Chapter Eleven
"I'm worried about Toby," Sarah began as she took the leftover chicken from the
table. Gabriel rose easily from the chair, mirroring her movements as he helped clear away
the food. Sarah turned abruptly and found herself only a breath away from the striking
man, his chest touching hers. She backed away quickly and set the chicken down on the
counter. "It's just, Mimi's been up there so long."
"Yes she has," Gabriel agreed.
Sarah looked out the window and was immediately relieved of her nerves. The
ground was coated in a heavy blanket of fresh snow, radiating cold in great billowing
clouds of frost. She instantly forgot the chicken and threw open the window to inhale the
scent of the snow.
"Isn't it beautiful. Fresh...," Sarah trailed off as she pushed aside the curtain and
let the cold bite her flesh. It was strangely exhilarating as she stood there, breathing hard
and feeling too much.
Gabriel's hand on her shoulder undid the moment, but elated the emotions that had
welled inside of her. She edged back, not making him remove his hand, but staring into
his confusing eyes. How she had ever thought Brian's eyes were like Jareth's was beyond
her. Gabriel had the eyes of the king... seemingly unchartable and unreachable. As if an
entire world lived beyond those beautiful and unruly seas.
She swallowed and laughed briefly, gesturing to the snow. "I never really saw it
like this before," she explained and Gabriel nodded slowly.
"You know I have something of yours," he whispered.
Sarah lifted her eyebrows in question and wasn't surprised when he simply cocked
his head just enough to rise her curiosity and start out of the room. Sarah bit her lip and,
wiping her wet hands on the dishtowel, rushed after him, barging through the swinging
door into the living room. He was already beside the door with her thick winter coat held
out... waiting.
"We have to go outside?" she inquired carefully as she crossed the livingroom,
offering the stairs one brief glance. Her thoughts were with Toby, but she forced herself
away from the worry and towards the handsome man holding her coat.
"I left it in the car." Gabriel's explanation was short, and Sarah hesitated a
moment before holding out her arms so that he could drape the coat over her. She
snuggled down into it, wondering why it had seem threatening when Gabriel explained the
casual reason for going outside, and then followed the lovely English gentleman into the
outdoors snow.
"Wow," Sarah muttered, the cold instantaneously within the heavy materials and
fleece underlining. Gabriel was seemingly unaffected, as he traversed the weather with
nothing more than a leather jacket.
Walking behind him, through the large front yard and over to the gravel drive
where the cars had been parked, Sarah noticed for the first time just how long Gabriel's
hair was. It was so pale in the poorly lit night that it seemed to be as silvery as the snow,
and it loosed as a gust of wind howled past them. Sarah watched it drift over his back,
loose and free and so achingly familiar to the king's that she had to look away.
"Well, what is it?!" Sarah demanded, crunching through the snow in sneakers, that
hadn't been the best choice. Her socks were damp and her feet numb inside. She only
barely felt her big toe, and the rest were completely numb as she hopped over a log and
landed, ungracefully, on the other side.
Gabriel stopped, just in sight of the drive. But, as Sarah approached laughing
breathlessly to herself, watching her air drifting around her in great clouds of mist, she
realized that something was very wrong. Mimi's big old truck was right by the barn, and
Sarah's Mustang was nearer, where she had parked after picking Toby up... but that was
it. The old tractor was rusted, and only part of its yellowish body could be seen from
beyond the barn.
"I-I don't understand," Sarah started, taking a single step backwards.
Gabriel turned to look at her, and his face had changed. His eyes, once uniform
blue and seemingly friendly, were now so far detached from emotion that they burned with
ice, like the snow. His hair drifted around his feral features, and his thin lips curved
upwards as he opened his mouth in a brief laugh. Those pointed teeth glinted, and Sarah
took another step backwards.
"Sarah, why the worry? What are you afraid of? Do you think I'm going to do
something to you out here?" he asked, turning to approach her.
"It's just cold. I think we should go back in," Sarah gestured back and then
rapped her hands on her hips a moment before she turned back around and, shrugging,
struggled with her words, "But you know, it is getting a little late. M-Maybe you, you
should just head on home."
Gabriel now looked back, at the two vehicles and then turned to focus on her once
more. "You'd send me in this? Sarah, my car's been stolen and you'd send me away?!"
he demanded, and the moment of her fear shattered with the expression of shock on his
face. Once more a rational explanation prevailed when her own imagination got the better
of her.
Sarah sighed deeply and, trying to make her feet move in the crusted snow when
she couldn't even feel them, approached him. Gabriel wiped his hand over his face,
removing bits of snowdust and then turned to look at the spot where, supposedly, his car
had just stood. "Gabriel, I'm sorry. I-I just thought....," she stopped as she walked up
behind him and grasped his arm tightly.
"I had your purse," he said.
Sarah was silent for a long time and then leaned her head against his shoulder. The
leather of his jacket was supple, not as horrible as those of his gloves. But then, her bias
effected her perception of those. She shrugged as she stood up and shivered violently in
the cold night.
"I already thought it was lost. Come on, its getting unbearable out here," Sarah
whispered, and tugged his elbow just enough to make him follow her back into the
farmhouse. Gabriel turned to watch her picking her way through the new snow and then
looked skywards at the unruly bellies of the heavy clouds.
"It looks like its going to get worse," he mentioned.
Sarah paused and looked at the empty sky. The snow had nearly stopped, leaving
the night white and cold, but nothing near worse. The days of ice rain had been much
worse than this. Then, standing right there, the clouds opened and the winds began to lick
their way past the home, sending great billows of snow straight into Sarah's face.
She shrieked as the icicles bit into her flesh, and shielded her face. The snow
poured down, and Sarah struggled to open her reddened eyes in the blizzard conditions to
see the home. "Gabriel!" she screamed, but her voice drowned out in the gale.
She could see vague impressions of the farmhouse, and struggled towards it,
leaning against the force of the storm with all her weight. But her face was coated in
sleet, and her eyelashes crusted over by snow and ice. And just as she slipped to the
ground, instantly buried to her waist in snow, she felt his hand on her arm, pulling her out.
Sarah looked upwards and just managed to catch the faintest glimpse of Gabriel
through the storm. He seemed to be surrounded by an aura of warmth, as he held her
close and bundled her straight away to the house. The door flew open and the snow piled
into the entryway even before Gabriel could kick it close with enough force to send
several pictures clattering down from the walls.
The sound of breaking glass triggered Sarah's memories and she leapt away from
Gabriel's warmth as she saw the house grow dim and heard Brian's footsteps as he
approached her.
Where ya gone to, Sarah?! You've been bad... very bad!!!
"Sarah?" Gabriel's voice disturbed her delusion and she turned her wild eyes on
him. Sarah glanced around, noticed the few pictures that had collapsed to the ground, one
which splayed out in broken glass and went directly to it. Gabriel stood silently in the
entryway, wiping sheets of snow from his clothes as he slipped out of the jacket and
removed his heavy shoes. They were coated in grime and soaked through.
"What happened out there?" Sarah asked as she retrieved the picture from the
ground. Mimi and her husband were smiling, with their son between them. It was such an
old picture, but then it was obviously sentimental. Sarah set it delicately on top of the TV
and then turned to look at Gabriel.
"The storm," he moved to the window and drew the blinds back to let Sarah see
the snow piling just below the window sill. "We're snowblind."
"That's silly," Sarah remarked as she moved in near him and looked out at the
endless white mounds, and more coming down. No end in sight. But it seemed crazy that
it had just been slowing when the attack began. Sarah backed away, rubbing the back of
her neck with her hand as she fell into the sofa.
"Sarah?" Mimi's voice from upstairs disturbed Sarah's contemplation's.
Her aunt walked partway down the stairs and paused as she noticed Gabriel
standing solemnly at the window. Sarah herself was worse-for-wear. Her hair was damp
and plastered against her flushed face. Her jacket was dripping into the sofa and Mimi
immediately rushed down to get her niece up on her feet.
"What're you doing in that wet thing! Get out of it now!!! You get yourself dried
up, I won't be having more sickness in my home," Mimi demanded and then turned her
eyes towards Gabriel. Mimi said nothing to him, but did manage a weak smile.
"Mimi, we're stuck in here. It's what you were saying," Sarah gestured towards
the window as she slipped her own coat off and draped it over one of the hooks for the
hats in the entry, over the tile to drip. "Snowblind."
Mimi walked to the window and stood there a long time, just watching the storm
outside brew and grow in its intensity. She then turned her eyes towards Gabriel again
and shook her head. "Came early," Mimi began and then turned to look at her messed
livingroom, "I guess you'll be spending some time with us, Gabriel."
Sarah lurched at the idea, but realized that it was true. He couldn't leave now,
especially without his car. They stood a moment in uncomfortable silence and then, with a
sigh, Mimi went to the closet into which Sarah had put the vacuum earlier in the week.
"Mimi?" Sarah began, feeling Gabriel so near to her that she thought she would melt... not
that it was warm enough yet.
"Here," Mimi tossed a whole load of towels into Gabriel's awaiting arms. He
seemed to understand. "As long as your with us, I should put you to work. We'll need
those pipes wrapped up before the nights through, or we'll be facing more problems after
the thaw."
Gabriel tucked another load of insulation under his arm and then, casting Sarah a
momentary and slight grin, that promptly sung with seduction, made his way back to the
entryway and his damp coat. Outside the wind still beat against the farmhouse frame, as
unrelenting as any freight train.
"Are you sure?" Sarah asked carefully, watching him slip back into his heavy
shoes, prepared to brace the weather.
Mimi seemed to shrug as she jerked at the sound of Toby's meek voice from
upstairs. She looked long at Sarah, then subtly apologized without words to Gabriel for
sending him into the brunt of the storm. There really was no one else. Then, gathering her
sweater tighter around herself, she turned to race back up the stairs. "I'm sure Gabriel's
seen the snow like this before. I'll be upstairs," Mimi called, disappearing behind the wall
as she spoke.
"This is crazy," Sarah muttered as she stomped forcibly over to the entrance and
grasped her own soaked coat from the rack. "You aren't going out there alone." She
slipped into the snow-crusted coat and then shivered, thinking of the conditions outside.
"Sarah," Gabriel looked at her with something close to the same power that he had
demonstrated in the night before the snow had begun full-out, "I appreciate the concern
but...," he paused again and reached out to touch her soft face, letting the very tip of his
thumb rush across her lower lip, "I'll be fine."
He opened the door and the storm caught it. Slamming the heavy wood around as
if it were nothing but cardboard. Sarah watched, wide-eyed and terrified as he
disappeared into a cloud of white and forced the door closed, running it across a blanket
of snow that had spread across the tiled entrance.
"Gabriel?" she asked, knowing that he wouldn't even be able to hear her if she
were standing right next to him in the middle of the wind and snow. Sarah leaned her wet
back against the wall and slipped downwards, gripping her legs against her chest as she
waited, and watched the door handle to see it move.
But it didn't. And the clock ticked onwards past ten minutes and twenty. It
moved ceaselessly, and for once (even though she wasn't having fun) the time seemed to
fly and did nothing to abate her worry for Gabriel in the elements. Exposed. Of course, if
he had been Jareth then.... Sarah shook her head and buried her face into her thick sleeves.
"That's it!" she demanded, rushing to her feet, "That's it, this is nuts!" She
reached out for the knob, feeling the same dull throb she had felt before, when first
inviting Gabriel into the house. Somehow it seemed vaguely familiar to an old tale. She
pushed aside her fears and lurched the door open, side-stepping as it slammed near to her
face.
It was all frost and snow and wind and gales, and a cold that was so intense she
felt blued in her face. Sarah pulled the hood over her head, ducking low as she walked on
to the verandah. The swing was a mound of shapeless snow, and the only indication it had
ever been there was her memory of it.
"GABRIEL!" Sarah screamed, cupping her numb hands over her blue lips as best
she could.
She saw the post at the beginning of the stairs that led from the farmhouse and
reached out with one trembling hand to grab hold. Behind her the door slammed shut, and
the last triangle of light was cut out immediately. She was left in nothing more but a white
void, in the middle of the darkest night of the year.
Sarah stepped down, missed the actual step and slipped the rest of the way,
landing painfully on her knees. She cried out, handfuls of snow gripped so tight that her
palms cracked and bled. Red handprints stood out like murder mysteries in the middle of
the ceaseless snow.
"GABRIEL! Where the FUCK are you?!" Sarah screamed, her voice going hoarse
and cracking as she blindly groped her way upwards.
A strange abstract shadow of a tree was in the distance, and she could scarcely see
the large hulk of the barn at her right. Everything else was a void, a void that engulfed her
like a hungry beast. Sarah righted herself, and, trying to walk with pain searing through
both knees, collapsed again. This time she struck her chin against the tightly compacted
snow and bit her lip, sending droplets of blood over the snow once more.
This hadn't been her best idea. Sarah worked her head up, to look outwards into
the night. And in the distance she saw a shape in the sky, too big to be more oncoming
snow. As it grew nearer she realized that it was a bird, an owl. A huge white owl fighting
his way through the unruly air currents and the bombarding snow from the furious sky.
He dove downwards dangerously and then swooped back up.
Sarah blinked, her breath gushing in and out in great exhalations and inhalations.
And all the while the owl dove in nearer and nearer until she could make out his amber
eyes searching for her through the storm. Then, as she watched, it landed on the snow,
spreading its wings a moment to balance in the onslaught of weather. It laid its wings at
its side, and looked at her for a moment, wondering.
The owl, once more, opened its wings, and from them were born arms that spread
just as wide as the wings. And it grew, upwards and outwards, going higher up than
Sarah could crane her head. Until, there were no feathers nor was there a bird. Instead,
there was a man with drenched pants and a jacket that was slick leather.
He knelt down, in the middle of the snow and sleet, and slipped his arms under her,
taking her up. Sarah could only let him, wondering what she had imagined this time. But
inside she knew that there had been no rationale to explain what had happened. No, this
was something else.
"Gabriel?" Sarah asked, her breath caught away in the wind as he carried her
carefully back up the stairs, and into the home. There was nearly as much snow in as there
had been out, and Gabriel let Sarah down slowly as he kicked the snow out of the way in
order to force the door closed once more.
Inside he turned, his eyes carefully cloaked as well as his other emotions. He let
the jacket drip from his wet body and then, breathing deep waited for Sarah to continue.
But she only stood, shivering and incredulous. Her mouth trembled as she forced it into a
smile that demonstrated both agonizing fear and overwhelming joy.
"Jareth?"
"I'm worried about Toby," Sarah began as she took the leftover chicken from the
table. Gabriel rose easily from the chair, mirroring her movements as he helped clear away
the food. Sarah turned abruptly and found herself only a breath away from the striking
man, his chest touching hers. She backed away quickly and set the chicken down on the
counter. "It's just, Mimi's been up there so long."
"Yes she has," Gabriel agreed.
Sarah looked out the window and was immediately relieved of her nerves. The
ground was coated in a heavy blanket of fresh snow, radiating cold in great billowing
clouds of frost. She instantly forgot the chicken and threw open the window to inhale the
scent of the snow.
"Isn't it beautiful. Fresh...," Sarah trailed off as she pushed aside the curtain and
let the cold bite her flesh. It was strangely exhilarating as she stood there, breathing hard
and feeling too much.
Gabriel's hand on her shoulder undid the moment, but elated the emotions that had
welled inside of her. She edged back, not making him remove his hand, but staring into
his confusing eyes. How she had ever thought Brian's eyes were like Jareth's was beyond
her. Gabriel had the eyes of the king... seemingly unchartable and unreachable. As if an
entire world lived beyond those beautiful and unruly seas.
She swallowed and laughed briefly, gesturing to the snow. "I never really saw it
like this before," she explained and Gabriel nodded slowly.
"You know I have something of yours," he whispered.
Sarah lifted her eyebrows in question and wasn't surprised when he simply cocked
his head just enough to rise her curiosity and start out of the room. Sarah bit her lip and,
wiping her wet hands on the dishtowel, rushed after him, barging through the swinging
door into the living room. He was already beside the door with her thick winter coat held
out... waiting.
"We have to go outside?" she inquired carefully as she crossed the livingroom,
offering the stairs one brief glance. Her thoughts were with Toby, but she forced herself
away from the worry and towards the handsome man holding her coat.
"I left it in the car." Gabriel's explanation was short, and Sarah hesitated a
moment before holding out her arms so that he could drape the coat over her. She
snuggled down into it, wondering why it had seem threatening when Gabriel explained the
casual reason for going outside, and then followed the lovely English gentleman into the
outdoors snow.
"Wow," Sarah muttered, the cold instantaneously within the heavy materials and
fleece underlining. Gabriel was seemingly unaffected, as he traversed the weather with
nothing more than a leather jacket.
Walking behind him, through the large front yard and over to the gravel drive
where the cars had been parked, Sarah noticed for the first time just how long Gabriel's
hair was. It was so pale in the poorly lit night that it seemed to be as silvery as the snow,
and it loosed as a gust of wind howled past them. Sarah watched it drift over his back,
loose and free and so achingly familiar to the king's that she had to look away.
"Well, what is it?!" Sarah demanded, crunching through the snow in sneakers, that
hadn't been the best choice. Her socks were damp and her feet numb inside. She only
barely felt her big toe, and the rest were completely numb as she hopped over a log and
landed, ungracefully, on the other side.
Gabriel stopped, just in sight of the drive. But, as Sarah approached laughing
breathlessly to herself, watching her air drifting around her in great clouds of mist, she
realized that something was very wrong. Mimi's big old truck was right by the barn, and
Sarah's Mustang was nearer, where she had parked after picking Toby up... but that was
it. The old tractor was rusted, and only part of its yellowish body could be seen from
beyond the barn.
"I-I don't understand," Sarah started, taking a single step backwards.
Gabriel turned to look at her, and his face had changed. His eyes, once uniform
blue and seemingly friendly, were now so far detached from emotion that they burned with
ice, like the snow. His hair drifted around his feral features, and his thin lips curved
upwards as he opened his mouth in a brief laugh. Those pointed teeth glinted, and Sarah
took another step backwards.
"Sarah, why the worry? What are you afraid of? Do you think I'm going to do
something to you out here?" he asked, turning to approach her.
"It's just cold. I think we should go back in," Sarah gestured back and then
rapped her hands on her hips a moment before she turned back around and, shrugging,
struggled with her words, "But you know, it is getting a little late. M-Maybe you, you
should just head on home."
Gabriel now looked back, at the two vehicles and then turned to focus on her once
more. "You'd send me in this? Sarah, my car's been stolen and you'd send me away?!"
he demanded, and the moment of her fear shattered with the expression of shock on his
face. Once more a rational explanation prevailed when her own imagination got the better
of her.
Sarah sighed deeply and, trying to make her feet move in the crusted snow when
she couldn't even feel them, approached him. Gabriel wiped his hand over his face,
removing bits of snowdust and then turned to look at the spot where, supposedly, his car
had just stood. "Gabriel, I'm sorry. I-I just thought....," she stopped as she walked up
behind him and grasped his arm tightly.
"I had your purse," he said.
Sarah was silent for a long time and then leaned her head against his shoulder. The
leather of his jacket was supple, not as horrible as those of his gloves. But then, her bias
effected her perception of those. She shrugged as she stood up and shivered violently in
the cold night.
"I already thought it was lost. Come on, its getting unbearable out here," Sarah
whispered, and tugged his elbow just enough to make him follow her back into the
farmhouse. Gabriel turned to watch her picking her way through the new snow and then
looked skywards at the unruly bellies of the heavy clouds.
"It looks like its going to get worse," he mentioned.
Sarah paused and looked at the empty sky. The snow had nearly stopped, leaving
the night white and cold, but nothing near worse. The days of ice rain had been much
worse than this. Then, standing right there, the clouds opened and the winds began to lick
their way past the home, sending great billows of snow straight into Sarah's face.
She shrieked as the icicles bit into her flesh, and shielded her face. The snow
poured down, and Sarah struggled to open her reddened eyes in the blizzard conditions to
see the home. "Gabriel!" she screamed, but her voice drowned out in the gale.
She could see vague impressions of the farmhouse, and struggled towards it,
leaning against the force of the storm with all her weight. But her face was coated in
sleet, and her eyelashes crusted over by snow and ice. And just as she slipped to the
ground, instantly buried to her waist in snow, she felt his hand on her arm, pulling her out.
Sarah looked upwards and just managed to catch the faintest glimpse of Gabriel
through the storm. He seemed to be surrounded by an aura of warmth, as he held her
close and bundled her straight away to the house. The door flew open and the snow piled
into the entryway even before Gabriel could kick it close with enough force to send
several pictures clattering down from the walls.
The sound of breaking glass triggered Sarah's memories and she leapt away from
Gabriel's warmth as she saw the house grow dim and heard Brian's footsteps as he
approached her.
Where ya gone to, Sarah?! You've been bad... very bad!!!
"Sarah?" Gabriel's voice disturbed her delusion and she turned her wild eyes on
him. Sarah glanced around, noticed the few pictures that had collapsed to the ground, one
which splayed out in broken glass and went directly to it. Gabriel stood silently in the
entryway, wiping sheets of snow from his clothes as he slipped out of the jacket and
removed his heavy shoes. They were coated in grime and soaked through.
"What happened out there?" Sarah asked as she retrieved the picture from the
ground. Mimi and her husband were smiling, with their son between them. It was such an
old picture, but then it was obviously sentimental. Sarah set it delicately on top of the TV
and then turned to look at Gabriel.
"The storm," he moved to the window and drew the blinds back to let Sarah see
the snow piling just below the window sill. "We're snowblind."
"That's silly," Sarah remarked as she moved in near him and looked out at the
endless white mounds, and more coming down. No end in sight. But it seemed crazy that
it had just been slowing when the attack began. Sarah backed away, rubbing the back of
her neck with her hand as she fell into the sofa.
"Sarah?" Mimi's voice from upstairs disturbed Sarah's contemplation's.
Her aunt walked partway down the stairs and paused as she noticed Gabriel
standing solemnly at the window. Sarah herself was worse-for-wear. Her hair was damp
and plastered against her flushed face. Her jacket was dripping into the sofa and Mimi
immediately rushed down to get her niece up on her feet.
"What're you doing in that wet thing! Get out of it now!!! You get yourself dried
up, I won't be having more sickness in my home," Mimi demanded and then turned her
eyes towards Gabriel. Mimi said nothing to him, but did manage a weak smile.
"Mimi, we're stuck in here. It's what you were saying," Sarah gestured towards
the window as she slipped her own coat off and draped it over one of the hooks for the
hats in the entry, over the tile to drip. "Snowblind."
Mimi walked to the window and stood there a long time, just watching the storm
outside brew and grow in its intensity. She then turned her eyes towards Gabriel again
and shook her head. "Came early," Mimi began and then turned to look at her messed
livingroom, "I guess you'll be spending some time with us, Gabriel."
Sarah lurched at the idea, but realized that it was true. He couldn't leave now,
especially without his car. They stood a moment in uncomfortable silence and then, with a
sigh, Mimi went to the closet into which Sarah had put the vacuum earlier in the week.
"Mimi?" Sarah began, feeling Gabriel so near to her that she thought she would melt... not
that it was warm enough yet.
"Here," Mimi tossed a whole load of towels into Gabriel's awaiting arms. He
seemed to understand. "As long as your with us, I should put you to work. We'll need
those pipes wrapped up before the nights through, or we'll be facing more problems after
the thaw."
Gabriel tucked another load of insulation under his arm and then, casting Sarah a
momentary and slight grin, that promptly sung with seduction, made his way back to the
entryway and his damp coat. Outside the wind still beat against the farmhouse frame, as
unrelenting as any freight train.
"Are you sure?" Sarah asked carefully, watching him slip back into his heavy
shoes, prepared to brace the weather.
Mimi seemed to shrug as she jerked at the sound of Toby's meek voice from
upstairs. She looked long at Sarah, then subtly apologized without words to Gabriel for
sending him into the brunt of the storm. There really was no one else. Then, gathering her
sweater tighter around herself, she turned to race back up the stairs. "I'm sure Gabriel's
seen the snow like this before. I'll be upstairs," Mimi called, disappearing behind the wall
as she spoke.
"This is crazy," Sarah muttered as she stomped forcibly over to the entrance and
grasped her own soaked coat from the rack. "You aren't going out there alone." She
slipped into the snow-crusted coat and then shivered, thinking of the conditions outside.
"Sarah," Gabriel looked at her with something close to the same power that he had
demonstrated in the night before the snow had begun full-out, "I appreciate the concern
but...," he paused again and reached out to touch her soft face, letting the very tip of his
thumb rush across her lower lip, "I'll be fine."
He opened the door and the storm caught it. Slamming the heavy wood around as
if it were nothing but cardboard. Sarah watched, wide-eyed and terrified as he
disappeared into a cloud of white and forced the door closed, running it across a blanket
of snow that had spread across the tiled entrance.
"Gabriel?" she asked, knowing that he wouldn't even be able to hear her if she
were standing right next to him in the middle of the wind and snow. Sarah leaned her wet
back against the wall and slipped downwards, gripping her legs against her chest as she
waited, and watched the door handle to see it move.
But it didn't. And the clock ticked onwards past ten minutes and twenty. It
moved ceaselessly, and for once (even though she wasn't having fun) the time seemed to
fly and did nothing to abate her worry for Gabriel in the elements. Exposed. Of course, if
he had been Jareth then.... Sarah shook her head and buried her face into her thick sleeves.
"That's it!" she demanded, rushing to her feet, "That's it, this is nuts!" She
reached out for the knob, feeling the same dull throb she had felt before, when first
inviting Gabriel into the house. Somehow it seemed vaguely familiar to an old tale. She
pushed aside her fears and lurched the door open, side-stepping as it slammed near to her
face.
It was all frost and snow and wind and gales, and a cold that was so intense she
felt blued in her face. Sarah pulled the hood over her head, ducking low as she walked on
to the verandah. The swing was a mound of shapeless snow, and the only indication it had
ever been there was her memory of it.
"GABRIEL!" Sarah screamed, cupping her numb hands over her blue lips as best
she could.
She saw the post at the beginning of the stairs that led from the farmhouse and
reached out with one trembling hand to grab hold. Behind her the door slammed shut, and
the last triangle of light was cut out immediately. She was left in nothing more but a white
void, in the middle of the darkest night of the year.
Sarah stepped down, missed the actual step and slipped the rest of the way,
landing painfully on her knees. She cried out, handfuls of snow gripped so tight that her
palms cracked and bled. Red handprints stood out like murder mysteries in the middle of
the ceaseless snow.
"GABRIEL! Where the FUCK are you?!" Sarah screamed, her voice going hoarse
and cracking as she blindly groped her way upwards.
A strange abstract shadow of a tree was in the distance, and she could scarcely see
the large hulk of the barn at her right. Everything else was a void, a void that engulfed her
like a hungry beast. Sarah righted herself, and, trying to walk with pain searing through
both knees, collapsed again. This time she struck her chin against the tightly compacted
snow and bit her lip, sending droplets of blood over the snow once more.
This hadn't been her best idea. Sarah worked her head up, to look outwards into
the night. And in the distance she saw a shape in the sky, too big to be more oncoming
snow. As it grew nearer she realized that it was a bird, an owl. A huge white owl fighting
his way through the unruly air currents and the bombarding snow from the furious sky.
He dove downwards dangerously and then swooped back up.
Sarah blinked, her breath gushing in and out in great exhalations and inhalations.
And all the while the owl dove in nearer and nearer until she could make out his amber
eyes searching for her through the storm. Then, as she watched, it landed on the snow,
spreading its wings a moment to balance in the onslaught of weather. It laid its wings at
its side, and looked at her for a moment, wondering.
The owl, once more, opened its wings, and from them were born arms that spread
just as wide as the wings. And it grew, upwards and outwards, going higher up than
Sarah could crane her head. Until, there were no feathers nor was there a bird. Instead,
there was a man with drenched pants and a jacket that was slick leather.
He knelt down, in the middle of the snow and sleet, and slipped his arms under her,
taking her up. Sarah could only let him, wondering what she had imagined this time. But
inside she knew that there had been no rationale to explain what had happened. No, this
was something else.
"Gabriel?" Sarah asked, her breath caught away in the wind as he carried her
carefully back up the stairs, and into the home. There was nearly as much snow in as there
had been out, and Gabriel let Sarah down slowly as he kicked the snow out of the way in
order to force the door closed once more.
Inside he turned, his eyes carefully cloaked as well as his other emotions. He let
the jacket drip from his wet body and then, breathing deep waited for Sarah to continue.
But she only stood, shivering and incredulous. Her mouth trembled as she forced it into a
smile that demonstrated both agonizing fear and overwhelming joy.
"Jareth?"