CHAPTER 6
"She's very quiet," Isadora observed while she sat in her usual place next to Jareth. She was sitting relaxed at the chair like Jareth, bouncing Emory in her lap.
"She is a cunning, devious woman who hunts for sympathy and lust. An everyday femme fatale, and I was weak enough to fall for it six years ago. Not anymore." he smiled and leaned over to his wife, stroking her cheek lightly.
"This is a new story," Isadora laughed, leaning her head on his gloved hand. "How is she a femme fatale?"
Jareth sighed and leaned back. "Well—" he stopped and looked towards the door at the sound of someone eavesdropping.
Sarah was standing in the doorway, her head down and her face reddening. She heard every word. Jareth smirked callously, relishing her discomfort.
Isadora looked to her husband in confusion, wondering what it is about Sarah Williams caused him to act that way. She looked back to Sarah, smiled warmly to try to compensate for her husband's unusually cruel nature and stood, passing the squirming child to Jareth as she greeted her guest. Jareth looked down at Emory and bounced the child conjuring a crystal for him to play with, not even glancing at Sarah as she sat down at the far end of the table.
"Sarah! I'm glad you could join us. The food should be ready soon, just let me go check with the chef." she smiled at her husband. "You know how Paddle can be." he smiled in return as his wife sauntered into another room, her long skirts swishing as she walked. The doors closed, and Sarah was left alone with Jareth and Emory, who had just been placed gently on the ground at Jareth's feet. There was a long, awkward silence as Jareth avoided her gaze.
"Thank you," Sarah whispered.
"For what?" Jareth asked, fiddling with his glove, not even sparing a glance in her direction as she spoke.
"For saving me." She said softly, trying not to get irritated at his lack of attention to her.
He snorted. "I didn't do it for you," he sneered, finally looking at her. His eyes were cold, "I did it for Isadora. She begged me to help you. I was all to willing to let you deal with your soul mate on your own." Sarah's eyes widened.
He went back to fiddling with his glove, leaving Sarah feeling like crap. She slammed her hand on the table in frustration and stood while he just sat there. How dare he treat me like this?
"What is wrong with you?" she yelled, "You've never been this cold, this cruel! You are being horrible to me! What did I do to deserve this?"
Jareth just looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "You don't know what you did?" he asked quietly. Inside, he was a volcano, exploding with anger and pain.
"No."
"I'll tell you what you did." Jareth snapped, standing up. He slowly started to walk around the table towards her, throwing accusations at her each step.
"You wished the child be taken, but called me the villain when I granted your wish. You turned my subjects against me. You tantalized me with your dreams. You undermined me before my subjects. I offered you the world, and you destroyed mine. I kept your friend alive when I so desired to kill him. You married another man! You shoved me to the brink of insanity! How do you not know what you did to me? You deserve this and more! You are only here because my wife is asking me to let you stay. I could care less if that wifebeater beat you bloody. It pales in comparison to what you did to me." his voice grew steadily louder, "You left me to face the world alone! I gave you everything and you gave me nothing! I did everything for you! I fell in love with you that day, and you shattered my heart! I destroyed my Labyrinth! I killed goblins! I—was—alone!" he was an inch from her face when he straightened and regained control. Emory started to cry, so Jareth turned on his heel, his body tense, and picked him up.
"That is what you did. This is why I treat you as I rightfully should." He looked away to hide the tears in his eyes and stalked out of the room with Emory, leaving Sarah alone with his accusations ringing in her ears. Just then, Isadora walked into the dining room.
"I heard yelling and… oh…" she stopped when she saw Sarah sobbing in her hands. Isadora walked to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but Sarah threw it off and stood, throwing her chair down behind her.
"You don't understand anything!" she yelled, "Just leave me alone!" she turned and fled the room, fleeing from the dreams that became her worst nightmare.
"Jareth, she needs to stay."
"No, I won't allow it."
"Won't allow it? She needs our help!"
"She doesn't deserve it."
"Deserving or not, I took a vow."
"Yes, you did. Not me. She needs to leave."
"Why?"
"I... I can't explain. I don't want to yell at you."
"That happened almost seven years ago!"
"You don't understand!"
"Then make me understand."
"I can't!"
Isadora was quiet. "You fell in love with her, didn't you?"
Jareth didn't respond. Isadora sighed.
"Jareth, darling, I trust you. I know you, and I know how hard this is. She broke your heart. But I have repaired it as best as I could. Let her stay for a while. We will find her a new place, just give it time. Remember, you don't have to speak to her. Let me take care of the hospitality."
"... Alright. Fine. Sarah stays."
Isadora smiled. "Good."
So Sarah stayed. For months, Jareth would walk right past Sarah, never address her, as if she wasn't there. Every time he passed her, Sarah would talk feverishly to him, just to see a spark of his old self. Even speaking to her in anger would've been better than this cold, emotionless shell. But he never even looked at her, never spoke to her, never gave her the time of day. It was as if she didn't exist to him. Isadora was kind, friendly, and helpful, but Sarah secretly hated her; hated her for the loving way Jareth looked at her, hated her for not saying no to Jareth's marriage proposal, hated her for having Jareth's child, hated her for being the one to hold onto Jareth when Sarah couldn't.
One summer day, that all changed.
"Jareth," Isadora called. He immediately appeared at her side, and she deposited Emory into his arms. "My mother is sick, and she asked me to stay with her for a week. She's dying." Isadora's eyes got wet. "Will you please stay with Emory? I need to go alone."
"I understand." Jareth said softly, stroking her cheek with his gloved hand. They kissed, and Isadora disappeared.
Jareth left the throne room shortly to go put Emory in his crib for his afternoon nap. Sarah's room was directly across from Emory's, and she heard Jareth speaking softly to his son.
"Mommy's going to be gone for a week, so Daddy will be taking care of you. Won't that be fun? Huh, Emmy?"
Sarah smiled softly to herself to hear Jareth speaking so kindly to Emory, then his words hit her. She was going to be alone with him for a week! Perhaps if Isadora wasn't in the picture, she could find Jareth's love for her. She heard him close the door and walk back to his throne room. Sarah opened the door and closed it just as quietly, walking to the throne room as excitement welled in her stomach.
Jareth was on his throne, lying across the arms and juggling his crystals in one hand. His eyes were closed, taking advantage of his son's rare exhaustion.
"Jareth?" Sarah asked timidly.
He didn't respond. He knew it was Sarah, she had been trying to approach him for months.
"Jareth?"
"What?" he asked impatiently.
She was quiet. He opened one eye and saw that she was wringing her hands.
"What do you want from me?"
He opened both eyes, startled at the conversation's turn. "What?"
"What do you want from me? Why are you pretending I don't exist?"
He smirked and closed his eyes again. "Does it matter?"
"It matters to me!" She snapped, her fiery spirit brimming over. "What happened to you?"
"I have answered this question before."
"No, you haven't. You just said that it was me. What was me? I know what I did to you wasn't optimum—"
"Optimum?" he laughed once, not a pretty laugh.
"—but what is driving you?" she continued, as if he hadn't spoken. Jareth didn't reply.
Sarah finally got irritated. "Do you remember what you sang to me, that day eight years ago?" he didn't respond, although his fists clenched, the crystals disappearing.
She began to sing softly. "But I'll be there for you, as the world falls down... Falling in love."
The effect upon him was immediate. He was out of his throne, his hands on her shoulders instantly. His eyes were filled with rage and pain.
"Don't—sing that damned song in my castle, you hear?" he spoke in that quiet, breathy voice that scared Sarah more than his screams. His hands were shaking and cold through the gloves.
"What is driving you? Why can't you let it go?"
"I can't!"
"Let it go," Sarah whispered, eyes on his lips. Her hands came up and rested them on his neck.
"Let it go," she whispered again. She leaned forward, eyes closing. Their lips met. Jareth felt his control slipping. His eyes closed and his hands moved to her waist, pulling her closer. Sarah was everywhere, the smell of her hair surrounding him. The ice around his heart began to crack, allowing Sarah's warmth to melt it. Their soft kiss grew into something more passionate, their hands no longer lightly on the skin. Sarah broke the kiss, grinning widely. Jareth allowed himself a small smile, and was yanked out of the throne room and into Sarah's private chambers.
That night, the dark of Sarah's bedroom was slashed again and again by lightning; the storm buffeted the castle for hours. As Jareth undressed her, electricity flashed outside, almost as if caused by the desire and heat between them. In her lacy black bra and panties, Sarah watched Jareth pull off his poet shirt while lightning crackled outside, finally slipping his gloves off his hands and onto the ground. Jareth lifted Sarah into his arms and set her down on the bed. He unclasped her bra, his eyes looking intently into hers, watching her reaction. Then he eased the panties down over her hip bones. Just then, the clouds opened and rain poured from the heavens, cold breezes blowing into the open stone window, the curtains dancing in the wind and rain. Jareth kissed his way down Sarah's body. She closed her eyes and arched upward to meet his lips.
"Sarah, my dear Sarah," The face Sarah loved so well was before her, kissing her soft lips again and again. She ran her hands down his smooth, muscular chest, feeling his heart pounding under her fingers.
"Jareth," she breathed, saying his name over and over, loving the taste of it on her tongue. At the exact moment their bodies merged, a bolt of lightning struck so near that the palace seemed to shake; thunder booming shortly after. They froze, stunned by the violence and a bit dazed to see each other in a sudden, provisional brightness to discover themselves in different ways. Every so often, when lightning brightened up the room like the sun, Sarah would stare into her lover's eyes, and the expression on his face—so spellbound, so vulnerable, so utterly hers— was the most beautiful thing Sarah had ever seen in her life.
