CHAPTER FIFTY GUYS! WHAAA HOW INSANE IS THAT?!


Dren proved to be not only a terrible conversational partner – he answered every polite observation Sarah made with a grunt – but someone with a severe lack of consideration for personal space. When his hands slid down Sarah's waist to her backside for the third time, she snapped.

"I'm sorry, is my ass a magnet or are your arms just really tired of being held at waist level?"

Dren stared at her stupidly, and as the implications of her outburst and its rudeness dawned on her, she blushed crimson. "Uh – that is – y-your dancing skills, they…"

A touch on her elbow made her start, and their dance stumbled to an awkward halt. Ythan was standing behind her; she had never been so glad to see anyone in her life.

"I'm terribly sorry, might I cut in?"

Dren looked confused, and Ythan took advantage of this so skilfully that before she knew it Sarah was waltzing once more. The physician was a much smoother partner, and he had the grace not to wince every time she made a misstep. Jareth had spent two weeks trying to teach her to dance, and only partially succeeded; besides, the goblins tended to get in the way.

"How are you doing?" he asked quietly. Sarah looked at him suspiciously, but he didn't seem to be laughing.

"Not too bad," she said resignedly. "Hey, can you see Violetta?"

Ythan craned his neck. "Yes… she's over there."

"Is she still talking to Jareth?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Does she look like she's flirting unashamedly?"

"…No," he said unconvincingly.

"Ythan!"

"I'm sure it's fine, Sarah. Just try to enjoy yourself. Jareth will be upset if he thinks you are unhappy, you know that."

It was true, so she subsided and tried to relax. It worked, more or less; Ythan distracted her by telling her inappropriate things about the other guests, making her giggle, and when the dance ended no less than four men tried to claim her for the next one. It was rather a nice feeling, she had to admit.


Half an hour later, two more glasses of champagne, and several dances later, Sarah was decidedly enjoying herself, even if Jareth had yet to detach himself from everyone who was eager to talk to him. Beth appeared, and grabbed her as she was putting down her empty glass.

"Hey! Want to find the bathrooms with me? I feel kind of self-conscious going by myself."

"Sure. Do you like the party?" They linked arms and made their way across the room.

"Oh, yes! But everyone keeps assuming I'm a pixie because of my height," admitted Beth, scrunching up her nose. Sarah laughed.

"Yeah, well, at least you don't get people constantly asking how on earth I met Jareth. I mean, 'I wished my baby brother away at fifteen' just starts getting corny after a while, you know?"

The bathrooms were unsettlingly human in appearance, all polished black marble and white tiles; if it hadn't been for the two beautiful women who floated out the door past them, both so clearly not human, Sarah could have imagined herself in some gorgeous hotel or something similar, such as the Ritz. She was washing her hands under a tap that only worked if you asked it nicely, while Beth checked her makeup in the mirror, when the door swung open and a group of Fae women swept in, all giggling amongst themselves.

"Ooh, look at me, I'm an ugly little mortal girl and I have two left feet," one was saying mockingly. Sarah froze.

"Jareth is so clearly stringing her along," came Violetta's voice. "You should have seen the way he was drooling all over me. As if he would want someone like her to rule the Labyrinth! How old is she anyway, twelve?"Amidst the vapid tittering of her companions, she sauntered to a mirror and slipped her mask over her head in order to inspect her face.

Sarah and Beth stared at her, wide-eyed, and completely lost for words. Sarah was aware of a cold dread seeping through her. It had been all of five years since she had been bullied at school, but this didn't feel any less hurtful. Even though the situation was so patently ridiculous – who did Violetta think she was, the Queen Bee? – the old insecurity came flooding back, and she would have given anything to be out of there. Should she pretend she hadn't heard, or try and sneak out in abject shame? She was contemplating diving back into one of the cubicles and hiding there until they all left, when one of the brainless followers tugged at Violetta's arm and pointed to Sarah, standing there with her lips parted in uncertainty.

"Oh, Sally," said Violetta, smiling unpleasantly. "I didn't see you there. Having a nice time?"

Sarah stared at the Fae woman, at a complete loss for words. I can't believe Jareth ever liked this bitch, was all she could think, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to say it. Fortunately, the ever-loyal Beth leapt to her defence.

"Excuse me, but since this isn't high school and we're all adults here, I think we can drop the snide insults," she said, looking as stern as she possibly could at five foot one and in a lacy gown. "Besides, we are here at special request of the king, and I don't think he'll be too pleased to hear how you're treating us."

A couple of the other women looked ashamed of themselves, but Violetta completely ignored Beth and swished past her to where Sarah was standing.

"Do you know why Jareth has brought you here?" she said softly.

Sarah, for the first time, felt unexpectedly grateful for her mask, feeling that it was more a measure of protection than anything else. "B-because he loves me," she stammered out, clutching the cool surface of the sink behind her for support. Dammit. Where's my bad-ass attitude when I need it? Apparently cowering in a dark corner somewhere…

"No," said Violetta amusedly. "He brought you here, to parade you in front of the whole damn Court, because he knows that none of us would dream of taking you seriously. You're nothing but a pastime for him; a little amusement to keep him from boredom."

"That's not true!" yelled an incensed Beth, and Sarah gritted her teeth and lifted her chin, finding courage from somewhere deep within to confront the bully. That was all Violetta was, after all – a gloriously beautiful, glamorous, immortal bully.

"Beth's right. You're a liar, and you don't know what you're talking about," she declared. "Jareth loves me, and he's going to marry me. You're just jealous – plain old spiteful jealous." Why am I talking like someone in an Enid Blyton book? Ah well, it seems to be working.

Her opponent drew back, looking for a second as though she was going to slap her. "Why, you little mortal scum," she said calmly. "I should – " But she stopped, as abruptly as if someone had choked her off, and went white. "No," she whispered. "It can't be."

"It can't be what?" said Sarah loudly, feeling unexpectedly in control of the situation. There was a taut silence, and then Violetta lifted a immaculately manicured hand to the necklace that had been Jareth's Valentine gift, almost touching it but not quite. Sarah jerked away. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she exclaimed.

"Gods above," whispered Violetta. "It's real."

"What are you talking about?" She was feeling oddly scared. The Fae's face hardened into something that was a mixture of anger and hatred.

"Just because you're his precious plaything now doesn't mean anything," she spat. "He'll toss you aside eventually, I can assure you of that. He wouldn't be the first among the Fae to take a mortal wife. You weaklings have one advantage… your fertility. He'll churn plenty of squealing brats out of you, no doubt, but in the end that's all you'll be: his broodmare. And when you're grown old and repulsive, he won't want you any more. Nobody will."

In utter shock, Sarah opened her lips to make a scathing reply and could only gasp. Hot tears welled in her eyes and soaked into the silken fabric of her mask. Violetta smiled nastily, her poise regained, and slid her own crimson mask back over her face.

"Enjoy your evening," she said sweetly.


Again, sorry for the length, but hopefully the rapidity in updates will mollify you - and it was definitely due to the lovely reviews from all of you, thanks so much! Please keep up these bountiful offerings, they're the only thing sustaining me in my exile from my home city... okay I've definitely been studying too much Dante.

So, since you guys claim to like the personal touch, here are musings:

1) On Bullying

I spent most of my school years feeling incredibly lonely and unloved. I was never bullied outright, but girls can be cruel and I was one of those people on the edge of the group who never really got taken notice of; I still remember how if I ever ventured to make a comment, attempting to join in the conversation, I would be given scathing looks as if to say "How dare you try to be one of us?". No matter how old or how mature we are, someone like Violetta can reduce us to the very worst version of ourselves. So it may seem that Sarah is a coward here, but I think I'd say more that Violetta is playing on her weaknesses and her insecurity is something she can't help.

2) On Psycho Exes

My boyfriend has one of these... and while I don't think a meeting with her would ever go quite like this one, I don't think it would be a fun experience. But we should remember that they are human too, and Violetta may be a cow but I've tried to give her a character rather than being a two-dimensional plot device. Let me know if it's worked.

Thanks for the birthday wishes. The boyfriend (J) gave me a 60th anniversary LOTR volume, with all the original illustrations. Have I mentioned that he's a keeper?

LOVE AND GLITTER!

P.S. Dammit Coco, stop writing awesome reviews I can't reply to (please don't though). Thanks so much for the respect, and love, and especially glitter. *Bathes in it*