Again, thanks to all who subscribed, favorited and left a review. You readers don't know how encouraging it is to read your comments and know you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it!
Daaaaaaang! This chapter is so long! Lol. I got so carried away writing.
So I was listening to Ke$ha while writing this. Darn chick is way too catchy. But don't worry; there won't be any Ke$ha influence in this story. Probably... ;P
Anyway, I'll cut my really long note short. Enjoy chapter 11 of Beauty's Beast
Sarah had no problem falling asleep as soon as she had returned to her room. When the sun rose above the Labyrinth the next day, she was ready to begin another day's work.
Strangely enough, she didn't catch even a glimpse of the Goblin King her entire day. Sarah even looked around a bit, walking slowly by the throne room, and peeking in the dining hall at mealtimes...
She didn't see him the next day either...
Or the day after that...
An entire week went by, and Sarah still didn't catch any sight of Jareth at all. It was like he was avoiding her. Which was strange. Sarah hoped she hadn't offended him that night. She hadn't meant to upset him.
As she prepared for bed that evening, she wondered for the sixth time if she would see the king in the morning. For some inexplicable reason, Sarah felt the need to meet up with him, and talk with him. For closure, she assured herself as she drifted off to sleep...
She was in a ballroom, and she felt as if she knew it already. Dressed in a massive white dress, and wandering throughout a boisterous crowd, Sarah turned about, trying to get her bearings. Everyone around her was wearing some sort of grotesque mask and she felt out of place, as her face was bare. Music started playing unexpectedly, and Sarah frowned. She had heard the tune somewhere; it's haunting melody sounding as if it belonged in some sort of music box.
The crowd began to spin around her in a dizzying parody of a waltz, pushing and twisting Sarah along with them. Her dress swirled and rustled with her every move, and she was amazed it hadn't been trampled on. Every turn, she was greeted by some strange new thing; treasure boxes with golden birds, and spiraling chandeliers just a few of the eerie wonders in the ballroom. Unsure of what to do, or why she was even in the phantasmagorical room, Sarah moved with the crowd, feeling the need to find someone.
Suddenly, the crowd parted, making way for a man dressed in blue, holding his mask up by a long stick. Sarah froze. This man seemed oddly familiar. Sarah didn't know if he was a friend or a foe, but before she could get a closer look and see, he was swept up into the crowd. Puzzled, Sarah searched for him, feeling a need to get closer to him. Wandering with a purpose this time, she looked all throughout the room, but the mysterious stranger was nowhere to be found. About to give up, Sarah turned around, only to find herself face to face with the masked man dancing with not one, but two women. Entranced, she was trapped, unable to move, as the stranger approached her. He slowly lowered his mask, and piercing blue and brown eyes gazed into green ones.
Sarah shot up in bed, panting. Sweat had gathered on her forehead, and she clutched her sheets. The dream was fading quickly, and Sarah grasped at the diminishing images. A white dress, an animated crowd, a strange man in blue. Suddenly, Sarah realized why the scene seemed so familiar. The crystal in the Goblin King's quarters had shown the same image. Was it the Goblin Ball? Or was it something else? Now that she knew what it signified, she knew she wouldn't wear white to a ball.
Pondering over her strange and rather disturbing dream, Sarah wondered if the crystal in the king's room still showed that image. She decided to ask him in the morning, and laid back down, hoping to go back to sleep...
However, as soon as she did, the dream returned, and she woke up again, right after her eyes met the strange mismatched ones of the stranger. With a groan, she rose out of bed and stumbled her way to her bathroom. Maybe if she splashed water on her face, she would sleep better.
Face thoroughly washed, Sarah slowly clambered back into bed. She was almost afraid to fall asleep; the dream was getting eerier each time. Closing her eyes slowly, she tried to distract herself by thinking about the work she would have to do the next day in the library. I'll have to try and gather up and list more destroyed books, then if I have time, get some varnish for the shelves. They're pretty chipped. And I should probably..."
She drifted off to sleep, unconscious and surprisingly relaxed despite her hard working thoughts. This time, she was able to have a dreamless sleep, at least for an hour. Then the scene came filtering through her mind once more. And once more, she was jolted awake upon locking eyes with the mysterious stranger. Tired and frustrated, Sarah flipped out of bed again, this time throwing her shoes on and stalking out into the hallway. The Goblin King had to know something about what was going on.
Sarah did not know where the main door to the king's rooms was, so she decided to try and shout him out through the library. She knew where that was. Running down the corridors, she quickly pushed the library doors open and hurried to the old ladder that was still perched near the balcony. Carefully, Sarah climbed it, being aware of where she stepped, avoiding the gaps between rungs. It took far too long for her comfort to get close enough to the top to shout.
"Goblin King!" she shouted as loud as she could, "Are you in there?" Suddenly, Sarah felt very foolish. There she was in the middle of the night, perched on top of an ancient ladder and calling for some man she barely knew. It's not like that! she told herself, I can't sleep, and he's obviously keeping stuff from me that I should know.
"Goblin King!" she shouted again, "It's kind of important!" After a long pause, and no response, Sarah felt silly enough, and began to pick her way back. That is, until she heard-
"Sarah? Sarah, is that you?" Jareth leaned over the balcony with a frown, and Sarah had to hold in a gasp. His sudden appearance combined with the moonlight on his twisted face startled Sarah, and she nearly lost her grip on the ladder.
"What on earth are you doing there?" the king asked, "And why are you up at this ungodly hour?" He reached down to offer her a hand up. When Sarah gave his arm a look, he rolled his eyes.
"You made it up here once on your own didn't you? I'll help you. You're obviously here for a reason."
That made sense. Climbing back to the top of the ladder, Sarah grabbed hold of Jareth's arm and allowed him to pull her over the wall. Once over, she sighed in relief. "We need to get a new ladder in here." she informed Jareth seriously. He gave a laugh, but quickly became serious again.
"I am very curious to know the reason I found you standing on a ladder" he said dryly, "Underneath my balcony and calling my name." He led her into his study and pulled a chair for Sarah to sit on. Taking his seat behind the desk, Jareth propped his stockinged feet upon the sturdy wood. "Please enlighten me."
With a deep breath, Sarah straightened her shoulders. "I've had the same dream three times tonight." she said, "It's exactly the same, every single time, and I always wake up at the same exact moment." Jareth frowned and slung his legs off the desk, leaning forward as he did so. "There's something unnatural about the dream" Sarah continued, "It's so familiar, and... well..." she trailed off.
"Go on." Jareth prompted, "And what?"
"Well when I came here the other day, I saw this crystal on your desk, and there was this scene in it," Sarah confessed, feeling a little guilty, "And it's the same scene in my dream. There's something not right here; repeated dreams aren't normal, and I didn't have them till I got here." she finished.
Leaning back into his seat, Jareth took in all Sarah had said. Eyes closed and mouth turned to a fine line, Sarah knew that he was thinking hard.
"I know there are things you're not telling me your majesty," she said at length, "And I think I deserve to know them. These dreams, they're not-"
"They're magically induced." Jareth interrupted. Sarah stopped, mouth still open.
"Magically induced?" she repeated.
"Sarah, you are right when you say there are things I'm not telling you." Jareth said, looking tired and worn, "And you are also right when you say you deserve to know." He stood up. "Fancy a walk Lady Sarah?" he asked. Puzzled, Sarah also stood up with a small nod.
Taking her down the passage way Sarah took earlier, Jareth led Sarah back into the castle hallway. As they walked the halls in silence, Sarah wondered what the king was going to reveal to her, and when. He brought them to a familiar corridor, and Sarah recognized it as the southern wing. A small thrill of excitement ran through her; the forbidden wing was being opened to her!
They came to the end of the hallway, and to a doorway. "Please be careful." Jareth warned before leading the way up the stairs. The steps seemed to go on forever, and they climbed for what seemed to be a very long time
Sarah didn't understand the king's warning until she came to the top of the stairs and out another doorway. She was standing in a massive room, but she didn't know which way was up or down. All round her, stairs and arches lined the ceilings, floors and walls. Looking around for Jareth, she turned just in time to see him swing over the edge of the platform they were standing on. She let out a scream, and rushed over to the edge he just tipped over.
However, when she frantically leaned over, she found that he was standing upside down on the other side of the platform, perfectly fine, and looking the same as if he would were he standing right side up.
"How are you doing that?" she asked incredulously. Jareth smirked and swung back around to stand next to her.
"It's this room." he said, "Designed to confound the senses and disorient the mind. I built it myself." He turned and walked along the stairs that made up a wall.
"It's incredible!" Sarah breathed, "I've never seen anything like this." She ran her hand along the sideways doorway. "Can I do it too?" Leaning over the edge of the platform, Sarah tried to swing herself over. But to her horror, she didn't come over to the other side. Instead she fell with a cry.
Bracing herself to hit another ledge, Sarah was surprised to find herself caught in the Goblin King's arms. Letting out a surprised squeak, she nearly fell again, but Jareth tightened his grip. He set her upright and shook his finger at her.
"You can't do that, Lady Sarah." he said, "Not yet anyway." He turned around. "Now come on. I didn't bring you here to admire the room; though I'm sure you'd love to explore." He walked down a set of stairs towards a hole in the bottom of the room. It looked as though it led to another level of the puzzle-room. When Sarah came to stand behind him and peer down, he turned to face her.
"This might be a little difficult for you," Jareth informed her, "But your going to have to jump. It's not what it seems." With that, he jumped down the small hole, and disappeared. Sarah gasped. The second level must have simply been an illusion. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Sarah followed the king's suit.
She didn't hit the floor. Instead, she floated gently down, and landed on a platform, which was out doors. Sarah looked around, and saw Jareth leaning against an archway.
"Well?" he asked expectantly, with almost childlike excitement, "Isn't it incredible?"
Sarah wandered to the edge of the platform and looked over. All she could see was the Labyrinth, stretching in every direction. "How did we get here? There's no roof! Are we on top of the castle?" Her questions churned out as fast as her mind could work.
"In a way, yes." Jareth answered, "This platform can only be reached by going through the room we just exited. If I may say so, the room is quite ingenious. What you don't realize is that when you enter the room, you enter upside down. Therefore, when you jumped through that hole, you where actually jumping up, out onto this platform." He gestured to the archway he had been standing in.
"Walk through this, and you're back in the room." Jareth said, "But I brought you up here to show you something. Come to this side." He walked over to the other side of the platform, and gazed up at the sky. Sarah made her way over to the same side and tried to follow his gaze.
"See that star right there?" he asked, pointing to a glittering spot in the sky, "That's the star Taraxias. It's my star." He pointed to another one right next to it. "That star is Dromeas. That one is yours."
"Mine?" Sarah asked in confusion, "What do you mean, mine?" Jareth lowered his gaze.
"Every being has a star." he began, "And each star is named. The Fates named the stars even before time began. The stars are named according to what it's being will accomplish. However, something happened to our stars."
Passing his hand over his eyes, Jareth took a deep breath. "When Korewynne cursed my father, and through him myself, she used dark magic. This dark magic reordered both of our destinies, and Taraxias aligned with Dromeas and Agapi."
"Our stars crossed?" Sarah asked for clarification, "And that wasn't supposed to happen?"
"Dromeas and Taraxias were destined to cross. However, they weren't supposed to cross under Agapi." Jareth corrected, "Two other stars were intended to cross under it- I don't know which ones- and fulfill a prophecy made thousands of years ago. The prophecy of Archaios"
"What does the prophecy say?"
Jareth frowned. "No one actually knows the exact words of the prophecy. But every magical being knows what it holds. The realm of the Aboveground shall be at odds with the Underground, until a mortal shall come and create peace between the realms."
Sarah's face paled, and her blood ran cold. She dreaded what else the king was going to say.
"The realm which wins the mortal's favor will enjoy prosperity and peace, but the other realm will posses more power." Jareth continued, "And the mortal must chose between both realms, staying in only one, forever. Sarah, I- we have all the reason needed to believe that the mortal mentioned is you."
As these words sank in, Sarah felt like the platform was spinning, and her vision started to fade. Faintly, she could hear the Goblin King calling her name and then she sank into darkness.
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