that man, still felt that pull, that attraction of a seductive villain. But that was just it. Her fantasy villain wasn't real enough, he wasn't wicked enough for the fifteen year old Sarah, and he was dangerous and attractive. Now he just showed her everything she didn't want. She had outgrown him and Jareth was fighting all he could for her, still playing games. No, she didn't want that anymore.
Jareth's smile fell but it wasn't replaced with anger but rather his face just looked like he was sighing. "I shall see you tonight then." Jareth then disappeared in a dark smoke, much like the clouds outside.
Sarah finally let out the air she had been holding and turned around and leaned on the back of the chair. What a morning and it is only coming up to 10 o'clock!
"Well that was pretty inter—" but Sarah couldn't finish her sentence because she was pulled into Kyr's arms. Their faces so close that it didn't take long before their lips found each other's and they were kissing like lovers. Kyr's hands roamed her back and waist, and Sarah felt small little jumps inside herself at his touch. Her hands tangled into his hair, grasping and pulling but only to pull him closer. She felt his hardness beneath her and she gasped. It lasted no more than twenty seconds before Sarah pushed him away easily as Kyr released himself at the same moment. Sarah covered her mouth with her hand in shock.
"Yeah," Kyr panted, "that was pretty interesting."
