Holy crap, are we already on chapter 36? How did this happen?
Anyway - fluff ahead! You have been warned...
Valentine's day dawned bright and cold, and Sarah was up for her 9am conversation class. For some reason she felt incredibly nervous. When was Jareth going to pop up? She'd been half-afraid he would arrange some extravagant gesture and fill her room with flowers… but there was no sign of him. Only a few goblins were around, but that was fairly normal on a Monday morning – they stayed up late on Sunday nights, getting drunk on goblin ale and singing karaoke in the goblin pub, The Mouldy Sock. Even Dodi, who was always impeccably neat, looked a little hungover today as he made sure she had all the right books and notes for the day's lectures.
"Uh…" She couldn't resist asking him. "Dodi, have you seen His Majesty today?"
The goblin blinked bleary eyes at her. "S'asleep," he said briefly.
"Oh." That was fine, of course. He was probably just tired. And it wasn't as if she'd been expecting some grand, flamboyant gift… Anyway, Valentine's day wasn't a big deal. Maybe Jareth wasn't really sold on the idea. Now she came to think about it, the whole thing was a bit ridiculous.
She towelled dry her hair and dressed, trying hard not to look at the desk where her little pile of gifts waited innocently. She had to fight the urge to cram it all into the bin.
The cold morning air was like a stinging slap in the face, and Sarah very nearly turned right round and got back into bed for the rest of the day. Instead she heaved a sigh and began the walk down to the university buildings. Predictably, all the shops on the way were festooned with pink and red balloons, love hearts, streamers, and goodness knew what else. There seemed to be a superabundance of couples today, or perhaps she was just being sensitive. They were all holding hands and looking sickeningly happy. Sarah rolled her eyes and hurried on.
Lectures dragged past, even though she had friends in each class – Erica, Jaed, Sylvia and Tomas. With the exception of Jaed, all of them seemed to be twitterpated; Erica had apparently met some gorgeous guy in her English lecture, and Sylvia and Tomas had finally admitted they were a couple. All of them asked about Jareth and whether she was going out tonight for Valentine's. It was a relief to see Jaed just because she knew he probably wouldn't mention anything to do with the bloody day.
Eventually, by three, her day was over and she was free to go home, with a splitting headache and increased anxiety. Would Jareth be waiting for her when she got back? Or would the house be empty? She wasn't entirely sure which was worse. She remembered the last time she'd got home feeling this grumpy and made her mind up that no matter what happened, she wouldn't lose her cool and go mad at Jareth. After all, it wasn't his fault she was a crazy person and over-thought… well, everything.
Sarah trudged up the path to her front door, got her key out, hastily ruffled her hair on the off chance Jareth was waiting for her (though nothing short of a miracle could stop it from looking flat after the day she'd had), opened the door…
And fell into the Underground.
Quite literally, as it happened, because instead of the familiar musty-smelling, dim-lit hallway, she was stumbling down some stone steps and onto a soft, rich carpet. She cried out, her hands splaying forwards to prevent herself from tumbling head over heels, and as she did so caught the rich scent of magic and mystery that was the Labyrinth.
Struggling to her feet, she turned round in a panic, only to find that at the top of the short flight of stairs was a door that no longer led to the cold grey world of the humans. Instead, it opened into a corridor, walled with the beautiful sandy stone that belonged to the Castle at the centre of the Labyrinth. She whirled round, and gasped.
The steps led down into a large, cosy room that was decorated so lavishly Sarah immediately assumed that it belonged to Jareth's private suite. It was empty except for a small goblin beside her at the foot of the stairs; it was asleep and snoring loudly and indelicately. Sarah took the opportunity to look round. Several closed, richly carved doors led to mysterious rooms, but one wall was composed mostly of an enormous, arched window that looked out onto the Labyrinth. From what she could see, it was currently carpeted with a thick layer of snow, but the warmth in the room was delicious, especially after the cold English air. This was probably due to the enormous fire blazing smugly in the quaint cast-iron grate, chuckling to itself as sparks flew and logs popped.
In front of the hearth, close enough to be toasty warm but not too hot, was a little wooden table covered in a white lacy cloth and laid for two with the kind of food that Sarah somehow associated with her grandparents – high tea, that was what it was: scones, with butter and jam and cream… a cake… slices of bread to toast, with what looked like pâté and some oniony delicacy to eat on it… some flaky cheesy biscuits that looked as though they'd crumble if you touched them… great slices of different kinds of cheese, with crackers and grapes to go with it… even a teapot in the middle, covered by an incongruously and clearly goblin-knitted tea cosy. It all looked so pleasant and welcoming that Sarah began to smile, despite a scraped knee and a conviction that she was dreaming. Had Jareth really set this up?
She was just wondering whether it was worth sneaking through one of the doors to see if she could find Jareth's bedroom (for… research purposes), when the door behind her burst open and Jareth himself, followed by a retinue of faithful goblins, entered the room. The goblins had between them cutlery, teacups and saucers, a sugar pot, a milk jug, a pot of cream, and bowls of what appeared to be raspberries (but why? And how? It was February! – and then Sarah remembered that she was in the Labyrinth). Jareth, meanwhile, was juggling with an enormous plate of chocolate brownies.
He stopped, clearly astonished to see her, and a look of outrage crossed his face. "TENBY!" he roared.
The goblin that had been happily snoring woke up with a grunt and jumped to its feet, dazed. "Y'r majesty!" it said, saluting smartly.
"Tenby, I expressly assigned you to which duty?" Jareth's voice oozed with politeness – always a bad sign.
Tenby looked abjectly guilty. It muttered something under its breath. Sarah, fascinated, bent down to try and hear it but couldn't make out anything intelligible.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that," said Jareth, smooth as silk.
"Guard dooty to let the Lady Sarah in on time."
"And did you fulfil that doo – duty?"
The goblin hung its head. "No, y'r majesty."
Jareth sighed, managing to express a wealth of weariness and disillusionment even without the use of his hands. "Bog," he said simply, and poor Tenby disappeared.
Sarah nearly protested, but she got distracted by the brownies. They looked delicious, but not very… brownie-ish. More like fudge sauce than brownie, in fact. They were threatening to drip off the plate but Jareth, with an air of wounded dignity, straightened the plate and stalked royally down the stairs and past her to the table, where he set down his burden. The goblins followed and carefully deposited their objects, then one and all disappeared with a remarkable lack of chaos.
Jareth straightened up and faced Sarah with an oddly defensive expression, as though he wasn't sure of her reaction.
"You're early," he said in a tone of crisp irritation. "I'm not ready for you yet."
"I'm sorry," faltered Sarah. "I didn't know, I can go if you…"
"Don't be silly;" Jareth waved off the suggestion briskly. "Just give me a moment to change."
It was at this point that she noticed that not only did Jareth have flour on his nose and a smudge of chocolate on his forehead, but he was wearing something that looked suspiciously like an apron. Had Jareth been baking? Before she could ask, he had inclined his head politely to her and disappeared into one of the adjoining rooms. Sarah was left to enjoy the warmth of the fire and the smell of the food. She unbuttoned her heavy winter coat and carefully put it on a side-table, along with her bag full of textbooks. Then, glancing round hastily, she crossed over to where there was a round mirror decorated beautifully with an ivory frame, and patted her hair again and checked her make-up and that nothing was in her teeth. She looked all right, considering her long day. She did rather wish she wasn't wearing jeans… though now she came to think of it, they weren't making her feel as constricted and uncomfortable as she would have expected.
She looked down at herself and did a double take.
No longer was she clad in common-place jeans and her favourite but somewhat faded sweater; she was wearing a dress – a long, fairy-tale dress, she thought dazedly, knowing absolutely nothing about historical styles of clothing. It was a shade of clear dark green, sleeveless with a soft white camisole worn underneath. The bodice was cut perfectly, tailoring to her figure, and the skirt fell right past her ankles – she swished her hips and the material swirled around her… ooh, it was a nice feeling. She looked back into the mirror and her mouth fell open. Her reflection had changed still more. Her hair was suddenly cascading down her back in a very princess-y manner; she had what appeared to be emeralds (but surely they couldn't be? she thought doubtfully, and wistfully) in her ears and there was just the slightest hint of make up on her eyes.
The door opened and Jareth walked in, regally. He was dressed in his best clothes, or perhaps some of his best clothes – Sarah had an idea that most of his clothes were his best, and that there were a lot of them. He looked elegant and slim and crisp and kingly from the top of his unruly blonde head to the tip of his leather-clad toes – and he was hers. She indulged in a delicious moment of gloating.
"Ah, I see you've discovered my charmed mirror," he said lightly as he came towards her. "You look wonderful, Sarah."
"Th-thank you," she stammered, still bemused over the concept of a charmed mirror. "This is all… I just…"
Jareth's serious mask cracked for a moment as he grinned. It was an elfin, mischievous, Jarethy grin and all his pointed teeth showed in it. "Do you like it? That obliging child Beth helped me plan it. After all, we've had a few intrigues Aboveground, but there's nothing like home."
"It's lovely," said Sarah frankly. She could feel the tension in her shoulders draining away in the warmth of the fire and the comfort of Jareth's company. "Just perfect, Jareth, thank you." Impulsively, she stood on her tiptoes – the mirror hadn't given her shoes, which she rather liked – and kissed him. For a second she thought he was going to pull away for some reason, but then he slid his arms round her waist and pulled her into him with a groan that made her stomach flip. The world fell away for a while and she felt a little lightheaded when she finally broke the kiss. Jareth's blue eyes were intense.
"No one kisses like you," he said softly. "Now come; you must be hungry, Sarah-mine."
Ugh. I love J/S fluff as much as the next person but this is laying it on a bit thick. I can't help it though... the next chapter is even fluffier. Blame it on Valentine's day. Or on the fact that I happen to have fallen in love recently ^_^
Thanks so much for all your reviews. They spurred me on to write much quicker than usual so congratulate yourselves! And you're all so lovely and flattering, you make me blush with your praise, stop it (don't). It means a lot though. I'm coming to have a bit more confidence in my writing, and beginning to see that even if it is just a silly love-story it can still bring enjoyment to people!
A crystal that will grant you your dreams to the person who correctly guesses what Jareth's gift to Sarah will be.
Oh, also: the nommy cheese biscuits? Ask Sylphien about them. I sent her my recipe and she claims to have made them :P
Glittery love!