For about an hour she went over the papers on one of her school projects. Most of it had been completed prior to Spring Break. Now it mainly just needed some fine-tuning. Not much to worry over. At the end of the hour her eyelids were drooping. She glanced at the clock- it was only one-thirty in the afternoon. If she took a nap now she could call Penelope when she woke up, maybe do one load of laundry, and still have plenty of time to get ready for dinner.
Yes, get ready for dinner, or more appropriately get ready to see Jareth. Her thoughts wandered. She recalled the sight and smell of the drooping cherry trees. Then her mind dug up another place- the hedge maze where her and Hoggle had found the Wise Man with his opinionated hat. It had been so lush and green there. There was also the forest that Sir Didymus had led her and her little army through. These had been parts of the Labyrinth that were truly beautiful.
Lingering over the memories she stood and retrieved the journal from the top drawer of her dresser. Sketches of that other world came alive as she flipped through the pages. Five years. Within the first two she had begun to call on her friends less and less. Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo, Ambrosius- how long had it been since she had sought them out? She had forced them out just as she had Jareth. They remained though. Had they dreamed about her? Holding the book she laid on the bed, pressed it against her heart, and fell off to sleep.
At first she merely wandered in the darkness of sleep. She knew she was walking, trying to determine the space she was in. Her hands gingerly felt out around her- no walls, no corners. There was just the surrounding blackness. Frustrated she stood still. A familiar voice called out, "Bah, too much black!" There was the sound of something striking. A match leapt alive and then a candle. Hoggle's face became illuminated. He regarded her with a weary smile. They were in an oubliette.
"Hoggle!" she exclaimed taken aback as her other companions emerged from the shadows. She had never dreamed about them before.
"My lady." Sir Didymus made a sweeping bow. His tone was grave. "What hast thou done to prevent the coming darkness?"
Sarah crossed her eyebrows. "What have I done? I don't understand."
Ludo raised one of his massive yet gentle hands. "Darkness bad!" he bemoaned.
"Sarah," began Hoggle. "you cannot let the darkness in. You let it in and all will be lost." He made fists at his sides.
Feeling confused she pressed for information. "What is the blackness?"
Hoggle beckoned her near. His eyes went wide. "It is what will touch his heart and then his soul. Once it is in it can never be put out." Sir Didymus approached holding a small candle. Having given it to Hoggle the dwarf lit it from the flame all ready burning. "Take a light with you." He pointed away. "Go and understand."
How heavy the air seemed. She took the candle between her fingers. Following the direction of his finger she turned and began to walk. After a few steps Sir Didymus' voice called after her, his voice trembling with emotion. "Should you need us," he paused. The words made him feel so guilty. "Should you need us we cannot come. You must do this alone. Remember fair maiden, that we love thee."
The little knight's words touched her and she felt tears brimming. She nodded trying to be understanding of him. She walked away from her friends.
The dream morphed and sort of spun around. The motion briefly disoriented her. Using the candle she lit up her surroundings. Gone was the oubliette with its dingy walls and cobwebs. Now she stood in the center of a long narrow hallway with wood panels and wood floors. As she took a step the boards creaked. Turning about the light only reached so far and then the shadows, the darkness, took over. She was safe so long as the candle stayed lit. On cue a strange smelling gust threatened the flame.
Against her chest the milargos felt warm.
She began to walk, hearing the creaks. Behind her the darkness followed. She quickened her pace. Creak, creak went the boards. The black form matched her again. Her breath came quicker, she was jogging now. Where did the hallway end? Surely there had to be an end, right? A door? Don't take it for granted that it would, she quite suddenly thought.
Something brushed against her back. She yelped and broke out into a run.
Her light flickered, chasing away the blackness even as it chased after her. "Jareth!" she yelled. It was the only name, the only word that made sense to say. She was blindly frightened. "Jareth! Help me!"
At the far end- what was that? A faint light? A door flew open forming a rectangle of white light. There was a figure silhouetted. "Come to me!" the figured called out. It was the voice of Jareth. "Hurry now before it gets here!" Her clothes snagged. She threw her self at him reaching his body, feeling his arms wrap tight around her pulling her in to a protective embrace. Using his foot he slammed the door on the blackness.
The same moment he pulled her from the dream he pulled himself to where she was. Gasping for breath they started awake. It felt like they were emerging from the depths of the ocean. Her body was tense against his- she was frightened. He couldn't get a decent breath though. His throat hurt, trying to suck in the mundane air. He coughed. Breathe with your whole body, he told himself. Calm and even. He began to relax just as he felt her body move in a shudder.
She raised herself to look at him. The dream had been a warning; she knew it. The same fear had wracked her the first time she had dreamed about the darkness. But what was it? Why did it want Jareth? Why did it want her? His eyes were squeezed shut he was attempting to calm his breathing. The wrinkles were back and this time they weren't as fine. Slowly his features relaxed.
He had come for her. He had pulled her from the dream. He had rescued her. That thought helped to calm her. Nothing was threatening them here. Filled with a sense of relief and gratitude she leaned over him and kissed him. Having pulled away she touched forehead to forehead with him. "Thank you, thank you for coming for me," she said.
"Of course." His tone was endearingly soft. "Are you alright?"
She hummed a positive note. Her eyes sorted of darted around, registering the dorm room. "You're not supposed to be in here you know." She had said it with a smile.
"I am sure that the authorities will be understanding, considering the circumstances." He patted her backside affectionately. "It's not like we haven't broken the rule before."
She laughed quietly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "True." His hand hadn't moved away.
Perhaps it was the adrenaline still swimming in her veins, lingering from the fright of her dream that made her feel quite warm and alert. He lay there so comfortable, so at ease on her bed. Her hand on his chest could feel his heart beating- thump, thump, thump- the quick, steady rhythm. The two of them realized they were staring at one another. Locking eyes, thought Sarah with a flutter in her stomach. Or perhaps, she continued to muse, it's just his nearness; the way he smells, the way he looks; his touch. Her mind still clung to a faint picture of the dream- it drove her to want to tell him things; to open her mouth and say, "Goblin King, Goblin King take me far away from here!"
She resisted.
Words are such clumsy things. Instead she brought her lips to his again. He kissed back. It was a gentle, lingering kiss; the sort of touch that says, I will if you will. Sarah felt her own heart- thump, thump, thump- growing louder in her ears. Just let me kiss you Jareth, she thought feeling his hand flex and squeeze her.
He lay still. His hand had flexed all most reactionary-like, it was also an encouragement to her. He had been pursuing, relentlessly chasing her down, seducing her, bedding her, expending all of his energies to get her to accept him. It was so sweet to feel her initiating the sensual contact. Sensual: yes that is how her lips were. Sensual. He dared not do more than kiss her in return, not until she asked or intimated a desire for more.
Her hand slid over his chest as she deepened the kiss. Goosebumps ran the length of his arms. She was braced over him now, her hair falling like a curtain around his face. If springtime had a scent, it would be Sarah. Her tongue rubbed against the roof of his mouth and his hand squeezed her backside in a taunt pinch.
Sarah felt the thumping of her heart in her ears, in her stomach, and in her abdomen. He tasted so good, like a rich coco. Her breasts pressed up against him. She felt his other hand take hold of her waist and one of his legs bend up. It occurred to her, in a sort of odd, surprised way, that she was arousing him, turning him on. The thought was pleasing to her. The realization validated her in a way. What had he told her under the cherry trees?- "What I do to you, you do to me." Get ready Goblin King, she mused confidently as she slid a leg between his, I'm going to do it and do it very well. Ghads, he smells divine!
Jareth moaned part in pleasure part in frustration. She was moving at her own pace; it was torturous for him. He ran his hands up her back and down her rib cage to find the hem of her shirt. She broke the kiss feeling his fingers roaming under her shirt. Her breath came short. His lips were at her chin, moving down her neck. She bent her back, bracing her arms against the bed, performing a yoga stretch to allow him to kiss further down. "Sarah," he murmured against her, lustful and needing. His teeth tugged at the charms that hung around her neck.
"Oh Jareth," she responded as one of his hands cupped her right breast and his tongue lapped at the hollow of her throat. There was no denying her state now either. She slid down to look him in the eyes. She could feel his heat. His breath was coming quicker. His eyes were focused intensely. She smiled. Leaning close she whispered in his ear, "I want you." His eyes closed hearing her sexual tones, taking pleasure in them.
One of his hands was over her sex. "I need you," he replied huskily.
They began to undress each other. He tried his darnedest to follow her speed. It was going to be by her hand that the darkness would be stilled. For him it was far more than lust; it was bonding. Each time they connected sexually it fused his energies with hers, making a refusal more and more difficult for her. This act- her choice to initiate intercourse- was very encouraging to him. Perhaps Oberon was right; perhaps he had only been nearly successful in bonding with her on fae soil, but it had planted the seed of need in her. It was of vital importance to him.
She had him against the bed, naked and exposed. She knew he was watching her, fascinated by her body and curious about what she would do next. She slid herself on top of him, tightening her inner muscles. His head tilted back and he made a noise between a hiss and a whistle. Something surrounded him, like an aura, glowing. Intrigued she began to move over him again. Lost in the pleasure he didn't notice her staring at him. The color sort of pulsed around his frame. It was curiously lovely. She picked up her pace, closing her eyes enjoying the friction.
Through hooded eyes he watched her. She glowed the same color as his aura.
Hands on her hips he helped her maintain her leverage. She continued to move against him, faster now, their breath coming shorter. Above him she let out a loud, raw moan. She was using him to climax. She had trusted his body enough to find pleasure for her self. He needed her just a few moments longer. He gripped her hips, thrusting up into her now. She cried out as he roared with the release. Colors flooded her vision. She lay over him, chest to chest, breathless and fully satisfied.
Jareth relaxed against the pillows, still reeling in her. That was bonding. That was an orgasm. He rested a hand against her back, holding her to him. It was the end of day six and he felt he had truly made progress with her, his Sarah.
Sarah tasted the spices in her mouth, so strong and wild. Her fear had driven her to express the claim he had on her. The expression hadn't been forced; it hadn't been difficult. Did she love him? She was beginning to feel that she did, goblins and all. She had been most afraid of the darkness touching them. Lying against him, bathing in the afterglow, the dream no longer seemed so threatening.