AN: Guys I'm so sorry this took so long, the truth is I know where I will go after this series of events (Sarah visiting Jareth) but I just cannot get these chapters to sit right. In the end, I've broken them into pieces. So here is the first, I hope to polish the rest, and really thank you for stopping by!
What if she leaves?
Jareth sat on the edge of the bed, watching Sarah sleep, his mind a riot of a thousand different thoughts. The nagging doubt came back to him.
What if she leaves you, Jareth?
No. That would be too much to bear. Jareth looked at her. How could this one person have so much power over him? Sarah had come to him for answers - what if that's all she had come to him for? The Oracle was known to be vague, the answers she gave were known to have disrupted lives and broken apart families, because they always came true. His quest to discover what she was about could lead to their undoing. And beyond that, a lifetime of solitude stretched before him. He sighed.
Sarah had no obligation to be here. He had waited so long, seven patient years, going through the exhausting process of waiting for the oracle to give a sign, obsessing over Sarah from afar while trying to keep a kingdom running at the same time. He hadn't come this far just to let Sarah go again.
But what if she got her answers and left? His heart lurched, the same sensation of bitter fear he'd had back in the Labyrinth all those years ago when she had completely wrong footed him by jumping into the abyss to save her brother. For a few moments he had been terrified - she wasn't supposed to have jumped. She was not supposed to have jumped! That's when he knew how brave she was, how different. If he had put fire between her and her brother, she'd have walked through it.
There had been a split second when he had thought she really was ready to give her life up. No one had died in their quests in the Labyrinth, and Sarah had almost become the first. But the Labyrinth had caught her, as if it knew something before he had realised what it was.
And then she left. His final plea to her had done no good. Jareth inched his fingers into Sarah's pale hand. He watched as her hand instinctively clasped around his and drew it up to her chest. A tremor went through him. He was falling in love with this girl and that was dangerous territory. There were so many complications - Cenric for one would be sure to destroy one or the other simply to spite the pair if he found out there was anyone that could make Jareth happy. And yes, Sarah had confessed yesterday about the repose she found in his arms in the ballroom. But did she love him? Could she love him? Could she stand up to what it meant to be the queen of the Labyrinth?
Silk gowns and cream cakes, thought Jareth with a wry smile. If she only knew how hard the life of a Labyrinth queen was, but that she possessed all the necessary attributes. Would that frighten her, or make her want to stay? Jareth sighed, his head starting to pound. This place. This castle. He didn't want any of it. He just wanted Sarah.
She expected so much of him. So much strength and surety. Could she stand it if she saw him as he was now, crouched by the bed, lost to his thoughts, conflicted and most of all afraid? Afraid of losing her? She'd spoken of always having to be strong. She had no idea.
He couldn't bear the thought of disappointing her, of being another one of the people who had hurt her. He bit down on his thumb until it hurt, biting so hard he thought he might draw blood. He had a reputation for destroying things and ruining the women who sought his affections. He would rather cut off his own hands than hurt Sarah. You're a fool, Jareth he thought to himself. The big, powerful king of the Underground, cowering next to a mortal woman, terrified of her walking away.
Duties, obligations, warfare, carnage, crystals, blood, glitter. Jareth began to feel overwhelmed by it all. I have to get out of here he thought, conjuring a crystal and throwing it at the wall. Instantly, they were transported to his camping grounds in the enchanted woods. Sarah barely stirred from her sleep. Jareth got into the bed with her, kissing the curve of her neck as he felt her settle her body against his. If she was going to leave, he couldn't stop her, he decided. He'd just have to ensure he could give her back her dreams, some of the magic she had given up when she walked away from him the first time.
I could get used to this. Oh, Jareth… what have you done?
Sarah drifted out of her sleep and into wakefulness, rubbing her eyes. She rolled onto her back sleepily, and was surprised to feel Jareth in the bed next to her. Then she noticed they weren't in the castle any more. They were in the same bed she had fallen asleep in, just placed in the middle of a huge tent, the fabric of which was various shades of blue and turquoise. It was beautiful. A cool, fresh air was blowing through the tent. A circular hearth, designed for fires and cooking, sat in the center of the space.
Sarah sat up, taking in her surroundings a little better. Jareth must have done this in her sleep. She smiled when she noticed her little overnight bag sitting neatly on one of the ornate rugs. He'd thought of everything. She turned to look at him, seeing for the first time what he looked like while sleeping. Even in his sleep, a slight frown, a harshness to his features remained, but Sarah couldn't help but feel her heart soften. She tucked her hair behind her ear and bent down to give him a gentle kiss.
No sooner had she done so than she felt Jareth stir and kiss her back. He drew her down to himself and she saw his mismatched eyes open, already glazed over with lust as he suddenly rolled and pinned her under himself.
His kisses grew more passionate now, and Sarah could feel herself responding. One hand of Jareth's was in her hair, the other had moved down her body to her breast, touching her and murmuring with satisfaction as he felt her body react. Suddenly he drew himself up on his elbows, forcing himself to stop. Not here, not in these woods. Any number of creatures of energies could sense the strong vibrations from his desire for Sarah and betray their presence to Cenric or another enemy.
"Good morning," he drawled, a smile playing on his lips.
Sarah blinked back at him, cloudy headed and breathless. She smiled and turned her head away.
"That's some way to wake up!" she said.
"I'll say." said Jareth. He stood up and crossed his arms, looking down at her haughtily. There was that half smile again.
Sarah rolled her eyes. She wasn't even out of bed and the games had started. "So why did you… why did you stop?" she asked. Jareth looked at her from the center of the tent where he had knelt down to light the fire.
"Don't tell me you're finally ready to admit your desire for me." he said.
"You're really going to make me spell it out for you, aren't you. Have you ever heard of subtlety?" said Sarah, getting into the mood of their little game.
"I'd say there's nothing subtle left since these have been where they've been." said Jareth, wiggling the fingers of his right hand and laughing loudly as he watched Sarah turn red and throw her sheets off herself in a huff.
"You're so… so…!"
"So what Sarah, on the mark? Unpretentious? Honest? You should let some of your fake piety go."
"Never mind."
Jareth rose from the floor. The fire had taken and was warming the inside of the tent now. He peeled his robe off, never taking his eyes off Sarah. He saw her draw her breath and bite her lip as he did so. She wasn't fooling anyone.
"Why do you fight me, Sarah?"
Sarah sighed. There wasn't any point trying to dodge this argument. Jareth would win. He sensed her turmoil and walked over to her.
"Sit with me, Sarah." he said, motioning to the cushions on the floor. "I want you to tell me about what's in your mind, in your heart."
Sarah nodded. She sank down to the floor and sighed as she felt Jareth sit down behind her and hold her in his arms. "Jareth," she said, looking down at her hands "You're right. I want you. I've wanted you since I was old enough to realise what it was I wanted."
Sarah was surprised when she looked into Jareth's eyes and saw not lust, but a deep understanding. Almost a sadness, the look of a person who was watching someone they were about to lose forever.
"The time will come." said Jareth. "But I must make one demand of you."
Sarah looked at him uncertainly. "Wh.. what exactly?"
Jareth leaned in to her. "Sarah, you can hold yourself back physically as long as you think is necessary. But I must demand your total trust. That is non negotiable."
Sarah nodded. That seemed the only logical thing. "I'm here, aren't I Jareth?"
"Are you here because you trust me or are you here because you want to know what the Oracle has to say?"
Sarah bit her lip. "A bit of both, I suppose." She bit the pad of her thumb, and Jareth smiled without her seeing at the way she mirrored the gesture of he had made the night before. He could almost hear the thoughts flying around her head. He took her thumb from her hand and turned her palm over, tracing its lines as he spoke.
"Last night, we made some quite deep revelations." he said. He felt Sarah's fragrant brown hair brush against his shoulder as she nodded. "And then I had one of my own."
He paused, and Sarah turned to face him. "Well?" she asked.
Jareth sighed. "I'm not a man who shows weakness, Sarah." he said, raising one knee on the floor in front of him and draping an arm over it.
"So you intend to be cruel to me?"
"Oh, I can be quite cruel. That's the problem. I don't want to be cruel to you, but I have a habit of destroying things. And people."
Sarah sank into the fabric of the tent's wall, rubbing her knees. Jareth watched her. She didn't look scared. She looked curious.
"Sarah, I don't want to be cruel to you. But I must admit, the strength of my emotions for you is a new experience for me. I'm not sure how well you would tolerate my darker side. It crossed my mind last night that I had made a mistake bringing you here. That I have unnecessarily complicated your life."
Sarah's brow furrowed. A mistake? What was he talking about! "You didn't bring me here Jareth, I came of my own free will!"
Jareth's expression remained serious. "And perhaps I should not have approached you at all. Let sleeping dogs lie."
It was adorable the way she pouted now, and heartbreaking. Jareth was opening the door for her exit. It was a gigantic gamble. What if she leaves you?
Sarah crossed her arms and stood up. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." Her anger melted when Jareth stood up too. He took her into his arms and held her. Sarah gasped, the air itself around him seemed to vibrate with his energy. She felt his warm breath on her ear as he spoke.
"Then forgive me now for any harm my association with you might cause you. Know that it would always be the last thing on my mind. I cannot let you go so easily Sarah, and I make no secret of how much I desire you. The time will come when you will give yourself to me."
Sarah returned his embrace, thinking of all her teenaged nights spent longing for him. If she let go now, she felt her own lust would tear fires through both of them. She would have to wait until she'd tempered her emotions, until she knew just how to handle this. This was practically a declaration of love, especially after the previous night's events.
"I didn't think you had it in you, Goblin King." she murmured.
"I look forward to surprising you more often then." said Jareth, holding her face and kissing her deeply.
