A few weeks passed, and Sarah and Nick fell into a comfortable routine. When Sarah had a date with Jay, Nick would help her get ready, working a sort of magic Chris wasn't able to achieve. Nick cooked and cleaned while Sarah was at school, which led to a pleasant surprise the first time Sarah came back. When they got comfortable in their cohabitation, Nick started making small alterations – furniture adjustments, recipes, different scents everywhere. She had candles burning, often, and once she found out how to keep the smoke detector from going off, she burned incense as well. Nick and Sarah became very close, chatting about everything and anything – Mostly Jay.
One weekend, Chris took Sarah to the local Renaissance faire. Nick smiled, saying she needed to catch up with some old friends and go, I'll be fine, have fun. Chris dragged her all over the faire, flirting and giggling like schoolgirls, taking on affected airs and speaking in the language and accent of the fiare-goers.
When she got home, Sarah closed the door behind her before erupting into giggles. Chris bought her a full costume at the faire, and she was still wearing it. She had her hair done as well, ribbons woven into her long, chocolate silk hair. She didn't notice the pale glow coming from her desk, instead skipping to the kitchen, flicking on the lights. She found a note from Nick on the fridge, apologizing and explaining that something had come up and she had to leave suddenly, but that she'd be in touch. Sarah, shrugging, turned to drop the note on her desk, flicking off the switch–
And stopped, suddenly, at the sight before her.
A crystal orb, a feather lying next to it, sat on her dusk, glimmering mutedly. She was fairly surprised at her emotions reflected back at her in the mirror on her desk – not surprised or scared, almost... resigned. Some part of her had been expecting this for a long time.
As she realized this, something inside her snapped. The memories that had been slipping through her head since she met Jay finally came tumbling through. Wishing Toby away, the grandeur of the Goblin King, standing in her parent's bedroom window, the expanse of the Labyrinth, her friends, the peach, the ball, delivering the final line as the clock struck thirteen. "You have no power over me," she whispered to her reflection, her voice thick.
She winced at the knock on the door. She slipped the orb into her pocket, holding the feather between her thumb and forefinger. She opened the door to Jay, leaning against the doorjamb. She couldn't meet his eyes.
"Hey beautiful," he said, kissing her gently on the cheek.
She didn't respond, twirling the feather between her fingers at eye-height.
"That's a beautiful feather," he offered.
She snorted. "You would say that. This is a barn owl feather, Jareth, and last time I checked, that was one of your familiar forms."
"I don't-" he stopped when he realized what she'd called him. "You know."
She remained unresponsive, eyes on the feather between her fingers.
A dark look flashed in his eyes. "I need you, Sarah, and I will stop at nothing to have you."
She finally met his eyes. "You need me? Don't you mean you love me?"
His eyes went cold as his hand closed around her wrist. "I never cared about you. You were just a means to an end." With that, he transported both of them to the Castle at the Center of the Goblin City.
Sarah flinched at the words, recoiling as if it. Not noticing the pain and remorse in the mismatched eyes of the King, she turned and ran down the hall, biting back sobs. She pushed her hair back, her manic pace causing it to fall from its intricate styling and into her face. She threw open the door to the first room she came across, falling on the bed like she used to, so many years ago. Once she was all cried out, she pulled herself up, resolve set. She was going to go back and talk some sense into herself. She was going to make sure this never happened in the first place. Gripping the crystal in her hands, she said clearly, "Take me back to the night before I met… him."
There was a bright flash, and she closed her eyes. When the light faded, she was back in her old apartment, standing next to the light switch to her bedroom.
"Ouch! Cut the lights!"
Sarah's eyes focused on… herself. Sprawled across her bed, the smell of alcohol faint on the air. The past her frowned. "What the…? Okay, yeah, way too much to drink last night."
Overcoming the shock of traveling in time, Sarah said urgently, "Listen to me. There's going to be a guy-" She choked at the memory of Jay. Jareth. Focus. "An amazing, unbelievable guy that you'll meet tomorrow. He's going to absolutely wow you, but you cannot trust him." Sarah's heart broke.
"There's going to be…?" Her past self wasn't catching on very quickly. "So you're like, me from the future?"
Finally. "Yes. Yes, I am. And you need to listen to me!"
"Then… why are you in a renaissance dress? Did you just come back from the faire?"
Sarah sighed, annoyed with herself. "I'm drunk," she muttered to herself. "You're drunk. Why? What possessed me to go out and drink?"
"Chris' twenty second, remember?"
"Oh. Right." Sarah flinched at the memory of her friend. Chris had known Jareth, and didn't warn her. Chris was probably even one of Them. She sighed. "You're going to wake up and think this was a dream. Damn." She raked her fingers through her thoroughly disheveled hair. "Just… don't trust him, alright? He's a liar and a cheat, and he's only going to end up hurting you." Her voice caught on the last words.
Her past self didn't notice. "Sure thing. Can you get the light?"
Sarah sighed. Useless. She turned off the light and turned to leave before a memory struck her. There was a glass of water on her nightstand when she'd awoken the next day. She padded silently to the kitchen, pouring a glass of water and shaking out a couple aspirin from their bottle before padding back to her bedroom. Her past self was fast asleep, so she set the glass and aspirin down on the nightstand. "It doesn't matter… You'll still love him, even if you knew how badly he was going to hurt you." She returned to the doorway, where she'd come. Scooping up the crystal, she whispered, "Take me home."
Kudos if you can find the reference without checking Pika-la-Cynique's gallery for the picture. ^^ http :/ pika-la-cynique .deviantart. com /gallery/ 772062# /dsylqd - without the spaces, of course. Hope you enjoyed!
