"So, do you like my handiwork?"I regained myself and stopped my incessant shaking. A look of cold triumph was on his face.

"She is the best project that I have done for many hundreds of years, and I assume that the project is going well."

I thought that maybe King Alvaro meant this as a question, but it came out as an authoritative statement.

"How long has this project been going on?" I said with coolness that I didn't know that I could manage. He tapped his chin.

"A half a year? Maybe more, you still have not answered my question. Do you like it or not?"

"Does it need an answer?"

King Alvaro tapped the side of his throne. Fast annoyed taps.

"Why did you do it?"

"For you my son. She destroyed you, I will destroy her."

My father was being protective of me? He wouldn't save me if a band of giants had attacked my castle and were murdering my goblins. I haven't seen my so-called father for over three thousand years. Not that long for immortals, but still enough. Seeing my hesitation, he said,

"Love is as poisonous to us as the knife to the heart. This foolish girl drove that knife right through your heart."

I winced knowing that he was right. My father was always right.

"She could have killed you!"

"I know that very well father, but since I am not dead I will have the pleasure in tormenting her."

Anger seeped through the cracks of my faç that, I disappeared from my father's realm, leaving him speechless.

Sarah

This is it. No more Jareth, nada, nothing. Tonight I am going to go to a bar, I am going to meet my dream guy and get married. We will travel the world and then settle in Ireland where we will have our children and me and my dream guy will buy tombstones and we will be buried right next to each other. In Ireland. That was my plan. I would be a famous dancer and he would be an ice skater. Done. There is nothing more to plan. I looked at myself in the mirror as I put on my lipstick, wearing a green dress that hung kind of limply on me. It used to hug my curves perfectly, but it accented nicely with my eyes. My eyes were bright with excitement and I had to agree with myself that I looked nice. I stepped into a pair of black flats and I was off, off to have fun for the first time in a very long while. The place I was going to was called 'The Stumble In'. It had gotten some verygood reviews online and I decided that I would give it a try. As I opened the door, I was hit with the smell of alcohol and jasmine. I stood inside, examining the place. It was very simple, with a few tables here and there and a long black counter spanning the length of the whole building. Thus, the name. Suddenly nerves took place. I have never been in a bar before, what do I do? Will I spend the whole night alone?

Should I drink alcohol?

I slowly walked towards the long table and took a seat. A hyper looking bartender hopped towards me.

"And what can I get you, beautiful?"

I stared at the small menu and said, "A root beer please."

"No rum in it?"

"No."

"It'll be right up."

He hopped away. I smiled as I imagined little bunny ears on top of his ginger head. The root beer tasted heavenly. I hadn't drunk anything sugary for a very long time because ballerina life does not permit it. Savoring every cool sip that went down my throat, I relaxed my guard. The music on the speakers had a jazzy, slow, yet very uplifting tune. After listening to classical for so long, this was a welcome change. I was immersed in my own thoughts, almost drowning in them. I thought about many things, choreography for one was at the forefront. We were doing a new show called, Alice in Wonderland. Our choreographer was all about getting out of the classical pieces and finding new ones. There was a rumor going around that about twice as many people are going to come to this show. Ludmilla, on the other hand, pursed her lips and told us not to get out hopes up. My role was to be The Queen of Hearts. While it is not the forefront role, it is the hardest in terms of being lifted and turning. The costume was literally a house around the dancer and weighed a ton. I had to rehearse in a wooden skeleton of the dress, and that without the fabric already weighed twice as much as I did. Since I was the smallest, I was the one who had to be in this dress, to make it easier on the men who had to lift me. I wasn't happy about this and neither was Ludmilla. Right now, both of us were negotiating with our lead choreographer on how the dress and the steps should be different. I sincerely hoped that poor Mr. Lin could withhold Ludmilla's wrath, because both of knew that ballerinas were made to wear tutu's not houses.

"What could a lovely girl like you be doing alone on a Friday night?"

I jumped as the voice spoke. I immediately noticed that it had a soft Russian accent that made him sound like he was purring. Laughing, I turned to inspect the man I sitting next to. He was a sight to see. Beautiful warm brown eyes, a perfectly straight nose, and very defined lips. He had the demeanor of a very happy soul. There was a small smile on his lips.

"Nothing, the girl is doing absolutely nothing."

"You look very familiar, as though I have seen you before."

I saw that he was very tall, like all of the men I interacted with at the ballet studio. Maybe he was a ballet dancer. If he were though, I would have bumped into him some way or another. Or maybe he was an ice skater.

"May I ask for a name?" I asked, now genuinely interested.

"Alexei."

"Russian or alien?"

He seemed amused at my bluntness.

"Alien, of course. Also, plotting Earth's destruction."

I nodded as though this was not new news to me. He shook with silent laughter. In his hands was Coke. We sat together in companionable silence.

"You must be dancer." He said suddenly. It was a statement not a question.

"I do dance. What about you?"

"Skate, Figure Skate."

My heart almost skipped a beat.

"And what would a handsome man like you be on a Friday night, alone?"

"I just stumbled in."

This time I actually laughed. He just smiled at me. I couldn't help but compare his soft accent with Ms. Ludmilla's. Hers was harsh and unforgiving, he made it sound sexy.

"You go to a bar and don't drink alcohol?"

"I don't want it to ruin my rehearsal, and besides I was curious."

Just like that, he had earned my trust, and I knew it.

He nodded. "What about you?"

"My father died because he was drunk."

Now I felt horrible for asking.

"Oh.",was all I could say. We were perfect strangers. We were also spilling secrets. I finished the last of my root beer, looking at the bottom of the glass in unhappiness. All good things come in small portions.

"Did you find anything good here? Anything that satiates you curiosity?"

I shook my head.

"I was considering of leaving right away, and then some very agreeable company found me."

He chuckled.

"I was too, but then I saw the most beautiful girl sitting all alone. I couldn't help myself."

Cue the blush.

"Do you want to get out of here and take a walk at the park? Maybe that will be a little more interesting than people getting drunk."

I looked around me and saw that the place was filling up very fast, and it was getting very loud.

"A walk at the park sounds like the best that could happen to me right now."

We both paid.

We both left.

After the hot and stuffy air of the bar, the spring breeze was like a whiff of heaven. Alexei led the way to the park.

"I am never going into a bar again." I stated breathing deeply.

"You say that without even getting drunk."

Smiling, we both looked up. The setting sun cast a shade of pink on the clouds, accenting nicely with artificial green of the city park.

"There is nothing like a city park in the evening."

I looked at him looking up. A spark of recognition erupted in my mind. I knew him, but I didn't know from where. There was something about the way he stood, an air of calmness around him. Suddenly, as though on impulse I held out my hand to him. He took it. We spent the next hour talking about everything that we could. I don't honestly remember about what but I remember the way his voice sounded. Deep, masculine and simply beautiful. I don't know if I can use any other word but beautiful to describe suddenly looked at me with the most surprised expression on his face.

"Are you really here?" I made show of pinching myself in the arm.

"As far as I am concerned, yes."

He fell into a calculating silence.

"Sarah, why do we not kiss?"

"Maybe because I am not tall-"

I stopped speaking as he dipped his head and the large gap between us just…

simply, vanished.

Authors Note: The longest chapter so far. I expect some reviews.

So, who are you rooting for now?

Jareth?

Sarah?

Alexei?

I must thank my beta, blue and silver marble unicorn. Without her this would be a mess…..

Beta Note: Greetings internet friends! Honestly, what do you usually write in a beta note? I really don't know what to say. Personally, I'm rooting for Ludmilla.

Doodles!