Chapter 14: Close Encounters of the Jareth Kind
Sarah danced with Xander in silence, she was still thinking about her conversation with Adeira. She had said that Jareth loved Sarah, and then said he didn't. Which was the truth? Sarah supposed she'd just have to find out for herself... Not that it bothered her; she really just didn't care what he thought of her. Did she? Surely she was just curious.
There was something to be said for the refined and elegant way Xander danced, though it was nothing compared to Jareth's grace on the dance floor. 'Still, he isn't too bad for a drunk,' Sarah thought to herself. She silently wondered where her dark prince had gone. Dark prince? No, that didn't quite seem to fit Jareth. He was a King. And not just any King; the King of Goblins. She sighed and rested her head on Xander's chest, momentarily pretending it was Jareth's.
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Jareth smiled; he was rather pleased with himself for planning out this evening so well. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he hoped to do much more than merely seduce her. He wanted, needed, Sarah to be his, once and for all. He so desperately craved for her to love him as he loved her. And he would go to any length to prove it, so long as it didn't scare her away. While Jareth was a patient man, he lived with Goblins for crying out loud, he could not wait for her forever. His heart would not allow it.
He had just seen her dancing with Adeira, and Jareth did not like it one bit. The jealous redhead could only lead to trouble. He hoped Sarah knew that. He paused when he noticed a stranger in the crowd; a young girl about Sarah's age with long black hair and a black mask. She apperared quite out of place. Although there were hundreds of people at the feast, Jareth personally knew each and every one of them. Perhaps she was merely someone he had forgotten about, but he did not think so.
However, the Goblin King truly did forget all about the strange masked woman when he laid eyes upon his "friend". The nerve of that guy! Xander knew all too well of Jareth's feelings for Sarah, and he had the audacity to dance with her!
Jareth's heart sank when he saw the dreamy expression that was on Sarah's face as she rested her head on Xander's chest. Damn it! That should have been his chest! She looked so blissful there, as if she had no other cares in the world. Damn Xander! That was the look of love, and Jareth knew that look all too well... It was the look his beloved Princess used to have when they gazed into each other's eyes. He had to put a stop to this!
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"I will not grant your Princess eternal life," The tall, manacing, hideous Goblin King speaks the evil words to Jareth. "But I will bring her back for the proper amount of time that she could have had, had she not been forced to commit such a sinful act," he spits the words out, as if they taste bitter. "In return you must give me your only child once he is born."
"He?" Jareth asks in bewildered amazement. "How do you know she will bear me a son?"
"I am the King of Goblins, the supreme ruler of the underground. I know all things. Do not question me, for I am not a thing to be questioned or trifled with. Do we have a deal?"
The young Prince could only assume that when he said "the underground" he had meant hell. Surely this man was too evil to be the devil...
"Yes," Jareth sighs. What choice does he have?
"Then you may have your princess... For now."
The dark cruel words loomed over him for many ominous months. But he lived in relative happiness, for he now had his lovely Princess Seraseht to fill his days with joy. However, that joy was short-lived. He began to notice that she was very much not the same person. Where once she had been a lovely young girl, full of life and bliss, she had now been reduced to something very much like a doll. Seraseht remained solitary, quiet, and cold; a puppet-like shell of her former self. She was no longer the passionate, strong, loving person that he had once fallen in love with.
"Her heart I keep for myself," The Goblin King's laughter echoed cruelly inside his head.
Despite his knowledge of this, Prince Jareth ascended the throne of his ailing father; taking with him his beautiful bride, who never laughed nor smiled. In fact, she no longer showed any emotion at all. She had become a mindless puppet.
It was as if a dreadful curse had befallen the land, but it seemed to get better when the kingdom found out that their lovely Queen Seraseht was with child. Jareth had married his love, despite the fact that she was no longer the same person, or even a person at all. He was a determined man, indeed and he had loved her deeply. It was his memory of her, as she once was, that kept his darkened heart filled with agonizing hope. He had, after all, succeeded in a way. Seraseht had still been saved; she still breathed; she lived. And that had indeed been the bargain.
It was not long until the heartless Queen gave birth to a handsome baby boy, and people rejoiced throughout the kingdom. The King was ecstatic, and he named the boy Seth (taken from the first letter of the Queen's name, and the last three of the King's). He smiled at how clever he was. But not clever enough to escape fate. Tragically, Seraseht died during childbirth, only to leave the lonely King alone once again.
"Goblin King, Goblin King, wherever you may be," How he had tried to prevent her from speaking those dreaded words as she lay on her deathbed. But she had refused, saying that she must say the words, for her love. For she had given her heart to the evilest man ever to breathe, if indeed he did such commonplace things. "Come and take this child of mine far away from me!"
It was not much longer until the Goblin King did return to claim what he felt was rightfully his; Prince Seth. But Jareth, however, felt their bargain had been broken. He once had had Seraseht, and would have Seth too, had it not been for his own cruel words which had driven her to such madness. The Goblin's ruler had waited just long enough for the King to grow attached to his son, before coming to take him.
If he had not called upon the Goblins for help, he would have been aloen then as well, and likely would not have claimed the throne. Jareth realized all too late that he had never stopped his heart from being broken, but only prolonged it; stretching it out over the course of many years.
"I have come for the child," Both the Goblin King's words and his heart were like ice.
"Please," The mighty King of mortals falls to his knees before the malicious entity that stands towering above him. "I have already lost my beloved. Twice. I do not ask that she be brought back a second time. But I beg of you, please do not take from me the only son we will ever have." There were tears in his eyes.
"What's said is said."
Those words rang out over and over in Jareth's mind, forever haunting him. He now spent the days longing for his wife, and missing his son. This was a terrible curse that had befallen the King. And it was all of his own doing... The sheer blind injustice of it all was enough to make him vomit!
And so, the troubled King set out to find a way to undo what he had done. And at long last, he found a way.
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The King had taken up a sudden interest in folklore, it seemed. Particularly that which had to do with Goblins, and more importantly, Goblin Kings. Jareth soon learned that once someone had wished away a child, they had the right to run through his twisted maze in order to get the child back. Many people did not have this knowledge, so their children were simply given up. Unfortunately, he had already bargained away his son. He began to devise a plan, and all he had to do was find a way to summon the evil one again.
And so... The Goblin King, the most evil, most wickedly hated being in all existence, appeared before the King.
"I demand the right to run your Labyrinth," Jareth said the words with caution. "In return for my son's freedom."
"But you have already wished away the boy in order to save your darling Princess," He hissed. "Tell me, was it worth it to you?" He finished the sentence harshly.
But Jareth knew that the Fae race were a tricky sort, so he knew that this man loved making bargains and playing games with people in which the stakes were so temptingly high. He knew the Goblin King could not resist this chance. The temptation would be far too great.
"I offer you myself in return for my son being set free. I will run your Labyrinth, and if I win, my son goes free, but I shall stay as your servant. Should I lose, you may keep both of us."
There was a definite sparkle in the Goblin King's eye; no one had dared to run the Labyrinth for many centuries now.
"I accept," His voice changed from sheer glee to complete melancholy darkness. "You have thirteen hours in which to solve the Labyrinth, or you and your son become one of us forever."
And with that, it had begun.
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Remembering all that he had done for her, even if it was in a past life, Jareth grew very angry at the little scene before him. He had wanted to be pleasant with her this evening, but the anger that boiled over onto his face could not be helped. Xander still had his arms wrapped all-too-tightly around his Sarah, as the pair shifted into a fiery kind of tango together. Why were they still together?!
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Sarah didn't remember dancing through more than three songs with this man. She gazed longingly into his eyes, but somehow found herself comparing everything about him to Jareth. She had always done that, she realized. Why had she always allowed herself to do that? It had been the same with every guy she'd ever met. She's always compared them to the sensual blonde Fae who constantly tormented her, haunting her entire life up until now. He had only stopped because now he had no need to haunt her, he could really be there. She closed her eyes as Xander held her low in a dip. And as they danced, she silently wished that it was Jareth she was dancing with so closely. As if her heart had truly made a wish for him, Sarah looked up inot a pair of unreal mismatched eyes.
"Jareth," Shock was evident on her face. "What happened to Xander?"
He continued to tango with her, oblivious to anything else that was going on around them. At the moment, it was like it was just the two of them. They alone were all that existed in the world.
"You were expecting someone else?" He smirked.
"What happened to Xander?"
"Don't concern yourself with him, darling. He's somewhat... indisposed at the moment."
While they were swirling, he spun her around so that she caught a brief glance of Xander dancing with Hera wrapped around him, laughing up into his drunken eyes. He brought her back to face him almost instantly.
"You seemed to be thoroughly enjoying yourself," Jareth seemed almost angry now.
"Oh?"
"Am I not enough for you? Do you find my company so unpleasant that you feel the need to seek companionship elsewhere?"
"You are a little unnerving, but... No! You were gone! What did you expect me to do? I'm not going to wait for you and follow you around like a lost puppy!"
He tactfully decided to change the subject. "What did Adeira say to you earlier?"
"Oh... We talked about alotof things."
"Me?"
"Don't be so self-centered. Everything isn't always about you," She was scowling at him now.
During their dance, he pulled her close and held her tightly against his chest. Sarah noticed the music had shifted to a kind of sleepy waltz. She gasped when Jareth's lips brushed lightly against her ear.
"But you'd like it to be," His voice was rapidly approaching what could only be called a lecherous tone. "Admit it, Sarah."
He raised his arm and she twirled beneath him, then unexpectedly tried to move away from him. 'Oh, no you don't!' He thought, pulling her closer into his arms. She fell into some kind of clumsy dance, with her trying to escape his strong arms, and him effortlessly pulling her back to him. A part of her was curious, but another wanted only to be free of this... new kind of temptation.
"No, let me go!" She was causing heads to turn in their direction, which was ironically just what he'd hoped for. "Jareth..."
She gasped as she experienced her first kiss. And in front of all those people! Sarah wanted nothing more than to crawl away and die! And yet... Some part of her loved the way his lips felt pressing into hers. For a few brief moments, she was in ecstasy. It was exquisite, and suddenly she found she no longer cared that hundreds of people were watching them. She could feel their eyes burning into her, some with disgust, others with envy, and all of them making her cheeks flare. But she didn't pull away, she was too busy melting under his grasp.
This experience would soon get out of hand, and both of them knew it. Just when Sarah thought their kiss could not possibly get any more pleasurable, his tongue forced it's way past her lips. She thought she would explode with pleasure from the feel of his tongue scraping so suggestively against hers.
She made a slight noise when she felt goved fingers run luxuriously through her chocolate locks. His hands in her hair; his tongue entwined with hers; all of this from the man who called himself the Goblin King! It was becoming too much for her to bear. Why was he doing this? Such a blatant assault on her senses was a cruel thing to do. Before she knew it, she felt her legs hit something behind her. The back of her knees threatened to buckle, and Sarah realized she was being backed into a bed. 'Oh god, oh god,' She thought she was going to have a panic attack. 'What do I do now? He's backing me into a corner! It's not fair Her breathing was becoming more erratic, and Jareth pulled away from her, but only slightly. She looked around and realized in a panic that they were in his chambers again.
Lust glowed within his hungry, predatory eyes. Jareth grabbed her arms, forcing her down on the bed. She found it to be much softer now. He climbed on top of her, his knees going between her thighs. His hand slid under her skirt, and Sarah moaned in ecstasy. He growled darkly, biting into her neck with his fang-like canines. He had elicted an unexpected repsonse from her; fear.
She trembled in fright of what he was about to do to her. But she was still slightly curious. Timidly, she reached down and brushed a shaky hand against his hard member, causing Jareth to buck, and moan with delight. Frightened, she moved her hands around to caress his back.
"Sarah," His voice was full of lust. "Please touch me again, please." She sensed the desperation in his voice.
She could feel his erection rubbing between her thighs, and she blushed furiously. It was far larger than she had ever imagined, even with his provocative clothing. She squeaked without realizing it; she was not used to being this close to someone. And the thought that it was the Goblin King made her discomfort even worse.
Her pathetic little squeak seemed to only fuel his desire even more. Sarah's hands moved up to the back of his neck, where she thought she'd be safe. However, this only caused him to writhe even further in his lustful agony, as she ran her fingers through his golden hair, stroking the back of his neck playfully. He growled hungrily, and continued his assault on her neck. Wait, what was he doing?!
"Jareth I-- I can't."
"I'm sorry," He was fighting very hard to gain control of his senses. 'No,' He thought to himself. 'I am better than this, I am stronger than this. I must stop myself.'
Oh, to hell with it! Moaning again, Jareth slowly moved up to her face, forcefully sliding his tongue in and out of her mouth, as if it were a preview of things to come.
"Please let me," He was breathing in her ear now, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine. "It's been long, so long since I've been with a woman... And I want you."
"I'm not a woman, I'm just a girl! I can't do this," She pushed on his heavily muscled chest, trying in vain to shove him off of her small frame. "Get off me!"
When he only pressed against her harder, it scared Sarah even more. She felt a surge of pleasure mixed with panic building within her, and he could feel it too... She could feel his hands groping her, his teeth in her neck, his-- She fought the urge to scream. Her mind was a blur.
There was a knock at the door.
"We'll just have to finish this later," He said, finally lifting himself off her.
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Author's Note: Well, this was an amzing chapter, or at least I think so. In case you're wondering, the part in italics is a flashback, just like al the other earlier chapters I posted. I like the cutscene flashback thingys the best! They're awesome. Well, I've never written anything even close to this sexual in nature, so let me know what you thought of it. Hopefully I didn't do too bad. In the next chapter, we get to meet a new character, and hear about two others, yay! I added them completely randomly but now they've become an important part of the story. Just like the cutscenes... Oh well. I am also updating the story summary, sorry. I hated the old one.
KALINE: Uh oh, Jareth. You'd better run, I think I hear police sirens coming closer...
JARETH: (::whines::) But that's not illegal in the underground!
KALINE: My readers live aboveground.
JARETH: Oh shit! (::runs and hides::)