Chapter 26 Explanations

Sarah wasn't exactly in the mood to listen, but the seriousness of Jareth's expression convinced her that he was not going to be deterred. He stood up and began to pace around a bit as if trying to work off some of the excess energy that had built up inside them both. She sat up in the middle of the bed and grabbed the edge of the blanket. Now that she was paying attention she noticed that the bed was still made so if Jareth had been napping he hadn't been doing so under the covers. She shimmied a bit until she had enough blanket free to wrap around her rapidly cooling body.

"Okay," she said. "But if you actually expect me to listen then you need to cover yourself up a bit better as well." She looked him over pointedly. Jareth's leather pants were unbuttoned and hung very low on his hips and his chest was bare.

He smiled slightly at her comment and grabbed a robe that had been flung over a chair next to the bed. When he put it on Sarah had to smother a slight laugh. It was burgundy satin and floor length, which was not so very unusual; but it had a stiff collar which extended higher than his ears and came to six points in a sort of halo around his head. At the tip of each point a black teardrop jewel dangled and threw off little flashes of light. It was such a "Jareth" thing to wear that just looking at him made Sarah feel less nervous. She refrained from commenting and just looked up at him expectantly.

Now that he had her attention Jareth seemed at a loss as to where to begin. He paced up and down a few more times then stopped and sat on the bed next to Sarah. He looked even more tired and concerned than before. She reached out and squeezed his hand encouragingly.

"Okay. There are two things we need to discuss really and… well, I'll start with the easier part. The reason I can't, uh, lose my focus right now has to do with my ability to return you to your proper place and time when you need to go home."

That was not what Sarah had been expecting to hear. "Ummm, okay?"

"I can't actually turn back time. That would take more magic than any one person or creatures possesses. It's impossible."

Sarah sat up straighter, alarmed. "You mean my family thinks I've been missing for days? Oh my god, they're probably freaking out!"

"No, no. They won't have missed you yet. I promised I'd return you home around the same time you left. It won't be more than a few hours difference." Sarah sighed in relief but said nothing so Jareth continued. "I hadn't expected things to progress this far between us this fast. I thought that after we traveled to the castle I would declare myself to you and then send you home to think things over while I got everything settled. That would allow the timeline to catch up."

"What do you mean, catch up?"

"Well, I may not be capable of going back in time, but what I can do is slow it down. It is tremendously difficult, but I can also the flow of time in your world so that only a few minutes pass there for every hour that passes here. So you can be here for days but only a few hours will pass there."

"You're kidding! You can do that?"

"You've seen it before. The first time you were here I did the same thing, although it wasn't as dramatic of a difference then. Now it is taking almost all of my focus and energy to maintain it."

"Is that why you look a little… strained?"

"That's a polite way of putting it," he said with a small smile. "Yes, it takes some effort. I have not slept since you first stepped into this realm. If I were to break my concentration and events would speed up exponentially until they caught up to where they are supposed to be."

Sarah shook her head as a sign of confusion. "So what then, are you telling me that everything in my family's house is moving in slow motion? Or is it the whole town? Won't people notice?"

"They would have- if it worked like that- but it's not possible to simply slow down time in a single area. The process is global."

Sarah felt her jaw drop. "Global? As in the entire world is basically paused right now?"

"Essentially, yes. But paused is inaccurate."

She was stunned. If Jareth was capable of such a thing then he was more powerful than she could possibly have imagined. Was he omnipotent? The thought was terrifying. "How is that possible?" she asked. Jareth must have heard the hint of fear in her voice.

"How familiar are you with advanced physics concepts?" Sarah gave him a blank look. "What about general relativity and time dilation?" She continued to stare. "Well," he said before launching into an explanation of how gravity can affect spacetime and how physicists were only beginning to understand the relationship between speed, gravity and time. After a minute or two Sarah put her hand up to stop him.

"Okay, its magic," she said. "Magic that requires all your concentration."

"Almost all." Jareth smiled and touched her face. "I can spare some for other things. You'd be surprised how much you can accomplish when you understand how the universe works. I just can't perform any other complex magic."

"Or sleep, or make love to me," she pointed out.

Jareth leaned over and kissed her very slowly and deeply on the lips until Sarah lost her ability to think straight. "I would call that very complex magic," he said with a smile. "But yes, you're correct. I cannot do either of those things because I must always remain consciously aware of my grip on the spell or else time will, quite literally, get away from me."

Sarah leaned against Jareth and he wrapped his arm around her. She sat there for a few minutes enjoying his warmth while she processed everything he'd told her. Half the men she'd dated wouldn't even open the car door for her and Jareth had slowed time almost to a standstill so he could spend a few days in her company without her family worrying about her. His methods were strange and extreme, but they were also intensely gratifying. Sarah sat up with a start when another thought occurred to her.

"You must be exhausted! How can you go such a long time without sleep? I should go back so you can stop the spell. It's too much for you to do."

"I don't want you to leave just yet," he replied. "I can manage for a bit longer. I may not sleep but I mediate. That helps. I don't normally sleep that much anyway. I want you to be with me when I take back the castle." This last part was said firmly. "I need you by my side Sarah."

Sarah touched his face gently. "But I don't want you to suffer. If you want me to go with you then we should leave right away." She made a movement to get up but Jareth pulled her back into the circle of his arm.

"No, not yet. I agree that we might have to speed things along a bit. You've thrown my plan out the window," he smiled as he said this. "I thought if you saw me as the big hero, going back to the castle and setting things to right that it might help you to vieo me in a better light. I know your first impression of me was not the best and I didn't think you could love me considering how I acted towards you in the past."

"Yes, you were a bit nasty at time," she mused. "Why is that?"

"You were fifteen years old. You can't even imagine how long I've waited to find someone to love and when she finally comes into my life she's fifteen?! I was angry that I couldn't have you. I knew I had to wait until you were ready and that you might meet someone else before I had the chance to be with you. It was a difficult time for me."

"So why didn't you reveal yourself to me before now?"

"It wasn't the right time. Everything you've experienced, every day of your life has changed you, made you grow into the woman you are now. I wasn't sure if you'd ever love me, but I knew I couldn't force you to do so; and I couldn't push you until you were ready."

Again Sarah was touched by his unexpected thoughtfulness. She could measure the amount of time she'd known she was in love with Jareth in hours and it filled her with impatience to be with him, but he'd waited years and years for her. Her heart swelled painfully in her chest.

"But wait," she said in confusion. "You thought telling me this might make me love you less? That's crazy. I'm a little freaked out by the magic time slowing thing, but really it only makes me love you more that you would do so much to be with me."

Jareth smiled but also sighed. "No, that's not what I was referring to. It's just that it was easier to explain that part first. The second thing I want to talk to you about is a bit more complicated."

"More complicated than magic and advanced physics being used to slow time on a global scale?" Sarah asked. She hadn't understood ninety percent of what Jareth had already told her so she was concerned about what could possibly be more complicated.

"much more," he confirmed. "I need to tell you about myself, Sarah. My history. You're probably not going to like it. It's not a pretty story."

Jareth's tone was quiet but ominous. It made Sarah shiver a bit. Her hormones were still riding the swell of lust and her newfound love for Jareth burned brightly inside her. It seemed doubtful that anything he said would change how she felt, but his words sent a shiver through her nonetheless.

"Okay," she said. "I'm listening."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Note to readers: First of all, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has commented or followed my story so far. It really gives me a genuine thrill each time I see that someone has liked it. I will be continuing the story after a short break to work on an original writing project of mine. When I pick this up again I intend to tell the remainder of the story from Jareth's perspective so it may be a bit different. I've always intended for this to be a novel length project and Jareth just really seems to have more to tell us during the last part of the tale.