Chapter 3.
A Piece of the Puzzle
The tangy smell of blood was inescapable. She wandered through the battlefield, cold, wet. Shivering as the mud clinging to her feet and ankles. The dead were everywhere. As far as the horizon could be seen bodies lie. The landscape was dotted with small fires, which increased the nauseating odor in the air.
Bodies lie decapitated, missing arms and legs. Eviscerated organs pouring from gaping wounds. Many of the dead still carried their weapons. What had happened here?
She felt the bile rise in her throat and raised a hand to wipe her mouth when she heard a voice.
Her heart pounding, she had heard the sound with such starting clarity. Wading into the mire of bodies, she desperately fought back her nausea. The damp metallic odor of the dead was oppressive. She rubbed her arms brusquely as the chilled air sank through her gown to bore deep within her body.
A soft moan of despair whispered in her ears. It was faint and seemed to come from a hill off to her right. She moved quickly towards the sound, hoping to find someone alive in all this carnage.
"Where are you? I can hear you!" she yelled, voice belying her desperation as she turned the bodies over looking for the survivor. Many of the dead in this group were Fae, their slim bodies covered in ravaged armor and the tell-tale facial features fixed in masks of death and terror. One by one she checked for signs of life.
The loud groan was elicited from the person she was turning over. "Easy. Take it easy. I'll help you." Her voice was calm and soothing as she settled him onto his back and began her examination.
He was dressed in silver armor and wore a full helm. Traces of dried blood stained the neck and the face plate. Deftly her hands flew over his limbs checking for broken bones and open lacerations. Satisfied that no injuries seemed to be evident there, she sat back, puzzling over how to remove the armor.
There must be a fastener somewhere. Quickly slipping her hands under his body, she felt the edge of the plating for a closure. The rough edge of the metal dug into her fingers as she pulled sharply. The sudden movement elicited a loud moan from the man, who suddenly clutched his chest. "I'm sorry, but I need to get you out of this. Please hold on, this may hurt for a bit." She apologized as she looked into the darkened eye slits of the helm.
He tiredly nodded his head, but Sarah noticed the change in his respirations. Earlier they had been regular and slightly guarded from the pain. Now they had taken on an irregular pattern and had a wet character. She had to get this off of him and find the wound on his chest before her deteriorated further. His breast plate was engraved with a Celtic pattern surrounding the crest she knew from long ago. A horizontal crescent with the sign of eternity...His crest.."Jareth."."Oh God. Please no!"
She frantically pulled at the helm and felt it give. "Jareth..it's OK.I'm here." It slipped off his head revealing a dark head caked with blood. She moved closer and hands skillfully flying over his head checking for wounds. Strong hands grasped her wrists, and she looked up into the mismatched eyes not of Jareth, but of John Doe. "It's you.." she gasped. "Who are you?"
"We need you Sarah.." His accented words were coming out in gasps, blood sputtering out with each word. "You must get back here quickly... This is what will become of us if you don't help us." His breathing was quickly becoming ragged. "Please Sarah.. We need you...Jareth needs you....I promised to get you back safely, but I think I'm dying." He handed her a crystal orb with a shaking hand. "If I die, you must wish yourself to him. The enemy will find you Sarah.find you and kill you...Please get to Jareth."The luminescent sphere was slippery from the blood and mud covering it. "You're our only hope now."She accepted it from him gently. Moving him up a bit she noted that his breathing was shallow and he was falling into unconsciousness. He was on the edge of death. "I'm right here. I won't leave you alone." She said frantically looking around for something to help him. His head slumped back as his breathing stopped. "No." She was left alone in this place of death.
With a cry of alarm, Sarah rose out of the depths of sleep struggling against the thick weight pressing in all around her. Desperately, she fought to free herself, flailing her arms and legs against the hideous villain bent on smothering her.
Feathers knocked loose from her pillow she was pummeling tickled her nose, the sneezing they provoked clearing her head sufficiently for her to remember where she was. She threw off the comforter and sat up, feeling the perfect fool.
Still sleep dazed and anxious, she glanced around her room. Her Siamese cat Mistral lounged on the end of her bed watching his mistress through sapphire blue eyes. He rolled on his side and chortled an amused throaty meow. It said, "Go back to sleep. You're keeping me up!"
"Hey buddy, you try sleeping after a dream like that." Rising from the bed, she heard a dull "thump" as she moved to turn the bedside light on. She froze in terror as a blood caked crystal orb rolled away from the bed, leaving a trail of blood in it's wake.
Chapter 4.
Welcome Back
The facts defied logical analysis.
Sarah sat curled on her sofa, thoughtfully oblivious to the steaming mug of coffee in her hands. The Labyrinth was a dream. An overzealous childhood fantasy. Wasn't it? She was 26 years old for heaven sake. A medical doctor. She made decisions based on scientific evidence and logic. Didn't she? She had left her stories and fantasies in childhood, intent on making a good life for herself. Was she going mad?
The past on call shift hadn't been that difficult, so she couldn't really attribute it to stress or exhaustion. Her eyes moved to the crystal orb sitting on the coffee table. After the initial shock of discovering that the sphere had somehow followed her out of the dream, she had carefully picked it up, wrapping a wet facecloth around the sphere to clean it off. She rubbed it gently. Now it sat before her, tempting. Without the mud and gore, it was quite beautiful.
She gingerly picked it up and looked at it closely. The opposite side of the room was clearly visible, inverted and distorted by the play of light on the curve. "Things aren't what they seem." She had once been told.
The telephone rang softly. Initially hesitant to interrupt her quiet time, she reached over and picked up the receiver, cradling it between her ear and shoulder, as she continued to gaze at the orb. "Hello?"
"Hi Sarah. It's Ian. What are you up to at 4 AM?" he ventured.
"Having a thought provoking sip of coffee." She joked half heartedly.
He chuckled lightly, knowing how much she loved her "black gold". "You know, coffee causes cancer in lab rats." He teased.
"Damn good thing I'm not a rat then." She laughed, enjoying his barb at her well known vice. "How did you know I was up?"
"I could smell the coffee brewing two blocks away. Figured it had to be you." openly teasing her. "Actually, I'm on call and drove by your place on my way into the hospital. Are you OK?"
"Yes. I just couldn't sleep, but thanks for asking." Ian was a thoughtful man, clearly concerned for his friends. Sarah and he had met in second year and had become close friends over the years. Always attentive, Sarah knew that Ian had accepted her refusal to take their relationship further. It wasn't that she didn't like him, but Ian like all the other men she had dated over the years, missed some essential quality. The character that she was certain would capture her heart forever.
"I called to remind you about the ER clinical rounds today. 2PM. See you there?" there was a hopeful smile in his tone.
"I'll be there." she replied. "How is our John Doe?"
"Improving. He's being extubated in about an hour, why?"
"He's awake?" she hesitated.
"Has been since about 6PM. Cranky too, but can't say I'd enjoy being restrained by that tube either." He admitted matter-of-factly.
Her mouth was suddenly dry. She didn't know how to respond to this. Stealing her resolve for answers to her questions, she pursed her lips together and made her decision. "Ian, how about we have coffee before the meeting today? I have to come in early to finish up a few loose ends, and if your free..."
He seemed taken by surprise, "I'd really like that Sarah. See you in a bit."
"See you soon Ian." She said and stood up. Replacing the receiver on the base, she placed the sphere on the coffee table and dressed swiftly, knowing that her answers lie with the dark haired patient in ICU.
***
Ian sat at the nurse's station updating his clinical notes on Mr. Doe, or rather ,William Fae. The patient did exceptionally well throughout the extubation procedure and 20 minutes later, was maintaining stable vital signs.
Catherine, assigned to him on night shift had been rather surprised to see him awake so soon. His eyes were wide and terror filled. After orientating him to the recent events and his location, Mr. Doe seemed much calmer. She provided him with a pencil and pad of paper and tried to obtain some basic information from him. He'd only been willing to give her his name. William Fae. "Well, it's a start."
He arrived to see the patient bright eyed and anxious to remove have the tube removed. 15 minutes later it was done. "Thank you doctor." His voice was hoarse and lightly accented.
"You're doing excellent Mr. Fae. Just rest for now. We'll chat in a bit." Ian turned and opened the patient's chart.
"Dr. McFadden, I remember seeing a young woman. Long brown hair, stunning blue eyes, kind smile.....She was helping me somehow...I can't determine if I was dreaming or if it really happened." He sighed running a hand through his hair, unaware that is was already quite a mess. "I would like to give her my thanks for her assistance."
Ian shook his head in puzzlement. How this man remembered her when he was technically dead, he'd never know for sure. "That would likely be Dr. Williams. She was part of the team that helped you through the critical stages of your injury."
The door to the ICU swished open and Ian heard Sarah's voice as she greeted the nurses. "Speak of the Devil." Ian said softly.
William regarded Sarah. She held herself stiffly and darted an anxious glance towards him, yet she moved gracefully. Her body was slim, well- formed, with lithe strength that suggested an active life.
Chestnut hair shot through with gold tumbled in thick waves down to her mid back. Her eyes, blue as the sea beneath the summer sun and thickly fringed, were set in an oval face of damask perfection. Her nose was slender and tapering above full, rose-hued lips that were moist and slightly parted.
She was perfect-exquisitely, absolutely perfect. William had long since dismissed the tales told of her throughout his world, assuming that it most probably meant she was no more than middling pretty. Now confronted by the reality and the slow, stumbling recovery of his own reason, he understood how she had captured his King's heart.
Sarah felt the touch of William's eyes that studied her so boldly and she could not repress a quiver of fear. She felt moved in some strange predatory way she could scarcely credit.
Instinctively, she took refuge in the habit of repressing her emotions and concentrating only on the task at hand. Such serenity was her only defense against the pain of a violent, turbulent city, and she depended on it utterly.
Softly, but with iron determination, she turned her attention to Ian and his patient and approached his bedside, smiling. "You're looking much better."
"Dr. Williams I presume. Than you for saving my life yesterday." His voice was deeper than Jareth's but similarly accented. "I owe you all a great debt. More than I can ever express or hope to repay."
"Please. We were happy to assist you." She smiled in a so-soft voice. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you." he replied. "I understand from Dr. McFadden that I have been quite a handful over the past few hours." He stated simply.
Sarah's eyes momentarily lit with mischief. "Yes, but now that you are awake and much improved, I'm sure that the nurses will take great pleasure in repaying the trouble you gave them."
Ian quietly moved away from the pair, feeling somewhat dismissed by the patient.
He liked her. "When will I be permitted to go home?"
Sarah hesitated, not certain how to approach her concerns. Hesitantly she started, "Not yet. You suffered a terrible injury just 36 hours ago. I think it would be safe to say that you will need several weeks before you head home."
"Sarah, I'll heal much faster home." He stated pointedly.
She ignored his referral to home, uncertain if he was trying to broach the topic of her dream. He couldn't be. How would he know of her dream. Fairy tails are just that. Fairy tails. She pursed her lips together, focusing on her questions. "I found several unusual findings in your lab work an x-rays that I can't explain. I was hoping you could help me find some answers to this mystery."
He held out his hand to her. She looked at his hand with their long fingers and manicured nails. "You'll have your answers momentarily. Perhaps we should start with a proper introduction." She placed her hand in his, "I am Lord William, loyal friend to he who sent me to protect you and to bring you home." He pressed his lips chastely to the back of hand. "Will to friends."
Sarah blanched just a little, as though not happy to have confirmed what she already suspected. But she did not back away by so much as an inch. "Jareth sent you." She stated flatly pulling her hand out of his grasp. Sarah looked quickly at the nurse's station confirming that everyone was occupied. She quickly turned back to William. "This can't be real. What's going on?"
"The lady wishes proof. When I lingered between life and death, you came to me in your dream. I gave you something and asked you to complete my mission." He stated flatly. His gaze flickered to her handbag then to her eyes. "Did you bring the key Sarah?" He smiled as he regarded the shocked expression on her face.
"Yes." She said with honesty, if not great sense. "You gave it to me, and asked me to return to the Underground. Something about a great war. Frankly, I thought you were a few sandwiches short of a picnic." She reached into her bag and pulled the sphere out. Gently she placed it in his hand.
He chuckled lightly at her response. "Candor and beauty. Jareth is a lucky soul to have you."
She bristled at that. "Lucky? Have me? Perhaps he never told you but I won our little game. Who does he think he is pulling a stunt like this. I owe him nothing and he certainly doesn't have me!" Her voice was increasing in volume and anger.
William looked over her shoulder at the staff desk, dismissing her comment "Sarah. I hate to rush us but, I meant what I said last night. We need you to return. Immediately. All of your questions will be answered there." The orb exploded in a flash of light and color as the world shifted around her. She felt a nauseating sensation of falling for several seconds, then felt a hard thump as she landed on her bottom.
She blinked several times shaking off the disorientation. The floor was cold and hard in the way only stone can be. She slowly gained her feet and looked around her surroundings. They had appeared in Jareth's throne room. The firelight of the tall braziers danced off of the polished marble of the floor and walls, casting shadows about the room. Will stood a few feet away, tall and healthy, dressed in polished armor from her dream.
He stood next to William, regarding her with passionate eyes that held a deep intensity as they seemed to gaze through her, to the depths of her very soul. Nothing had changed. He was still devastatingly handsome, a study in shadows and light. He was dressed in black, his cape spilling onto the floor behind him.
"Jareth." She whispered in a barely audible voice.
He smiled slightly. His mouth was still sensual.erotic. "Welcome home, Sarah." His voice was cool and deep, like water far in the earth. A satin filled seduction she could not resist. He held out a gloved hand. His touch was incredibly tender and gave her a strange sense of security that unsettled her to the core.
A Piece of the Puzzle
The tangy smell of blood was inescapable. She wandered through the battlefield, cold, wet. Shivering as the mud clinging to her feet and ankles. The dead were everywhere. As far as the horizon could be seen bodies lie. The landscape was dotted with small fires, which increased the nauseating odor in the air.
Bodies lie decapitated, missing arms and legs. Eviscerated organs pouring from gaping wounds. Many of the dead still carried their weapons. What had happened here?
She felt the bile rise in her throat and raised a hand to wipe her mouth when she heard a voice.
Her heart pounding, she had heard the sound with such starting clarity. Wading into the mire of bodies, she desperately fought back her nausea. The damp metallic odor of the dead was oppressive. She rubbed her arms brusquely as the chilled air sank through her gown to bore deep within her body.
A soft moan of despair whispered in her ears. It was faint and seemed to come from a hill off to her right. She moved quickly towards the sound, hoping to find someone alive in all this carnage.
"Where are you? I can hear you!" she yelled, voice belying her desperation as she turned the bodies over looking for the survivor. Many of the dead in this group were Fae, their slim bodies covered in ravaged armor and the tell-tale facial features fixed in masks of death and terror. One by one she checked for signs of life.
The loud groan was elicited from the person she was turning over. "Easy. Take it easy. I'll help you." Her voice was calm and soothing as she settled him onto his back and began her examination.
He was dressed in silver armor and wore a full helm. Traces of dried blood stained the neck and the face plate. Deftly her hands flew over his limbs checking for broken bones and open lacerations. Satisfied that no injuries seemed to be evident there, she sat back, puzzling over how to remove the armor.
There must be a fastener somewhere. Quickly slipping her hands under his body, she felt the edge of the plating for a closure. The rough edge of the metal dug into her fingers as she pulled sharply. The sudden movement elicited a loud moan from the man, who suddenly clutched his chest. "I'm sorry, but I need to get you out of this. Please hold on, this may hurt for a bit." She apologized as she looked into the darkened eye slits of the helm.
He tiredly nodded his head, but Sarah noticed the change in his respirations. Earlier they had been regular and slightly guarded from the pain. Now they had taken on an irregular pattern and had a wet character. She had to get this off of him and find the wound on his chest before her deteriorated further. His breast plate was engraved with a Celtic pattern surrounding the crest she knew from long ago. A horizontal crescent with the sign of eternity...His crest.."Jareth."."Oh God. Please no!"
She frantically pulled at the helm and felt it give. "Jareth..it's OK.I'm here." It slipped off his head revealing a dark head caked with blood. She moved closer and hands skillfully flying over his head checking for wounds. Strong hands grasped her wrists, and she looked up into the mismatched eyes not of Jareth, but of John Doe. "It's you.." she gasped. "Who are you?"
"We need you Sarah.." His accented words were coming out in gasps, blood sputtering out with each word. "You must get back here quickly... This is what will become of us if you don't help us." His breathing was quickly becoming ragged. "Please Sarah.. We need you...Jareth needs you....I promised to get you back safely, but I think I'm dying." He handed her a crystal orb with a shaking hand. "If I die, you must wish yourself to him. The enemy will find you Sarah.find you and kill you...Please get to Jareth."The luminescent sphere was slippery from the blood and mud covering it. "You're our only hope now."She accepted it from him gently. Moving him up a bit she noted that his breathing was shallow and he was falling into unconsciousness. He was on the edge of death. "I'm right here. I won't leave you alone." She said frantically looking around for something to help him. His head slumped back as his breathing stopped. "No." She was left alone in this place of death.
With a cry of alarm, Sarah rose out of the depths of sleep struggling against the thick weight pressing in all around her. Desperately, she fought to free herself, flailing her arms and legs against the hideous villain bent on smothering her.
Feathers knocked loose from her pillow she was pummeling tickled her nose, the sneezing they provoked clearing her head sufficiently for her to remember where she was. She threw off the comforter and sat up, feeling the perfect fool.
Still sleep dazed and anxious, she glanced around her room. Her Siamese cat Mistral lounged on the end of her bed watching his mistress through sapphire blue eyes. He rolled on his side and chortled an amused throaty meow. It said, "Go back to sleep. You're keeping me up!"
"Hey buddy, you try sleeping after a dream like that." Rising from the bed, she heard a dull "thump" as she moved to turn the bedside light on. She froze in terror as a blood caked crystal orb rolled away from the bed, leaving a trail of blood in it's wake.
Chapter 4.
Welcome Back
The facts defied logical analysis.
Sarah sat curled on her sofa, thoughtfully oblivious to the steaming mug of coffee in her hands. The Labyrinth was a dream. An overzealous childhood fantasy. Wasn't it? She was 26 years old for heaven sake. A medical doctor. She made decisions based on scientific evidence and logic. Didn't she? She had left her stories and fantasies in childhood, intent on making a good life for herself. Was she going mad?
The past on call shift hadn't been that difficult, so she couldn't really attribute it to stress or exhaustion. Her eyes moved to the crystal orb sitting on the coffee table. After the initial shock of discovering that the sphere had somehow followed her out of the dream, she had carefully picked it up, wrapping a wet facecloth around the sphere to clean it off. She rubbed it gently. Now it sat before her, tempting. Without the mud and gore, it was quite beautiful.
She gingerly picked it up and looked at it closely. The opposite side of the room was clearly visible, inverted and distorted by the play of light on the curve. "Things aren't what they seem." She had once been told.
The telephone rang softly. Initially hesitant to interrupt her quiet time, she reached over and picked up the receiver, cradling it between her ear and shoulder, as she continued to gaze at the orb. "Hello?"
"Hi Sarah. It's Ian. What are you up to at 4 AM?" he ventured.
"Having a thought provoking sip of coffee." She joked half heartedly.
He chuckled lightly, knowing how much she loved her "black gold". "You know, coffee causes cancer in lab rats." He teased.
"Damn good thing I'm not a rat then." She laughed, enjoying his barb at her well known vice. "How did you know I was up?"
"I could smell the coffee brewing two blocks away. Figured it had to be you." openly teasing her. "Actually, I'm on call and drove by your place on my way into the hospital. Are you OK?"
"Yes. I just couldn't sleep, but thanks for asking." Ian was a thoughtful man, clearly concerned for his friends. Sarah and he had met in second year and had become close friends over the years. Always attentive, Sarah knew that Ian had accepted her refusal to take their relationship further. It wasn't that she didn't like him, but Ian like all the other men she had dated over the years, missed some essential quality. The character that she was certain would capture her heart forever.
"I called to remind you about the ER clinical rounds today. 2PM. See you there?" there was a hopeful smile in his tone.
"I'll be there." she replied. "How is our John Doe?"
"Improving. He's being extubated in about an hour, why?"
"He's awake?" she hesitated.
"Has been since about 6PM. Cranky too, but can't say I'd enjoy being restrained by that tube either." He admitted matter-of-factly.
Her mouth was suddenly dry. She didn't know how to respond to this. Stealing her resolve for answers to her questions, she pursed her lips together and made her decision. "Ian, how about we have coffee before the meeting today? I have to come in early to finish up a few loose ends, and if your free..."
He seemed taken by surprise, "I'd really like that Sarah. See you in a bit."
"See you soon Ian." She said and stood up. Replacing the receiver on the base, she placed the sphere on the coffee table and dressed swiftly, knowing that her answers lie with the dark haired patient in ICU.
***
Ian sat at the nurse's station updating his clinical notes on Mr. Doe, or rather ,William Fae. The patient did exceptionally well throughout the extubation procedure and 20 minutes later, was maintaining stable vital signs.
Catherine, assigned to him on night shift had been rather surprised to see him awake so soon. His eyes were wide and terror filled. After orientating him to the recent events and his location, Mr. Doe seemed much calmer. She provided him with a pencil and pad of paper and tried to obtain some basic information from him. He'd only been willing to give her his name. William Fae. "Well, it's a start."
He arrived to see the patient bright eyed and anxious to remove have the tube removed. 15 minutes later it was done. "Thank you doctor." His voice was hoarse and lightly accented.
"You're doing excellent Mr. Fae. Just rest for now. We'll chat in a bit." Ian turned and opened the patient's chart.
"Dr. McFadden, I remember seeing a young woman. Long brown hair, stunning blue eyes, kind smile.....She was helping me somehow...I can't determine if I was dreaming or if it really happened." He sighed running a hand through his hair, unaware that is was already quite a mess. "I would like to give her my thanks for her assistance."
Ian shook his head in puzzlement. How this man remembered her when he was technically dead, he'd never know for sure. "That would likely be Dr. Williams. She was part of the team that helped you through the critical stages of your injury."
The door to the ICU swished open and Ian heard Sarah's voice as she greeted the nurses. "Speak of the Devil." Ian said softly.
William regarded Sarah. She held herself stiffly and darted an anxious glance towards him, yet she moved gracefully. Her body was slim, well- formed, with lithe strength that suggested an active life.
Chestnut hair shot through with gold tumbled in thick waves down to her mid back. Her eyes, blue as the sea beneath the summer sun and thickly fringed, were set in an oval face of damask perfection. Her nose was slender and tapering above full, rose-hued lips that were moist and slightly parted.
She was perfect-exquisitely, absolutely perfect. William had long since dismissed the tales told of her throughout his world, assuming that it most probably meant she was no more than middling pretty. Now confronted by the reality and the slow, stumbling recovery of his own reason, he understood how she had captured his King's heart.
Sarah felt the touch of William's eyes that studied her so boldly and she could not repress a quiver of fear. She felt moved in some strange predatory way she could scarcely credit.
Instinctively, she took refuge in the habit of repressing her emotions and concentrating only on the task at hand. Such serenity was her only defense against the pain of a violent, turbulent city, and she depended on it utterly.
Softly, but with iron determination, she turned her attention to Ian and his patient and approached his bedside, smiling. "You're looking much better."
"Dr. Williams I presume. Than you for saving my life yesterday." His voice was deeper than Jareth's but similarly accented. "I owe you all a great debt. More than I can ever express or hope to repay."
"Please. We were happy to assist you." She smiled in a so-soft voice. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you." he replied. "I understand from Dr. McFadden that I have been quite a handful over the past few hours." He stated simply.
Sarah's eyes momentarily lit with mischief. "Yes, but now that you are awake and much improved, I'm sure that the nurses will take great pleasure in repaying the trouble you gave them."
Ian quietly moved away from the pair, feeling somewhat dismissed by the patient.
He liked her. "When will I be permitted to go home?"
Sarah hesitated, not certain how to approach her concerns. Hesitantly she started, "Not yet. You suffered a terrible injury just 36 hours ago. I think it would be safe to say that you will need several weeks before you head home."
"Sarah, I'll heal much faster home." He stated pointedly.
She ignored his referral to home, uncertain if he was trying to broach the topic of her dream. He couldn't be. How would he know of her dream. Fairy tails are just that. Fairy tails. She pursed her lips together, focusing on her questions. "I found several unusual findings in your lab work an x-rays that I can't explain. I was hoping you could help me find some answers to this mystery."
He held out his hand to her. She looked at his hand with their long fingers and manicured nails. "You'll have your answers momentarily. Perhaps we should start with a proper introduction." She placed her hand in his, "I am Lord William, loyal friend to he who sent me to protect you and to bring you home." He pressed his lips chastely to the back of hand. "Will to friends."
Sarah blanched just a little, as though not happy to have confirmed what she already suspected. But she did not back away by so much as an inch. "Jareth sent you." She stated flatly pulling her hand out of his grasp. Sarah looked quickly at the nurse's station confirming that everyone was occupied. She quickly turned back to William. "This can't be real. What's going on?"
"The lady wishes proof. When I lingered between life and death, you came to me in your dream. I gave you something and asked you to complete my mission." He stated flatly. His gaze flickered to her handbag then to her eyes. "Did you bring the key Sarah?" He smiled as he regarded the shocked expression on her face.
"Yes." She said with honesty, if not great sense. "You gave it to me, and asked me to return to the Underground. Something about a great war. Frankly, I thought you were a few sandwiches short of a picnic." She reached into her bag and pulled the sphere out. Gently she placed it in his hand.
He chuckled lightly at her response. "Candor and beauty. Jareth is a lucky soul to have you."
She bristled at that. "Lucky? Have me? Perhaps he never told you but I won our little game. Who does he think he is pulling a stunt like this. I owe him nothing and he certainly doesn't have me!" Her voice was increasing in volume and anger.
William looked over her shoulder at the staff desk, dismissing her comment "Sarah. I hate to rush us but, I meant what I said last night. We need you to return. Immediately. All of your questions will be answered there." The orb exploded in a flash of light and color as the world shifted around her. She felt a nauseating sensation of falling for several seconds, then felt a hard thump as she landed on her bottom.
She blinked several times shaking off the disorientation. The floor was cold and hard in the way only stone can be. She slowly gained her feet and looked around her surroundings. They had appeared in Jareth's throne room. The firelight of the tall braziers danced off of the polished marble of the floor and walls, casting shadows about the room. Will stood a few feet away, tall and healthy, dressed in polished armor from her dream.
He stood next to William, regarding her with passionate eyes that held a deep intensity as they seemed to gaze through her, to the depths of her very soul. Nothing had changed. He was still devastatingly handsome, a study in shadows and light. He was dressed in black, his cape spilling onto the floor behind him.
"Jareth." She whispered in a barely audible voice.
He smiled slightly. His mouth was still sensual.erotic. "Welcome home, Sarah." His voice was cool and deep, like water far in the earth. A satin filled seduction she could not resist. He held out a gloved hand. His touch was incredibly tender and gave her a strange sense of security that unsettled her to the core.