On a summer's day long, long ago
I fell in love and I'll never know
Just what it was that made me feel
So drawn to her, what the appeal
That set my pulses so to race
When e'er I gazed upon that face
Of one who was scarce but a child
Yet even then could drive me wild
I'll never know the how's and why's
I lost my heart to Hazel Eyes

-Jim Sharman, Unlicensed Love


Juncture

Chapter 9: Tincture

Hoggle had always considered Jareth a rat. A sly, dangerous rat.

Even the idea of giving the egotistical monarch any form of sympathy seemed ridiculous. Yet here the dwarf was, doing just that. The sight of the Goblin King writhing in his throne like a madman was frightening. Hoggle thought Jareth's regular self was fearsome but this was on a whole new level. Where was the calm and collected pest that ran beneath his skin constantly?

Gone with his sanity apparently.

"He's off his rocker," Hoggle said to himself, peering over a wall to watch the spectacle. All he came to the castle for was information on why the fairies had suddenly disappeared. He wasn't complaining, of course—it made his job easier. But he was still curious. The Labyrinth itself wasn't looking too well, either.

The maniac laughing stopped as Jareth's eyes focused directly onto the dwarf. Hoggle nearly fell back in surprise at such an intense stare.

"Hoggle, do come here."

Now he felt his fear all the way down to his toes. Jareth hardly ever called him by his name correctly.

"Sorry, your majesty," Hoggle said, stepping forward and clasping his hands together nervously in front of him. "I came here wonderin' 'bout the fairies is all."

"They're on a temporary leave," Jareth said, waving dismissively. "I have a question for you."

The dwarf held his leathery hands together tighter

"In your visits with Sarah, did she ever mention me?"

Hoggle was dumbfounded. Jareth looked so serious while asking, yet the question itself seemed so…innocent. The Goblin Kingdom's ruler must be severely ill.

"No," Hoggle answered cautiously. "Well, yes actually. My last visit with her she asked about you." Just why she did he'd never understand.

Jareth looked stunned for a moment, straightening in his throne. He leaned his elbows down to his knees and entangled his fingers together. Slowly, he brought his face to lay against his hands and he formed the stock image of a man deep in thought. It set Hoggle on edge. Jareth's thinking never led to anything good. Not for him, anyway.

The king closed his eyes and he hummed low, deep in his throat. He stopped and sighed before once again straightening.

"I want her here," Jareth said sharply, his voice clipped. It was not a desire, it was a demand. "She cannot run forever."

"Your majesty, if I may—" Hoggle began but stopped abruptly when Jareth raised his hand, signaling for him to hush.

"No, I am not forcing you to go and convince her. I know where your loyalty lies, as annoying as it is." He said and the dwarf sighed in relief.

"However, Sarah Williams will be here. It would be in her best interest." Jareth continued and Hoggle absolutely did not like the rat's wording. What was he hinting at?

"What do you mean?" Hoggle asked, becoming bolder as his concern for Sarah grew.

"Why, do you not know the story, my dear Hoggle?" The monarch said loudly as he stood from his throne and shot his arms out to either side of him. "Six years ago a young human girl trampled across this land and threw any challenges aside like they were nothing. She won the heart of the king! And to what should be her dismay, she won the heart of the Labyrinth. And it gifted her with the ability to wish and it gifted her a piece of itself."

Hoggle swallowed tightly. He knew the first part damn well. But…certainly not the rest.

"And as she continues to bounce about Above, so far away from the Labyrinth, the structure crumbles. And she will too as that piece withers inside her." The Goblin King laughed during the last sentence, much to Hoggle's disbelief. "I kept her from harm all these years but you can imagine how I must feel knowing I can't protect her from this. I cannot prevent her own downfall if she does not come here willingly."

"Are you sayin' that as that thing dies—" Hoggle began but found himself cut off by the rat's eyes. The dwarf shook his head and slowly backed away.

"Sarah Williams will come here." Jareth said again, yet his facial expression sent a completely different vibe out.

It was not the monarch being selfish and controlling like some lustful demon. It was him making sure that Sarah continued to live a painless existence.

He had done this for six years and did not plan to stop. Even after the obvious drop in sanity.


Sarah had fallen ill.

It was a quick transition from being perfectly healthy and spending time with her brother to being bed ridden with a dripping nose. She blamed it on her brother bringing home a cold from other kids.

"This is not how I wanted this vacation to go." Sarah mumbled to herself from her bed. Whether she meant Jareth's visits or this sudden cold she didn't quite know. Probably both.

She still hadn't seen the fae in her dreams since her command that he'd stay out. It was what she wanted but, in all honesty, she didn't really expect him to actually obey. It just didn't seem in his character.

Somehow he was punishing her. Making her crave him when mentally, the sight of him sent her stomach to the pits of despair.

Groaning, she turned her face into the pillow beneath her. The cool material was nice on her burning face.

How did she really feel about Jareth? He was handsome but his personality clamped about her throat in the wrong way. In fact, overall he rubbed her the wrong way. But at the same time…he did so in the right way as well.

Her face burned hotter at her own mind's misinterpretation of her thoughts. She meant in regards to him being a worthy foe. Jareth met her will like none other.

"Stupid fevered brain," Sarah said, trying to sink lower into her bed. "I wouldn't touch him with a five-foot pole."

Liar.

She rolled her eyes. What did her mind know?

Sarah turned over and sighed. It knew everything, of course.

Her body was lit aflame at such innuendoes thinking.

"This is ridiculous!" She finally yelled, sitting up. Quickly—too quickly, as her head momentarily spun—she stood from her bed and marched to her vanity.

Maybe it was her cold clouding her better judgment, as nothing else but telling the damned Goblin King off seemed more rewarding.

"Hoggle, I need you," She said. "I need you to get a message across to a certain pest."

His face began to fade into sight in her mirror yet her friend didn't seem happy.

"Hoggle?" Sarah asked cautiously. "Is everything all right?"

"I think you'll be deliverin' that message personally, Sarah."


AN: ...I'm not late with this at all...

Reviews are appreciated!