"This is so awesome!" Sarah cheered. At the present moment, she was running around Jareth's throne room like a chicken with its head cut off. Or, probably more accurately, like a goblin drunk on ale.
"It pleases me that you approve," Jareth said with a chuckle. It was what they called Spring Break in the human realm, which meant Sarah was free from primary school - otherwise called Elementary in her part of the world. Of course, her adoring parents took this as a perfect time to go on a vacation and leave Sarah with that undying babysitter of hers.
It had taken just a small bit of magic to convince said babysitter that Sarah's parents had in fact not called her and she was thus easily exempted from her role as Sarah's weeklong caretaker.
After all, it was a role a certain Goblin King was more than happy to play.
"Sarah, please release Mr. Swilltop now," Jareth requested.
The little girl he was addressing reluctantly dropped the poor goblin she was coddling. To Jareth's surprise, Sarah had not been the least bit shy or scared of the goblins that inhabited his kingdom and infested his castle. In fact, she was quite enamored with them. They had all run away screaming for their lives when Sarah had run after them with arms opened wide for a hug. This particular one had apparently not run fast enough.
"Let's play a game, Sarah," Jareth announced from his perch on his throne.
The girl was before him in an instant. Her hands rested on the seat under the shadow of his leg, which was propped up on the armrest of his chair, and she was nearly vibrating in excitement.
"What game are we gonna play?" she queried.
"Trust me, it's very simple. Actually, it is a spinoff of one our your games; House. How about we play Castle?" Jareth flashed Sarah a toothy grin.
The little girl squealed in delight. "Yes yes yes! Who do I get to be?"
"The Princess, of course! And I shall be the King," Jareth told her.
Sarah's expression was not as pleased as he had expected it to be. "But you're already a King. It's not a game if you're playing yourself."
Jareth blinked. "Well, yes. I do suppose so. Who would you have me be?"
"A Prince!" came Sarah's quick reply.
Jareth rolled his eyes to counter the smile that was threatening to pull up his lips. "Oh fine then. Shall I look the part?"
Sarah cocked her head (a new habit she had learned from a certain friend) and appeared curious. "What do you mean?"
Smirking, Jareth summoned a crystal and slowly rose from his throne. "You may want to stand back."
Sarah obediently took a couple steps away. She was now both intrigued and excited. Jareth only asked her to step back when he was about to do something really cool with his magic.
The King did not disappoint. He rolled his the crystal over his hand a couple times before letting it drop to the floor before his feet. There was a loud POP and the crystal exploded with a large, silvery cloud that surrounded Jareth's entire form. As the glittering smoke came wafting toward her, Sarah fanned it out of her face. When it completely cleared, the little girl gasped at the sight before her.
Where Jareth had been there now stood a little boy around Sarah's age - seven or so - with a toothy smirk and mismatched eyes. His features were soft but still angular and his golden hair was gathered into a ponytail at the back of his neck. He wore the same clothes (black breeches and a maroon ruffled shirt) as the tall King that had been in his place not moments before.
"Jareth?" Sarah asked, still looking mildly confused.
"Yes, precious?" the boy replied. His voice was quite a couple octaves higher but still unmistakable.
Jareth's grin grew wider, as did Sarah's.
"Let's explore!" Sarah cried, turning to run out the throne room door.
"Wait, not yet," called Jareth. Sarah stopped and turned back to him.
"Are we quite properly clothed?" Jareth asked, raising a fine brow.
Sarah glanced down to her bright yellow t-shirt and faded overalls. When she looked back to Jareth she simply shrugged her shoulders. "It's just for pretend."
"Oh but it's so much more fun to pretend when you have the costume!" Jareth exclaimed, balancing on the balls of his feet and grinning like mischief. Perhaps it was due to his child form, but he looked positively impish.
"Alright, but I don't want to be a Princess," Sarah declared.
Now it was Jareth's turn to look a tad disappointed. He had wanted nothing more than to dress her up in a well-tailored, beautiful, and regal ballgown fit for a tiny princess.
"Well then what do you want to be?" he asked.
"I'll be a knight! That way I can protect the Prince!" she said, once again bubbling with excitement.
"Oh very well." Jareth couldn't stop a smirk. She would want to play the heroine.
Jareth quickly summoned two crystals and dropped them before his and Sarah's feet. This time, they were both enveloped in a shimmering silver cloud of magic.
Once this cloud had disappeared, Sarah looked down at herself. She squealed in delight when she found that she was clothed in real, golden metal armor with an authentic (but quite blunt) sword swinging at her hip.
"I even have a cape!" she exclaimed happily, noticing the red cloak draping from her shoulders.
"As do I," said Jareth. He had clothed himself in finery that greatly resembled Prince Charming from Cinderella. Sarah didn't particularly care for the main characters of that movie, but she loved the mice. Adjusting the epaulettes on his shoulders, he hooked a thumb in his golden belt and flashed Sarah a smile.
"We match!" Sarah commented, noticing his red breeches in accordance to her cape.
"Indeed we do. Shall we go on an adventure?" Jareth queried.
"Alright!" Sarah unsheathed her sword and pointed it into the sky. "Onwards!" she cheered. She then glanced to Jareth with a wide smile.
The boy simply shook his head and smirked. "Protect me well, brave knight."
Sarah's expression turned serious. Sheathing her sword, she surprised Jareth by kneeling in front of him and placing her hand on her breastplate, right over her heart. "I swear to you that I shall protect you with my life." She dropped character by letting out a cheerful giggle. Standing once more, she turned away charged out of the throne room with a fierce battle cry.
Jareth's grin faded as he watched her go. Slowly, his expression grew dark and pained.
"Oh but Sarah… Something of mine has already been stolen. Something precious. And you're the one who took it from me."
Sighing deeply, Jareth followed his princess out of the castle and into the Goblin City.
Author's Note:
Thank you to all those who reviewed on the last chapter! I'm so glad to see everyone is enjoying this story! I'm still working on these "memory" short stories. They're really fun to write, but they will have a deeper meaning that will be revealed later on!
Please continue to enjoy this story! Thank you all for reading!
