Bet you thought I'd forgotten about this, hmm?
Enjoy.
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"Jareth! Please stop!"
He didn't stop. He strode quickly and deliberately through the entrance to the Goblin City and ignored her.
Muttering under her breath, Sarah walked briskly behind him. She decided not to say anything for a few minutes, hoping that in that time Jareth would cool down and be willing to have a civil conversation with her.
He charged defiantly up the front steps of the castle, the same steps she'd once charged up rather defiantly herself. He stalked angrily through his throne room, mercilessly kicking goblins and chickens that weren't quick enough to get out of the way. Sarah followed, nimbly picking her path so as not to kick any goblins. Jareth flew up a flight of stairs, but she wasn't far behind.
Suddenly, the Goblin King made a sharp left into a room that had haunted Sarah in some of her worst nightmares...A room full of twisting staircases, with no sense of what was up or down...She hesitated at the door.
Upon hearing no footsteps chasing him as he entered the Escher Room, Jareth turned to smirk at the young woman behind him. Then, with great composure, he stepped off the ledge in front of him.
Sarah gasped and ran to the offending ledge. She could see nothing spattered or broken on the numerous staircases below, and the sound of clicking boots just beneath her feet told her that Jareth was walking confidently on the underside of the surface she was standing on.
"Bastard," she hissed under her breath. Turning and running down the nearest staircase, Sarah caught a glimpse of spiky blond hair out of the corner of her eye. Whirling once more, she ran up another staircase in that direction, her blood humming in her ears.
"You'll never catch me, Sarah," he taunted mercilessly, his voice echoing everywhere, making him impossible to locate. Sarah raced across the surface of another plateau, eager to reach the descending staircase on the other side. She suddenly realized in horror as she neared the edge, that there was no staircase there; only air. Frantically, Sarah tried to slow her momentum, but it was too late. The world lurched horribly and was falling through the air...but then her foot met with something solid.
Surprised, Sarah opened her eyes, expecting to see the lower half of her body mangled from the fall...but she was standing up, and even better, she was standing up on the underside of the plateau she'd just fallen off of. A slow grin spread across her face. It seemed like something straight out of "The Matrix," but Sarah had learned to navigate the Escher Room.
Without hesitation, she closed her eyes and launched herself off the nearest ledge...only to find herself reoriented in an upright position. Giddy with victory, Sarah saw a flash of something black and sparkly, and she went after it like a shot.
"Come on, Jareth!" she called to the figure just ahead of her. "I need to speak with you!"
The Goblin King didn't answer. Instead he took a small staircase to his left. Sarah was after him in seconds, gaining on his lithe form millimeter by millimeter. Up, down, right, left, sideways, slantways...Sarah was beginning to tire, when at last she spotted her chance to catch up. Jareth had led them to a plateau with a bit of a stretch before the next ledge. If she sprinted quickly, she could take him. Jareth seemed to realize this only a moment too late, and then he hesitated, which gave Sarah the few precious seconds she needed to close the gap between them. Jareth whirled to face her...just as she crashed into him.
He landed on his back, and Sarah landed on top of him. In one swift movement, she straddled Jareth's hips and pinned his arms up over his head with her own.
"Thank you for that," she said calmly, gasping a bit for breath. "I enjoy a good workout in the morning." Jareth scowled at her.
"Well Sarah," he sneered angrily. "It seems you have my full attention."
"Don't I always?" she quipped.
"Get off me," he hissed.
"No."
"Get off me, now!" he snarled.
"Not a chance," she grinned.
"Sarah..."
"No, Jareth. You need to listen..."
"I will not!" he managed move his wrist enough to conjure a crystal. Sarah quickly knocked it away before her could form it into something. Disbelief followed by rage passed over his face. Sarah quickly shifted position to better restrain him as he struggled. She could feel his frustration almost scorch the small hairs on her arms.
"Sarah...please..." he gasped with a note of desperation. She suddenly realized that a very intimate part of her female anatomy was pressed in a rather compromising way against a very intimate part of his male anatomy. In revenge for the goose chase he'd just led her on, Sarah mercilessly ground her hips into his, causing Jareth to grunt, half in anger, half in lust. His eyes were burning furious holes into hers. She grinned back at him wickedly.
Suddenly with surprising strength, Jareth pushed her to the side, and used the momentum of her moving body to completely reverse their positions. Sarah cursed herself for letting her guard down. She couldn't move beneath him, and it was impossible to attempt to escape his grip.
"It's interesting, Miss Williams. You've spent considerable amounts of time and energy telling me to "leave you alone," and yet, the moment I try to leave, I find you chasing after me," Jareth intoned, holding her gently but firmly to the floor. She stared up at him defiantly "It seems to me that you have no idea what you want," he continued coldly. "And I don't believe I have time for such childish games."
"Me? Childish?" Sarah scoffed incredulously. "I'm the one trying to have an adult conversation here, and you're the one running away like a five year old!"
Jareth scowled at her and stood up gracefully, leaving her free to do the same.
"I think it's time for you to leave the Underground, Sarah. There's nothing here for you."
"I don't want to leave the Underground, Jareth."
"Then what do you want?" Jareth hissed. "I have nothing more to give you Sarah!" His face was cruel, but his eyes were the saddest she'd even seen them. Her heart ached dully in response.
"I want time," she said softly. "Time to get to know you...to figure out if this can work."
She reached out and touched his gloved hand. He sighed and allowed her to slide her hand in his, his eyes still burning holes into her face. They stood like that for several minutes, neither speaking nor moving. Finally, Jareth sighed again, breaking the silence.
"You look exhausted," he commented tonelessly. Sarah scoffed.
"I barely slept last night," she said.
"Why not?"
"I had a lot to think about."
"Such as?"
"You, of course," she sighed, rolling her eyes. He was still holding her hand, absentmindedly stroking the back of it with his thumb, the sensation of which Sarah was almost painfully aware. Suddenly, another sensation made itself known; hunger. It had been awhile since she'd last eaten. Unbidden, a granola bar appeared in the hand Jareth wasn't holding. It was her usual breakfast food. She looked at it with dumb disbelief, unsure of how it had gotten there. Jareth was smirking at her.
"Hungry?" he asked teasingly.
"Famished," she answered distractedly, still staring at the bar in her hand. Jareth reached over and plucked it away for inspection, frowning in disapproval. Without warning, he tossed it casually over the ledge. Sarah opened her mouth to protest, but he silenced her with a look.
"I believe we can do better than that," he smirked. "Come on."
He pulled her through the room, moving at a pace much quicker than she was accustomed to. For a few brief minutes, "up" and "down" didn't exist, and by the time they reached the exit, Sarah felt a profound sense of vertigo. Clutching Jareth's hand tightly, she silently signaled her need to pause and catch her breath.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes...just a little...dizzy," she gasped, straightening up and offering him a small smile. He squeezed her hand affectionately in response. Together, they found their way to what Sarah assumed was the dinning room. It was set only for two people at one end. The smell of hot food assailed her nostrils, and she was more than happy to sit down in the chair Jareth pulled out for her.
Sitting down in his chair, Jareth picked up a goblet of juice and raised it in her general direction. Sarah copied him.
"What shall we toast to, love?" he asked. Sarah thought for a moment.
"To our future: may we not kill each other in what we're about to attempt," she smirked, touching her goblet to the King's.
"Indeed," replied Jareth, sipping his drink and holding it towards her again. "To the Bog of Eternal Stench: let neither of us push the other in." Sarah giggled at that one and drank on it.
"To the Labyrinth's oubliettes!" she cried. "The perfect way to settle a lover's quarrel!" Jareth chuckled and drank, then paused and added in seriousness:
"To the Labyrinth: without which, none of this would be possible."
Sarah caught his mismatched eyes with hers and smiled in agreement. They each drank one last time, and proceeded to eat their first breakfast together.
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Please review! -Coffee
