Sarah shifted her cheek against velvet, turning away from the firelight. Something about that seemed wrong, and she sucked in a deep breath of crisp, dry air. She opened one eye and found herself next to Jareth's fireplace. She uncurled from the velvet chair to face him placidly seated in a matching chair on the opposite side.
"Welcome back," he said, moving a chess piece on a board at his elbow. "I much prefer the beginning of this visit to our last."
Sarah remembered her fit of temper and looked away, embarrassed. "It seems you've done some decorating." She motioned to the carved table which held the chessboard, a bowl of fruit, and a 13-houred clock. "It looks...cozy."
"Yes, well, there didn't seem to be much point before," he said, taking a small bunch of grapes from the bowl and offering it to her. "Hungry?"
She quickly shook her head. How does he make one word sound like an invitation to - get a grip, Sarah. He's not baiting you, for once. Probably.
He settled back into his chair, lazily eating the grapes while he considered the chessboard. "Do you play, Precious?"
"Yes, actually," she smiled, sitting forward in the chair. "I love games."
"Then join me," he offered, sliding the board between them.
Sarah was black, and she could see from the game in progress that she was missing only one knight and rook. Jareth was missing his queen, a rook, and several pawns.
"It looks like you've made some poor trades," she commented.
"Perhaps. However, a queen once lost is not always lost forever."
He was a devious player, but Sarah had her own tricks. He laughed with pleasure when she used a particularly sly move to take a white rook.
"You play like a Fae. When did you learn the game? You did not care for such things when you were young," he noted, pushing forward a pawn.
"I got into chess in high school, after… what happened. When I went to college I played in the park near my apartment when I needed to clear my head. We play over lunch sometimes at work. I'm a programmer." Was a programmer. Shit.
"I would have thought you would pursue the theater," he replied, arranging his bishops in defense against her queen.
She removed her queen to safety. "No, I lost my taste for acting. After I got Toby back, I just couldn't. I decided to get serious- once I started studying I found I had a head for numbers and logic, so I ended up getting out of college with a computer science degree."
"Determined to forget your dreams, then?" His face was passive, studying the board.
"It's just…" she began, biting her lip. "I knew I had lost something important. I had to do it, for Toby. But I also knew I was diminished because of what happened. It hurt less to put it out of my mind completely."
"Running away? Tsk, that doesn't sound like the Sarah I know."
Her hand wavered on her rook. "That's not fair. And maybe it was running. But I didn't manage to run fast enough now did I?" She placed the rook in combat with his one remaining bishop, the lone guard for the white king. "Now I'm trapped here forever."
He raised his gaze from the board to her face. "I know you are distressed, but I for one am not sorry that you will remain here. Do not forget that it is possible to cross the Veil for a time. Perhaps I can guide you."
She looked up at him with surprise, touched by the kindness in his words. "Look, I don't blame you, I know it wasn't your doing. I just... I didn't know the choice would be made for me, and now my life has been turned upside down. Again."
"We certainly have that in common, Precious. But dreams can live once more." And with that, he pushed the forgotten pawn onto her back rank and his white queen was reborn. Checkmate.
Sarah sat back and considered the game and their conversation. She took the two queens in her hands. "This is what you want," she said, holding up the white queen, "but this is what I am," holding up the black piece. "They're not the same, Jareth."
He took the pieces from her and wound them between his fingers in a mesmerizing rhythm. "But I think you'll find, Precious," he said, revealing the two pieces base to base, twirling together as mirror images of one another, "that depends only on your perspective. They may certainly become the same."
So it's that easy, huh? Somehow I don't think it is, no matter what you might say. She sighed and looked into the fire. "I have to get out of this alive first, right?"
"Indeed," he said, replacing the pieces on the board. "Have you given any thought to your next move?"
"Yes, we are heading for the Great Crossroads tomorrow. Can you tell me anything about it?"
"Each path is marked by a false trial which is won with modest effort. However, the other tasks in that pathway will test the runner with an opposing set of skills. Failure, especially near the end, results in heavy penalties. I built large portions of it myself, some of my best works."
"So, if I am a nerd I may solve the door's riddle but then I'll have to fight my way through a horde of ogres?"
Jareth shrugged. "I rarely used ogres, unless it was clear the runner had a background in giant-slaying. They are quite costly to maintain."
Sarah snorted, and before she knew it she was laughing so hard tears came to her eyes. Jareth looked surprised at her outburst, but his mouth began to quirk around the edges.
"That's...just…so..." she gasped, "prosaic. The night before I came here I was crunching numbers to justify some equipment upgrades for my team. I never knew that someone like you would need to care about the dollars and cents."
"There is more to ruling a kingdom than inspiring fear and kidnapping innocents, Precious. Sometimes one must settle territorial disputes, or keep this tribe from eating another, or negotiate with the envoys of faraway kingdoms. It really is a great deal of work."
"Then why take all of this on?" she asked, motioning out over the distorted horizon. "You were free once. Do you regret binding yourself here?"
He looked at her with those piercing eyes, and she got a glimpse of how incredibly ancient he must be. "I rarely think in terms of regret. You will find that life is always full of trades and bargains. Sometimes, you must give up what you want to get what you need."
She smiled a bit, looking up to him in the cool glow of early morning light. "Thanks, I appreciate that...it helps, somehow. It's been good to talk. I had hoped we might… I don't know, be able to get along."
"You've let go of your need to cast me as the villain. I may now live up to more… amenable expectations."
She looked sideways at him. "Like being friends? I think you're teasing me."
"Always, but it does not necessarily follow that I'm lying. Yes… 'friend' sounds like a more desirable role to play, although I had rather hoped for something more… intimate."
She began to retort but stopped when she noticed things phasing in and out of existence. "Dammit, I'm waking. Is there anything else I should know?"
"I recommend the Clockwright's path. I think you would find it most entertaining."
He stood for a while in the warm sun, looking down on the bustling Goblin City. A bit of truth in the leaven seems to have put her at ease. Perhaps playing the gentleman will prove more useful than the rogue. With a flourish, he produced the white king and black queen in his palm. We shall see.
A/N: I'm really excited for the next section, it's relatively unique but I hope you'll find it in keeping with the characters personalities and powers. There will be a bit of a Jareth cameo coming... although very different than you might think. (muhahaha! Stay tuned!)