Fun fact: according to my baby name book, "Jareth" is an American name that means "one who is gentle"! If only they knew... Wrote this because I got bored and didn't feel like doing my homework. 3
Sarah
I felt the warmth of a body next to mine, an arm wrapped tenderly around my waist. I brought a hand to my shoulder, remembering the pain that had once been there. My eyes snapped open. There was nothing but smooth skin. I sat up, only to have the arm pull me back down into an embrace. I stiffened, as I slowly rolled over to find the Goblin King next to me, fast asleep. Thank God he was clothed. I was about to try and escape from his grasp when I noticed some dark skin by Jareth's neck. I gingerly lifted his loose collar to find that his shoulder had the talon marks that mine had, with the addition of the skin being charred as if it was set on fire. I touched my shoulder again. Did he transfer my injury to himself? Why would he do that?
I was still gazing at my wounds on his shoulder when I saw the flash of a smile out of the corner of my eye, and a hand removing mine from his shirt, forcing me to drop it back into place.
"Welcome back Sarah. Did you miss me?" His eyes glimmered with desire. I found myself looking into those eyes without complaint. It was the first time I noticed he had one blue eye and one brown. I had always seen them as unforgiving black orbs. How did I not notice it before? "Speechless I see. Well, as much as I would love you to stay in the unclothed state you're in, I need you to be able to get to the dining hall. Unless you'd rather eat here of course."
I looked down to see the bed covers had slipped down to my waist, exposing my all too bare top half. My hands snatched the covers and pulled them up to my shoulders, my arms hugging them close so they wouldn't slip again. I felt the heat rising to my face as the King chuckled at my delayed response.
"I did not invite you to sleep here. Now can you please untangle yourself from me and leave so I get dressed?"
"After having you faint twice in less than twelve hours and blacking out for five days, I'm not leaving your side until I am positive that you are recovered."
"Five days? What got me to wake up?" I asked as I pulled the sheets from their roots, releasing them from the bed so I could be covered on the journey to the bureau across the room. I squirmed to the edge of the bed, stretching my toes out.
"Oh come now Sarah! You have a brain. It doesn't hurt to think every once in a while." Was it really necessary for him to insult me constantly? He offered a hand to help me stand. I chose to ignore it as I slid out of the bed, landing shakily on my feet. I felt a hand at my elbow, but I waved it off, even though my legs were shuddering under my weight. Just because he transferred my injury to himself doesn't mean-wait. That's how I was able to wake up. I felt myself blush again, this time embarrassed by my own stupidity.
"So why did you heal me if it was only going to give you my wound?" I asked as I took careful steps toward the bureau. My legs were slowly getting accustomed to my weight again, shaking less with each step.
"The only thing that can heal wounds is time. An injury cannot simply be cured by hocus pocus. It has to be transferred to a host to finish healing. You weren't showing any signs of healing or waking up, so I transferred the wound from your weak human body to my powerful immortal body."
I finally reached the glorified closet, and opened it. I supported myself on the door, looking at my options. Dresses, dresses, more dresses. Ugh. I don't have hatred for dresses, but that didn't mean I wished to wear them all the time.
"I thought you said I would have 'romping' clothing."
"You were. That was before your injury and following blackout."
"And this changes my ability to wear pants because�"
"You're not going to be leaving the castle."
"Yes I am. I need some fresh air and sunshine you know."
"You can get all the fresh air and sunshine from the windows of this castle." Jareth closed the distance between us, the only thing separating us was the sheets I used to cover myself. I tensed at the heat of his body against mine. "I am forbidding you to leave this castle, and anyone that helps you escape will be sentenced to death."
It took all the courage I had to keep eye contact. Even though I now saw his one blue, one brown eye, they still held the same dark danger as ever before. I couldn't find the words to express my anger, so I just shoved my arms outward in an attempt to knock him over. He stumbled back a step. Perhaps he was expecting my normal verbal attack. He was on me in an instant, grasped my wrist and bent it backwards until I moaned from the pain.
"Don't you EVER do that again," He hissed in my ear. "Next time I won't hesitate before breaking a bone or two, and I can't promise it will be yours that I'll be breaking. I might get a hold of one of your friends instead."
I yanked my hand from his grasp and turned away, focusing my attention on the dresses so I wouldn't cry. I picked out what looked to be the most comfortable dress in the closet: a cream colored dress with bright sapphire blue embroidered flowers flowing on the bottom of the skirt and short sleeves that covered my shoulders. I fervently looked around for undergarments.
"Can I at least have some underwear if you insist on dressing me like your personal doll?" Even I could hear in my voice that I was on the verge of angry tears. The world was blurring behind a wall of tears. No. I'm tired of crying! Jareth pressed his body against my back his holding a black bundle of something in front of me. I snatched it out of his hand and stormed to the door that led to the bathroom. I slammed my body into it, my legs started shaking again as I braced myself against the floor to open the heavy wood door. It didn't budge.
Jareth gently nudged me to the side and he pulled the door towards him, opening it with ease. At least he wasn't going to tease me about being too dumb to open the God-damned door at the moment. I stumbled into the bathroom to find a goblin scrubbing the giant tub. He looked up, quite startled, and bowed hastily.
"Get out. Now." The rage in my voice was enough to send the goblin scurrying out of the bathroom, almost forgetting his cleaning supplies. I would have thrown a brush at his head if he left anything behind.
I dropped my clothes to the floor, and stomped over to the shallowest part of the tub: a corner with what looked like a bench to rest upon. I wadded up the sheets and hurled them at Jareth's face before scrambling into the tub. I placed a hand on the nearest facet, and hot water burst forth from all the facets around the tub. Hot enough to melt away the tension in my muscles. I sat on the marble cut out that served as a bench and as the water rose I glared at Jareth. He was wearing one of his annoying smirks as his eyes flickered over my body. I quickly crossed my legs and crossed my arms over my chest.
He silently walked toward me, peeling off his gloves and shirt. Apparently that bastard was planning on joining me. Fucking fantastic. He had reached the facet by the time the water reached my collar bone and he stroked it, which made the water stop. I looked away as he proceeded to take off the rest of his clothes. I didn't want to look at him and his smug face. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around my shins, closing my eyes. I felt gentle talons grasp my knee cap. I opened an eye to find a barn owl flicking his feathery wings on the surface of the water, sending small droplets everywhere.
I tried desperately not to smile.
