Sarah sighed as she opened the door to her apartment. It was dark inside which meant her roommate, Renee, was still out. Sarah gave a slight smile at the thought of being alone even for a moment.
She went to her room and plopped down on her bed. She was so warn out from her day and the night out with Michael. She looked over at her nightstand where a crystal sat. She picked up the cool glass ball and thought of her family back home in the States. She missed them terribly. She hadn't been home for months. It was going to be Christmas soon but most importantly her first Christmas on her own.
As she thought of her family she saw them gathering around eating dinner. The image was most likely a few hours old or had not yet happened. She learnt that awhile back when she peered in on her father a few month ago. He had gotten a promotion in the crystal but didn't get it in reality till the next day. She watched as her family talked about their lives. She closed her eyes and tried to picture being home. She did for some time to reopen them to discover that the image of her family was gone. She placed the crystal back on her nightstand.
She was homesick, she knew that. But she also was having so much fun exploring England. She had met so many great people here like Renee and Michael. They both were doing the same program she was. Renee was originally from England so helped show her the ropes and took her to places most wouldn't even know about. Michael was from the States and actually lived not too far from her. He actually went to her college's rival school which is probably one of the reasons they would hang out a lot. She knew Michael liked her more than a friend, most of her friends here could tell that. She had yet to figure out what she truly felt for Michael.
He was tall slender with dirty blonde hair. She liked being around him. He made her laugh and made her feel like she was actually beautiful. She could trust him. Though it didn't matter how much she would hang out with him at the end of the night she would always think of Jareth. In some ways Michael reminded her of Jareth. At times she wondered what Jareth was up to. They hadn't really communicated much since her leaving and she wasn't it about to spy on him with the crystal he gave her or even write to him with the journal he also gave her.
But tonight for some reason or other she felt like she wanted to peer in. She grabbed the crystal again. It fogged up with sparkling mist then cleared showing a relaxed Goblin King on his thrown. He looked a tad bit bored. She could tell he was deep in thought about something but what she could not tell. She could hear the goblins making noise around him but he seemed not to notice or care. He looked very much the same and yet there was something there that was different.
He closed his eyes as if warn out from his day then opened them suddenly as if someone had poked him really hard. He stood up quickly and looking around. She wondered what had caused him to stir so suddenly. He muttered something she didn't hear it but could read his lips. At that she let go of the crystal and the image faded.
He muttered my name!
He knew you were looking in on him. She started to panic slightly then stopped when a small voice in her head said "Relax. At least he knows you miss him."
She laid on her bed thinking of how Jareth had come to her graduation. She didn't expect him to and was shocked that he was there. He even met and talked with her dad, stepmom, mom and her mom's current boyfriend. He even played around with Toby when he got bored at the reception. All of her parents liked him which didn't really surprise her because Jareth could be quite charismatic.
She smiled at the memory of them together on the bridge that was deemed the Kissing Bridge (though Sarah did not mention that to Jareth).
"I am quite proud of you Sarah." When he said it she knew he was genuinely proud. She felt quite happy with that, that her once enemy, villain what have you, was proud of her accomplishment. But he didn't stop there, "You have a power like no other and therefore can do whatever you want. There is no stopping you when you put your mind to something. That determination has brought you here today. Promise me one thing, Sarah that no matter what happens you will neverlose that."
She made that promise to him. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss it like a knight would to a fair maiden. She had desperately tried not to blush. He thanked her for he knew she would keep her word.
She sighed. She had kept her word. She had gotten everything she wanted and has done a lot of things because of her determination, stubbornness, and kindness. But though it all she still felt like she was missing something.
xxxxx
Jareth had written Sarah letters though she never knew it because she never received them. He would travel to her apartment from time to time but never show himself to her. She hadn't written to him which he figured she wouldn't. She did however write to that dwarf and to that foolish knight. He was irritated at first by it but after sometime didn't care anymore because it was obvious that Sarah didn't care enough about him like she did the others.
He was sitting at his thrown with one leg swung over. He just wanted to relax from his day. For the first time in a long time they had a runner. Of course they didn't even make it to the oubliette before giving up. He would be spending the next day finding suitable parents for the child.
He thought of when Sarah had fallen into the oubliette mainly because of her choice to go down instead of back up. He could hear himself saying to the goblins around him as he peered in on her through one of his crystals, "She should have given up by now."
One had replied, "She'll never give up."
Even though he knew then that she wouldn't but figured like many before would, "Really? She'll give up once she realizes she has to start all over again!"
His mind drifted to another memory to another. He knew he was losing his Sarah to another. He had seen them together and she seemed to be happy with the fellow. He closed his eyes. He knew like so many kings and queens before him that their true love would always find another and it seemed to him that Sarah had. He could picture her sitting on a porch with her dark brown hair hiding her face from his view. Her hair moved suddenly reveling her captivating innocent eyes but it wasn't that caught it attention. It was the look of fear that suddenly appeared on her face. At that he snapped open his own eyes.
He stood up suddenly forgetting where he was. Sarah was in trouble. His Sarah needed protection. I'm coming, "Sarah" he muttered.