Sarah's green eyes were open, but there was seemingly nothing behind them. Not that usual spark that normally shone through them. Nothing. She was just sat, straight-backed, staring blankly at the wall across from her. Her knees pulled up to her chest, it had finally sunk in what her life was to be from now on.
The tears had stopped falling, dying with the only hope she'd had of freeing herself from Jareth's clutches. She was stuck. There was no way out. And there was nothing that she could do about it.
This life was now hers and she had to deal with it- she had to deal with Jareth- whatever it meant for her. A sigh slipped through her slightly parted lips as she allowed herself to slowly try awakening what was really her again.
She wasn't given much of a chance to do that though, as Jareth appeared right in front of the, ever-locked, door. Why he couldn't just use the door, Sarah would never know; but he was still there. Right when she didn't want to see him. And he said nothing for a while; leaving Sarah to wonder if he'd just appeared to stare at her. His prize. The girl he'd stolen from her own home and would never give back as he did with so many children.
It was Sarah that interrupted the echoing silence though, finally turning her pained and questioning gaze on him.
"Why did you do it? Why did you bring me here?" she whispered.
Jareth met her gaze, considering her for a moment. It was a question that she desperately wanted an answer to; and one that the Goblin King was sure that he had answered before.
"I wanted you, so I took you," he replied.
There was really no point lying to her. She was his. And she finally knew it.
"I hadn't meant for things to start as they had, but they did. I cannot change that now, Sarah."
She just continued to stare at him with that same damaged-looking gaze, no emotion flickering across her face as he had expected.
"Perhaps you should think of things between us beginning anew."
That caught Sarah's attention and a flicker of panic sparked in her eyes as she said, "What?"
"Perhaps you should think of things between us beginning anew," he repeated seriously.
"You raped me. You raped me. You can't make me forget that. No matter what happens; that fact will never go away."
The frown that had recently become as common as his usual smirk turned Jareth's features. A flash of anger passed through him and he physically had to stop himself from moving. Why does she insist on being so stubborn? hethought, annoyed at Sarah for holding onto something as much as she insisted on holding onto that. It seemed to him that she would never back down on that particular subject.
"Sarah," he said warningly.
"I can't," Sarah said, helplessness slipping into her tone.
"I can't just let that go; and besides, even if you were forced to, before that happened, you were beating me."
"Sarah, you must forget that. It makes no difference to me; we'll be together forever no matter what you hold onto. But it will make a difference to you. And it will eat you up inside if you don't let go of it."
"I can't," Sarah repeated.
"I can help you forget," Jareth said, watching the frustration build in Sarah's eyes.
Strength finally winning out, Sarah bit back, "I don't want to forget. Because if I do forget, and we start again, then I might trust you, and I swore to myself that I'd never do that."
Jareth scowled at Sarah and she felt the flash of fear that she knew she would feel on uttering those words. But she was who she was, and she couldn't have held that in to save her life. And now she was expecting to face the consequences. But she was surprised to find that Jareth made no move towards her; in fact, his face was even so schooled that she had no idea what to expect.
For his part, Jareth was just barely keeping his temper under control. Whereas before, he would have taught her the importance of her manners; Jareth knew that he couldn't do that now. Aside from the fact that he'd sworn to her that he'd never touch her without her permission- and he knew that she would strongly object to his touching her then- Jareth understood that now was a time for softer words.
With an almost regretful sigh, Jareth answered, "If that is how you feel, Sarah; I will not use magic to force you to forget- though it would make both our lives easier."
Some sort of relief passed over Sarah's face, and she was unable to hide it.
"However, Sarah; you must try to accept your life here. That is the condition on which I will allow that."
Sarah frowned; another expression that she could not hide from the Goblin King. But she nodded anyway, deciding that it was better to agree with what she knew she would have to do anyway, than risk a worse life in which she wouldn't remember the evils that the Goblin King was capable of.
An almost smirk fell across Jareth's face at her response. At least the stubborn girl would give him this victory. The first of many, he hoped.
It wasn't as if Jareth had forgotten about Tebras and the foreshadowing omen that his raven had brought; not at all. In fact, Jareth had fortified his castle more strongly than he thought he ever had before. He wasn't going to let anything- or anyone- touch Sarah.
But he was determined to finally start he and Sarah on the right path. So on the night following Sarah and his last conversation, Jareth had ordered a meal prepared. A meal that he intended to be his and Sarah's first together now that she had accepted that this was to be her fate. A meal that he intended to go well at any cost.
He'd advised Sarah, before leaving her, to bathe and ready herself for the night to come. He would have left her to choose her own dress; though Jareth doubted very much that she would choose something suitable for the night to come. And that was why he, knowing that she was in the bathroom, had appeared in her room to select an appropriate dress.
After picking a dress that he deemed suitable, the Goblin King set it down neatly on Sarah's bed and vanished to get himself ready for the impending night.
Stepping out of the bath, Sarah quickly picked up a towel and wrapped it around herself. She didn't want to risk being naked by the time Jareth returned to her room. The worst thing about that situation, she thought, was that she didn't know if she could stop herself from doing anything that she might regret. So, her hair still dripping wet, Sarah dried her body as fast as she could and walked out into her room.
She was surprised though when she found her room to be empty, but something still seemed out of place, as if someone had been there while she was gone. But when Sarah caught sight of the dress lying on her bed, she knew exactly who had been there. And as she examined the style and fit of the deep red dress, it was even more obvious that Jareth had been present.
Sarah rolled her eyes and turned away from it. She knew that it would impossible for her to ignore what was more than a suggestion as to what she was to wear; but she did have control over what underwear she wore.
And she was determined to choose the underwear that covered her body the most. The underwear that Jareth would find the least appealing. Because if she couldn't stop herself later, Sarah wanted to put as many objects in the Goblin King's path as was possible. And she knew that, unfortunately, she had very few objects at her disposal.
However, nothing really seemed to go the way that Sarah wanted it to- or rather, nothing really seemed to go the way that Jareth didn't want it to. Because when she looked through the underwear that he had provided her with, her face fell.
Nothing in that drawer was suitable in helping her shield herself from Jareth- nothing in that drawer was even really suitable to help her cover herself. Most of the items were either made of lace or silk, but all of them were far too sheer and far too revealing for Sarah's liking.
But, she supposed, they're better than nothing. So Sarah quickly pulled herself into the least sheer of those things in the drawer before she found a corset that laced at the front. She frowned as she picked it up, considering how Jareth would react to seeing her in such a thing.
After a while though, Sarah came to the conclusion that it would at least shield her body more from his wandering eyes. It'd take him longer to get it undone too, she found herself thinking, hoping that wearing the corset would give her enough time to control herself and tell him to stop whatever he might try to do.
As soon as the lace front of the corset was tied, Sarah went back over to that deep red dress and slipped into it. It slid over her body like the smooth material it was made of suggested it would, but as soon as the dress was hanging from her shoulders, she realised that it would be impossible for her to tie it herself.
Sarah tried to reach around for the ribbons that would secure the dress on her body, but she couldn't. Jareth had obviously chosen this dress for the express purpose that he would have to help her into it. She let out a frustrated sigh and ran her hand through her still-wet hair, only to find that it was dry.
Her head snapped around at the obviously-magical change and Sarah's eyes landed on the face of the fae that she was certainly sick of seeing. The face of the fae that she knew she was going to be inexorably drawn to.
"You're going to need me to help you with that, Sarah," Jareth said from the other side of the room.
Frowning, and turning away from him, she replied, "I gathered that."
Because she'd turned away, Sarah didn't see the scowl in Jareth's expression. She heard the footsteps come towards her, but she didn't move one way or the other. She almost felt as if she couldn't step away from the Goblin King; but Sarah was glad that she still had enough self-control to stop herself from moving towards him.
That was, until she felt Jareth's gloved hands on her shoulders, straightening the dress that he'd chosen for her. And when his hands slid down to where the ribbon to tie the dress started, Sarah found herself biting her lip to keep control.
It seemed to Sarah to take the longest time for Jareth to lace and tighten the dress that she knew he could have simply used his magic to tie. The magic that she was only just aware was weaving her hair into intricate curls as it had done once before in a drug-induced peach dream.
When she finally felt his fingers tying the bow that secured the dress at the nape of her neck and his hands withdraw from her, Sarah let out a relieved breath, glad that he had stopped touching her. Glad that she had stopped herself from touching him. Inwardly, she cursed what Jareth had done by bonding them, and what it would do to her for the rest of her life.
With a sigh, Sarah turned to face Jareth. For the first time really observing what he was wearing, and as she did, Sarah saw what looked like his normal clothes, though these were black with the exception of his usually white shirt. Over those, he wore a long jacket, each section of it glimmering with unseen sequins. It was beautiful. He was beautiful.
But Sarah caught herself at that though, and, to distract herself, asked, "So are you going to tell me what's going on? Where we're going?"
However she soon realised that she would receive no reply from the Goblin King.
"Of course you're not," Sarah said with a sigh.
Jareth smirked, holding his hand out for Sarah to take. Reluctantly, she placed her hand in his, once again establishing the connection between them that had her fighting to keep her self-control. But when their hands met, Sarah felt that familiar wind that had brought her to the Underground. Only this time, the wind took Sarah and Jareth to a different place entirely.
They appeared in a shower of glitter as the sudden wind passed. It was room that Sarah had never seen before; but that was nothing unusual- she'd only seen about five rooms in the entirety of the Goblin King's castle. But the room that she and Jareth had appeared in now, was by far the grandest of them.
The room was so huge; magnificently so, in fact, that it appeared to be some sort of never-ending ballroom. The stone floor that hid surreptitious sparkles stretched out over the longest space that Sarah had ever seen; or at least, that was what the illusion would have her believe. The illusion that could only be identified if one knew what to look for; and Sarah certainly did not.
At least four-stories high, the walls towered over them, lined with pillars of twisted marble. It almost seemed to Sarah that those pillars held the rim of the beautiful crystal dome at the room's centre. The dome was stunning, and as soon as Sarah's eyes found it, she couldn't seem to turn away.
It seemed that even in such a horrible place where so many wrongs had been performed upon her, there was still place for beauty to find her. As rain started to fall, the light had that already tinted the sunset clouds to pink, red and orange shone into the tiny droplets. A myriad of colours reflected onto the crystal dome as they rebounded off its surface, sliding down it in tiny, meandering pathways.
Sarah let out a small sigh as she looked upward, mesmerised, and Jareth observed her from where he stood; her hand still in his. He couldn't keep his eyes from roaming over her whilst she was so distracted. The deep red dress he had chosen for her complimented her skin perfectly, the contours of the material flowing perfectly against her shape. Its sleeves fell down until their fluid ripples hung just over her knuckles.
The A-line skirt hung from her hips in a way that made him long to remove it; in a way that made him long to look once more on the body beneath it. As did the corset that she'd dressed herself in without realising the way that it would push her breasts so obviously into his attention. He refrained from doing anything though, and limited himself to simply looking.
That was, until he'd thought that Sarah had spent enough time staring at the ceiling and, using the connection between them to his advantage, Jareth lifted the hand that he still held, to his lips. Her dazed green eyes blinked out of their distraction and soon found his; but she didn't flinch back. The magic that kept them bonded refused to let her. It made her crave his touch more than he knew she would ever admit.
But in that brief moment that he caught her gaze, Jareth also knew that he was winning. He was beating back both Sarah's self-control and her will until only her want for him remained. What harm is there in giving her one night to remember that I do not always have to be so cruel? To make her see what she could have should she behave herself, he thought as his free hand moved to her waist.
And before Sarah knew it, they were dancing. She was letting herself be swirled around the endless, sparkling floor by the Goblin King; and she didn't even try to get away; to stop. She was enjoying it- though she had convinced herself that that was due to the magic responsible for bonding them.
Music had sprung from nowhere though Sarah could barely even hear it. All she could feel was the touch of Jareth's gloved hand in hers, the other on her waist; the pressure of his body pushed up against hers as they danced. It was enough to steal her reason away; to blind her to all else but the fae that gazed at her with those mesmerising, mismatched eyes.
It was enough to make her lean into him and press her lips against his to give a kiss like no other she had given before. One that held more fire and passion than she would ever have given the Goblin King if she was not as lost in the moment as she was then.
As soon as her lips touched his though, the dancing, the spinning, all of it stopped. All that was left was the way that Sarah was kissing Jareth; and the way that he was doing nothing to stop her. Jareth knew that he wouldn't have had to wait for too long before she would come to him; and he was enjoying getting what he wanted, finally, after getting passed the milestone that Tebras had placed in their way.
When Sarah finally pulled back, her breathing was heavy. She looked on the fae before her with half-lidded eyes and the magic that bonded them together had her body yearning for more. The tiny voice that still sounded in the back of her mind that screamed to have her stop what she was doing made her pause though; as if she was just almost hearing what it had to say.
Jareth seized the opportunity in Sarah's pause though, to take a step back from her. Sarah blinked her eyes a little, able to regain some of the sense that she'd lost to his touch. As she did, Jareth waved a hand to direct her attention towards a set of double doors that she could have sworn were not there a second before.
He led her through them and into an adjoining room that, though smaller, was no less grand. A large and perfectly varnished cedar wood dining table stood at the centre of the room in front of a magnificent stone fireplace that crackled with the warmth of the fire in its hearth.
Two high-backed chairs stood at either end of the table, each beautifully carved so that they curled and flowed into gorgeous patterns. A place setting was laid out before each, so Sarah could only assume that they were to be eating there in the room that was equally as stunning as the first.
Jareth walked her over to the right, and pulled out the chair for her in an ever-so-gentlemanly way. It took her until the time that the first course was brought out to them for Sarah to fully realise what them being bonded was doing to her. Her sense seemed to fully return as the salad was placed before her by some unseen creature.
Sarah blinked. She started to eat and, only then, came up with the conclusion that she really had no idea what was going on. They seemed to fly though the five course meal with Sarah feeling much the same way, in fact. Something in her seemed to be stopping her from thinking straight, and she couldn't help but think that it was the Goblin King.
A simple look from him distracted her from all of those thoughts though. And although it was difficult for her to focus her mind after being plied with such fine food and wine- the latter of which she had tried to resist- Sarah tried to form a conversation with the fae at the other side of the table.
"So... So what was that room?" she asked, pausing in her meal to take another tiny sip of the wine before her.
The Goblin King tilted his head to the side as he answered plainly, "It was my castle's ballroom, Sarah."
"Well yes, I just meant... It didn't look like it should..."
"I know what you were trying to say, my love. It doesn't seem to fit with the rest of my castle, does it?"
Sarah nodded, slightly embarrassed though she couldn't fathom why she felt that emotion.
"But if you recall the room in which you found your brother; would you expect that room to be in my castle either?"
Sarah opened her mouth to respond; but, her thoughts not being all that collected, Jareth continued before she could reply.
"There are many secrets in the Goblin City, not just my castle, that remain undiscovered to all of those who don't know how to find them. These rooms are just two of those."
Sarah didn't reply, and no more was said. Though, in truth, she found the subject fascinating. She found the Underground fascinating. Which is probably good if I am to spend the rest of my life here, she thought sulkily during one of her clearer moments.
After the pair had finished that beautifully prepared meal, Jareth stood. Sarah mimicked him, and simply watched as he made his way over to her, taking a hold her hand. As he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, her eyes closed and her reason fled once again.
Sarah didn't even notice the slight wind as it passed them in a tiny gust, returning her to her room. But when she opened her eyes, she noticed. And she also noticed that the Goblin King had not returned with her.
"Goodnight, Sarah," Jareth's voice came, echoing in a whisper, as if he was so much closer than she thought.
For a moment, she was almost disappointed; but then she caught herself. Disappointed? I should be glad that he's gone! she thought, incredulous at herself. Frustrated, she frowned and thought to put this night behind her. The first thing that she needed to do to do that though, was to get out of the dress that Jareth had made her wear.
Only, when she thought about it; she wondered how it was that she was supposed to get out of the dress if Jareth had had to tie her into it. Her frown darkened as reached around to loosen the bow at the nape of her neck. At least that'll be a start, she thought.
But when her fingers found the ribbon there, Sarah felt it literally untie itself. She blinked as the dress, now incredibly loose, slipped from her shoulders and fell to the stone floor at her feet. Standing still, just in her underwear, Sarah knew that Jareth must have been watching her to perform that spell.
And with her thoughts not clouded in their yearning for his touch, Sarah quickly changed into the longest and least-revealing nightdress that she could find before climbing into bed and throwing the silk sheet over herself. She breathed a sigh of relief as she lay back in the bed that she couldn't help but find somewhat lonely.
But Sarah didn't sleep; not right away anyway. Instead, Sarah ended up reflecting on the evening that just moments before she had been determined to forget. She hadn't acted like herself all evening and hadn't been able to help that. She'd let Jareth kiss her- no. I kissed him, she corrected herself with a scowl.
It took her almost an hour to realise that this entire night had been Jareth's attempt to make her forget about what had passed between them before without using magic to do it. He wasn't breaking his promise to her, but he was trying his hardest to make her forget what had happened.
Truly, it had been like some sort of fairytale evening. It would have been perfect had Sarah not known what a monster Jareth really was. What a fakery the entire night had really been.
Sarah let out a long and frustrated sigh as she realised all of this. As she realised that the only time that she seemed to be able to think straight was when Jareth wasn't around her. And how rarely he let that happen was yet to be determined.
Jareth appeared in his study when he sent Sarah to her own room. He hadn't wanted to push his luck when their bonding was still so new, and Jareth knew that if he'd returned with Sarah to her room, then he definitely couldn't have resisted her. He had still been rather satisfied with the progress that this evening had given him though.
The kiss that Sarah had initiated in particular was proof of how useful their bonding had been not just in keeping Tebras back. In fact, that kiss had given him hope that Sarah might very soon forget what he had been forced to do to her, and instead might turn her mind to the possible pleasures of the future.
A crystal appeared in Jareth's waiting palm, showing him the dark-haired girl that he'd just left alone.
"Goodnight, Sarah," he whispered, knowing that she would hear him.
The Goblin King watched as Sarah's face fell, disappointment lining her expression. He couldn't keep the smirk from his own features as saw that, glad that his decision to leave had not been in vain. Glad that the evening had had some worth whether Sarah would admit it to herself or not.
As Sarah tried to undress herself, Jareth knew it would be impossible; so he waved a hand and the ribbon holding the dress to her quickly unravelled itself. The material fell to the floor and Jareth's breath caught slightly at the sight of her then.
Whether it was just the way that his magic had curled her hair into a beautiful style, or the way that the little wine she had consumed tinted her cheeks slightly red; Jareth couldn't fail to notice how irresistible she was. What hope she'd had in wishing that the underwear she'd chosen would not arouse Jareth's attentions, Sarah was sorely incorrect.
She was stunning. A mesmerising vision. And one that he had to hold himself back from paying a midnight visit to. But Jareth didn't get to watch Sarah for very long, because a dark mist clouded the crystal in his hand. He frowned, knowing that Tebras' dark mist was directly affecting his crystal, and not Sarah- if it was, then he'd be doing a lot more than just frowning.
Jareth knew that this was some sort of message from Tebras, and it wasn't likely to be pleasant. But what he saw next, the images that replayed over and over in the crystal orb, had him holding his breath for a very different reason than Sarah just had. The images replaying were horrific, and they were the perfect foil for what Jareth had spent the whole day trying to build with Sarah.
What could have been some semblance of happiness, would now be so much harder achieve. Especially since Jareth knew that Sarah would place the blame for what he was seeing now directly on his shoulders.
In a flash of magic glitter, Jareth departed his study and his castle, to seek the truth of such images. He only hoped that this time, Tebras was sending him false images. Images of pain that he wanted to create instead of pain that he had created. But, unlike Sarah's wishes when she was Aboveground, Jareth's hopes went unnoticed.
Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get up. I had MAJOR writer's block and I didn't want to post this until I actually liked it. So anyways, hope you liked it! :) And if you did (or didn't) I'd love to hear why. :)
Kit xx