"Sarah you are not eating" Jareth admonished.
"I am not hungry" Sarah said tiredly. She sat slumped in her chair, ball gown spread out around her, framing her delicate body. Her tired eyes met Jareth's with a wearied look of defeat in them.
"You need to eat" Jareth told her.
"I am not hungry" Sarah repeated. She smiled sweetly at the Goblin King, "And besides you can't make me!" Sarah laughed bitterly.
"You need your strength, Sarah. You need nourishment in order to get well. This is a rule that bodes well for both mortal and fae."
"I've had enough" Sarah said quietly, rising from her chair. Her thin slippers clicked delicately on the floor. She went to stand beside Jareth, who had stopped eating and was watching her with narrowed eyes.
"It's rather hot tonight" Sarah remarked, "Don't you think so?"
"Not particularly" Jareth said, his eyes glued to Sarah's face, "I actually think its quite cold in here. Of course I could be wrong." His eyes flicked towards Sarah's, searching for some sort of sign.
"Perhaps" Sarah said, putting her arms around Jareth's shoulders. He sat still in his chair, relishing the feel of her, his Sarah.
"This feeling, or rather this night reminds me of the summer nights I had as a child" Sarah said. "When I was younger, my father allowed me to spend a few summers with my mother's family. Her parents were pleased to have a grandchild, and since they rarely saw their own daughter, they welcomed me each summer with open arms."
"So you spent time with them" Jareth said.
"I did. They lived in an old farmhouse in the country. It was very isolated and some would call it lonely, but I loved it."
"You would" Jareth scoffed, "You were probably flying about the fields in your costumes, just itching to say the words."
"I was " Sarah said. She smiled and her face lit up and for a moment the deathly pallor left. "It was there that the dreams of the Labyrinth began to take root. My play acting there only led to a more intense fascination."
"Naturally" Jareth drawled. Sarah leaned down to kiss him. His hand shot out and sought a firmer grip on her, pulling her into his lap. Sarah gave him a playful shove.
"The last summer I spent there, I found the book. It was in my mother's old room. I scoured the room each time I visited, searching for something she left behind, so it surprised me on my last visit that I found it, out of the blue. It was like magic."
"It was magic" Jareth said matter of fact.
"Yes of course" Sarah said slowly, "I realize that now" Jareth leaned into her, smelling the sweet smell of her skin.
"It was fate" he breathed, as he covered her neck with light kisses. "Your destinies and mine were written in the stars before our births. It was meant to be for us to cross each other's paths." His lips traveled further up to meet hers, while his hand stroked her satin cheek.
"Sarah you are warm"
"I said it was hot" Sarah murmured while kissing him.
"You are burning up!" Jareth growled, clasping her face in his hands.
"I am fine" Sarah said, swatting his hand away. "You worry too much Jareth. You are the Goblin King for heaven's sake. Isn't your over all demeanor suppose to be all fun and games?"
"Foolish child, stop baiting me. I know you like the back of my hand, so stop avoiding the truth!" Sarah got up and walked away towards the door. She stopped when she reached the door way.
"I am not denying the truth Jareth. I am only making things easier for you. You are the one who is denying the truth." She turned on her heel and was steadily making her way towards the courtyard.
"Sarah where the bloody hell are you going? I am not in the mood for games tonight child. I am warning you" Jareth growled. Sarah glanced back over her shoulder.
"Pity. I am in the mood for games" she sniffed and then picking up her skirts she left. Jareth looked at the place she just vacated.
"Bloody fucking women" he muttered and then swept up and followed her. His leather boots made a loud clatter on the courtyard stones. "Sarah stop playing games you foolish girl! Come out where I can see you or must I send the Goblins to find you?"
"Say the words Goblin King!" a voice called out. Jareth glared in the direction of the voice, trying to find Sarah amid all the bedlam of flowers.
"Come out right now and I promise not to turn you into a Goblin" Jareth said. Sarah laughed.
"Fine" she said as she crept out from behind a persimmon tree, "Just so you know" she grinned cheekily, "I was planning on giving you the full twenty four hours to find me."
"How generous of you" Jareth quipped. Sarah looked at him, the light in her eyes gone.
"Sometimes," she began, "you can reach the limit of a person's generosity."
"Impossible Sarah" Jareth said. Then making a quick move for her, he grabbed her and kissed her. She tasted sweet like springtime, and yet slightly tangy like spring fruit. She had been eating a persimmon.
"I will give you everything you ever wanted Sarah. Every wish or desire will be fulfilled. Just tell me what you want!"
"Some things...some wishes must go unfulfilled Goblin King" Sarah said. Her pale face turned towards the sky which was now darkening. Stars were beginning to appear, twinkling and shedding their light on the couple.
Sarah looked at Jareth in the moon light, his profile sharp and icy, his eyes wary and dangerous, and yet full of love for Sarah. Sarah could see the love in his eyes. Wild and passionate, tinged with danger, only the kind of love that a fae could give. Many mortal women would have sold their souls to possess this kind of love, and Sarah had it, indefinitely.
"I recall you saying that you move the stars for no one" Sarah told him. Her green eyes glimmered in the starlight, mocking Jareth, trying to hide the sadness that she was feeling.
"It is true" Jareth told her slowly, as if afraid to admit that this one thing was beyond his power.
"They also say" Sarah began, moving away from and stepping further into the dark, "that our destinies are written in the stars."
"So? I know this!" Jareth snarled, "What are you getting at? What are you insinuating little girl? Are you unsatisfied with what I have to give? You mortals are all the same always wanting more!"
"Are you that blind?" Sarah asked.
"I see whats in front of me" Jareth said coldly, his mismatched eyes blazing, "an insipid foolish girl who is never satisfied. Someone who never heard of the phrase let sleeping dragons lie."
"You fool" Sarah gave a dark laugh, "I am dyeing. Can't you see?"
"You are not!" Jareth thundered. He conjured up a dark crystal and smashed it against his thigh, the shards flying everywhere. "I gave you my immortality."
"You gave me a touch of immortality" Sarah said sadly, "But it doesn't matter. I am going to die Jareth. I feel my body dyeing more and more each day."
"I will find a solution!" Jareth snarled flying towards her. He cornered Sarah against the persimmon tree that she had hid behind and kissed her. His lips were hard and cold and the kisses they gave were cruel and brutal. When he was done kissing her, Sarah was left breathless and limp. "I still have the secrets!" he gasped. "All the kingdoms of this realm were forced to give me individual secrets, some of the must possess healing secrets! I will find a way, everyday I search for a way to save you Sarah, and I swear I will! I will find a way. We were meant to be together and we will. For forever and ever."
"Time is running out Jareth. I can feel it" Sarah said dully.
"I gave you my immortality" Jareth said firmly, "It will keep."
"I am slipping Jareth. Whatever you gave me is keeping me here, but barely." Sarah choked back a sob, "and I am sorry, but I can't fight it anymore. If I could, I would live in a pain filled existence, each day just to be with you. But I can't. I feel like I am clinging to a ledge in the Escher room, with my finger nails! Day after day I am there struggling to stay on."
"And you will!" Jareth insisted, "All I am asking is for more time Sarah. Don't fail me now!"
