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Every second seemed like an eternity. Sarah had never felt quite so alone. She thought of friends past- Hoggle, Ludo, Didymus- and felt the tears springing to her eyes and blurring her vision. She wondered if they were out there somewhere still, if they ever wished for her too...what had they said once?
Should you need us...
Oh, I need you. All of you, she thought. But I can't find the words...
Sarah realised that she was growing up. It wouldn't always be so easy to call up fantasies, favourite memories, old friends. She thought of all she had left behind in the Labyrinth. Her friends- her truest friends. Her adventures. Even...even Jareth, whom she thought she would never long for again.
And in a way, her childhood.
She felt a single tear run a warm, wet rivulet down her smooth cheek, and put up a finger to brush it away. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror, and her finger lingered on her face. Her skin felt hot, as if she was blushing, being watched. She wondered if Jareth was watching her now, reading her very thoughts, entering her world through a single crystal. She reached out to touch the glass with her hand, and it felt cold and hard to the touch. She wondered also if he would still look at her that same way, that same beseeching, almost desperate way, if he looked at her now. Her face was different- her expressions older, the faintest beginnings of lines on her forehead. Worry lines. She frowned, then regretted it, for it made her look worse. Her eyes were...wiser? She didn't know how to describe them. Her hair was shorter now, falling just past her shoulders, still that rich chocolate hue, but not as long, as luxurious. She rarely wore it down now.
She closed her eyes and thought of him. Tall, slender. Lean yet muscular, his skin pale and flawless, his eyes mismatched yet the deepest pools of azure and umber imaginable. The arched brows, the mane of silver-blonde, the regal air that held her captive.
"Oh, Jareth."she murmured, trying to drown in the blackness behind her closed eyelids forever.
"I thought you'd never call me."
That voice. That voice, so very familiar...
When she opened her eyes, she was hardly even surprised to see him, behind her in the mirror, yet it filled her with a sense of almost...fear. Trepidation. He was already getting the better of her.
"Well met, Sarah."
She watched his reflection in the mirror as he spoke, and turned to him- slowly, the burning eyes still so powerful, holding her captive, just the same. She couldn't have countenanced before how much she'd longed for this submission.
"Wh-why..." She could hardly speak.
"You called me, Sarah." A faint sneer crossed his lips, and he walked around her slowly, as if trying to take all of her in, watching her eyes all the time. "I always swore to come if you called."
"It's been...a while."
"Three years. Nothing to you, I am sure, but in my world, it is...forever."
"You've been watching me, haven't you?" She hadn't quite meant it to come out that way, hadn't intended the traces of bitterness, malice in her tone. She couldn't bear it if he left her now.
He chuckled softly, and she realised he must have read her mind. Damn, she thought.
"You have changed."he murmured, that low, smooth voice sending shivers down her spine."I never thought you'd be begging me to take you."
"I'm not begging you for anything."she replied weakly, realising how unconvincing she must sound and cringing.
"Did you miss me, Sarah?"he asked, coming just a little closer, close enough to intimidate her.
"I...no..." Sarah realised it was useless."Yes..."
He nodded, looking down the length of her body, then up again. She felt her face go hot.
"I've kept an eye on you."he continued."It pleased me to watch you grow. And you certainly did." That sly sneer again."You're a woman now, Sarah...though I do wonder whether that spoilt little girl still dwells in you."
He tried to read her, but her thoughts were muddled. She was so different. He almost missed the callous, fiery young girl who had so coldly denied him. They had broken her; she had become a...creature, hungry for love. The idea of having complete power over her intrigued and excited him, but he was surprised at what she had altered to.
It was time to take her away. She had to come back with him, live a real life, get away from this mortal world of loneliness and complications.
"I need...need you to help mr."she murmured. He laughed softly. He knew exactly what she wanted. And he would give it to her, but he would toy with her first.
"Help you?" He smiled, cupped her soft cheek in his gloved hand, and was almost disappointed when she did not flinch."Sarah, Sarah, why would you want the help of the wicked Goblin King, who took your baby brother, who was cruel?" He removed his hand from her face and conjured a crystal, the image of his owl form flying inside it, and showed it to her. She looked at the floor. "And why would I want to help you? The wilful girl who conquered the unconquerable and outwitted the powers that have not failed me for hundreds of years?"
She felt the familiar anger bubbling up inside her, but tried to contain it. She would not let him infuriate her. "Please."she said softly, her eyes beseeching him.
He weakened at those eyes, so beguiling, like he had never before seen them, but felt puzzled. He could feel the anger in her, but she was declining to show it. Sarah was no match for him, nor a worthy opponent, when she acted in this passive, compliant manner. How could he rule her if she gave herself to him to begin with? Was she afraid he would leave her if she did not?
Yes, that was it...he could read her mind clearly now. He almost felt bad for making her feel so hopeless. She had been hurt too many times since their last meeting.
"Very well...what is it you desire?"
"Take me with you." Her voice begged him to. It was... pathetic. He was disgusted. This was not right. Where was the satisfaction in this?
But she was very beautiful, and he could not resist power.
"You would leave...all this?" He motioned around the small apartment room."Forever?"
She did not take her eyes off his. "Forever."
He nodded slowly."It is done."
She smiled faintly, and her lovely face lit up."Thankyou...Jareth."
And so it was that he took her, back to the Underground, to the Labyrinth, and the splendour of his castle beyond the Goblin City.
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To be continued ;)
~J