Slow Burn
Chapter 29: The Bonds of Friendship
Kelly slowly turned the letter over in her hands, in the solitude of her room. Her mother had said it was on their front door step, and not in the mailbox. Strange... oit said it was from Sarah, but she was not so sure. She had to read the return address several times before believing it. Pink painted nails ripped open the letter within seconds, she was so anxious to hear how her best friend was doing.
'Dear Kelly,' The letter said. 'Hi, how have you been? I am fine. My husband says you can come and spend a couple of weeks with us here. There is a plane ticket enclosed. Sorry, but we could only send one, just for you. I'm sure your Mom will understand. The flight leaves tomorrow. You'll be getting here just in time for a ball we're going to be having. It'll be alot of fun, and I hope you can make it! Oh, and don't worry about a dress, we'll have one made for you if you decide to come. There are so many wonderful things here, and I can't wait to see you again! See you soon, Kel.
- Sarah.'
Well, it was nice to know she was still loved. Haha. Kelly was so excited, she couldn't wait to go! But she had to ask her Mom... That could be a problem. She raced from her room with the letter, and plane ticket in hand.
"Mom!" She called halfway down the hall. Her mother appeared, only half dressed. "I read the letter, and-" She stopped. "Where are you going?"
"I have a meeting to go to, sorry. I know I said I'd take you to see your boyfriend, but I have other things to do. If I don't go, I could lose my job."
Kelly knew that meant that she was going out to sleep with some guy so she could pay the bills. They had an understanding. It was something along the lines of don't ask, don't tell. She had never asked what her mother did for a living, but she knew deep down she was a hooker. No one went to a business meeting dressed like that!
"Well," She decided to go ahead and ask her first, so she could start packing. She knew as well as Sarah that she wouldn't care, as long as she knew where her daughter was going. "Sarah and her husband invited me to fly overseas to their country, and visit. They sent me a place ticket, and everything, see? The flight leaves tomorrow, so I want to know if I can go."
"Sure you can, sweetie," Her mother smiled sweetly. "Just have fun. If your flight leaves tomorrow, then you'd better start packing, it's getting late. I'll see you as soon as the meeting's over, I promise."
"Thanks, bye Mom!" She smiled, and threw her arms around the lovable whore, in spite of herself.
"Bye pumpkin. Wish me luck."
After her Mom left, the young blonde girl raced down the hall. Her ponytail was flying wildly, and she threw open her closet to pack. She only had one duffel bag, but that would have to do. She packed her favorite jeans and sweater, in case it was cold, and a tank top, in case it was warm. She'd never heard of such a country, so she had no idea what the weather was like. She knew nothing about it. but she knew that was where her friend was, and she wanted to go, and she was going, and it would be fun, and the hell with everything else, and that was that.
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Meanwhile, Sarah was bombarding Jareth with questions about how Kelly would get here. "I didn't notice any planes flying around down here. How is she supposed to get underground in a plane? And what's going to happen when she boards the flight to some place you made up!"
"The country is not made up, it exists. I simply used the name of a place that is not very well-known. And the 'Underground' is not literally underground," He paused, as if he heard something, and then continued walking through the garden, as they had been for near an hour now.
"Well, you could've fooled me!" She scoffed, walking ahead to sniff a flower she'd never seen before.
"Don't touch that!" he grabbed her back, just as a large vine reached out to grab her, and he pulled her away from it. "Vile weeds... I really do have to have my gardener do something about those pests."
"Don't change the subject. You never answered my questions."
"You have so many," The Goblin King chuckled. "I would not know where to begin."
"You're not funny."
"Nor do I claim to be."
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The moment Kelly got to the airport reality sunk in on her. Her mother had just asked some guy to give her a ride, and he had agreed in return for her not missing tomorrow's "meeting". She thanked the man, and hauled her duffle bag out of the passenger seat behind her.
As she was standing in line, she wondered what kinds of new things she would see. She was so excited! It would be so hard to leave her friend again, once the fun was over, Kelly realized. 'But it's better not to think about things like that right now. I'm going to have a blast, and that's all that matters.'
It was somewhat of a hassle to get through airport security.
"Flight one-thirteen leaving for Alcaqueroratiksh, now boarding..." The voice over the loud speaker announced.
When her black sneakers touched the floor just on the other side of the boarding gate, Kelly disappeared into thin air. No one seemed to remember the little blonde girl who was just there moments ago...
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The couple walked on for a time, until finally he could stand it no longer. He just had to bring up yesterday. He hadn't wanted to, but... it bothered him. "Why is it you were so uneasy around my parents yesterday?"
"I don't know what you mean." She abruptly turned away from him, trying to hide behind her long hair. A sure sign that she was lying.
"Yes. You do," With slow, patient steps, he circled her carefully. "Why are you so uneasy around my father? He was staring you down, trying to unnerve you. And apparently, it worked."
"No, everything is fine."
"Sarah... I know you've been keeping something from me. I just don't know what it is. But it make things so much easier for us both if you would only tell me."
"Fine," She hung her head in shame. "But not out here. I love this place, and it would be such a shame to spoil it for me. Let's go inside, where I hate it." Her attempt at making a joke ended badly...
They walked inside in silence. Jareth noticed his wife was taking the smallest, shortest possible steps she could manage. She was dreading this, for some reason. Conversation had never come so easily between the two of them, but he had grown tired of these games long ago. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her along, regardless of how much she dragged her heels.
"Come on," At last he sighed, letting Sarah go just outside their bedchamber. "What is it you are so afraid of, Sarah?"
"Every time we go in that bedroom... We end up doing a whole lot more than just talking!"
"We'll sit in the chairs," He rolled his eyes. "Does it matter right now? I just want you to tell what is going on. And I am growing very impatient, now-"
He was interrupted when a skinny little blonde girl appeared before them. So, the spell he had cast had worked to perfection. That was good, if not for the worst timing ever!
"Sarah!" She squealed.
"Kelly!" Was the response as Sarah pulled away from him.
'Oh great... This one's a squealer too...' He thought glumly. 'Just what I need.'
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A/N: I know it's not the best chapter, but it revealed a little more about Kelly, right? I want to say thank you to all those who have reviewed! I love you guys! (::hugs you all::) I will try to make the next chater longer. I am trying to keep all of them between 1500 and 2000 words just to be uniform. That might mean there will be alot more chapters than I planned, though. Lol. It's a nice break from any worries of the High King for now. And yes, that was the best I could do for getting Kelly to where they are. I had thought about having her Mom say she couldn't go, and then she could end up getting all mad and wishing herself away or something. "What if something happened to me? Would she care? I bet she wouldn't even care if Goblins took me away! I wish the Goblins WOULD come and take me away, right now!" And then she could have ended up getting taken there by Jareth anyway. But no, I thought it was more creative the other way, with the airport and all. That other idea would have just been a lazy shortcut, anyway. And then I would have had nothing else to fill the chapter with. Just so you know, I am making this up as I go along, so... Yeah. -Kaline Reine
