Author's Note: Sorry this took me so long to get out. In this chapter two
new character emerge, and you'll be seeing both of them after this chapter
in future chapters, although I'm not sure which ones. My muse hasn't told
me yet. I am so grateful for all the really nice reviews that I've been
getting. They really just make my day. So, thank you to everyone who
reviewed, and I hope you enjoy chapter 11.
Chapter 11: At the Center
The golden fox trotted steadily along the winding marble path before them. Sarah followed the little animal, a little nervous following a creature that she didn't entirely trust. Turning her head to the left and right every so often, she noticed that the gravestones were still there, and they didn't show any sign of thinning out. She shivered, and not from being cold either. Unconsciously she wrapped her arms about herself to ward off the bad feelings. Up ahead, there was something looming in the distance, only Sarah wasn't sure what it was because she couldn't quite make it out. They walked a little further before Sarah was pretty sure what she was seeing was a temple, a very old temple that was practically in ruins. For some reason it just didn't feel right. Sarah said to the little fox, "Hey, um, fox, what is that? Fox? Fox? Where'd you go?" The fox was no longer ahead of her and Sarah turned around in circles calling out, but the little creature had disappeared. "Ugh!" she cried in frustration, clenching her fist at her sides. She asked aloud to no one in particular, "Now what am I supposed to do?" A noise from just beyond one of the stone pillars in front of her grabbed Sarah's attention. An imposing figure stepped from behind the pillar of stone and started to walk towards Sarah. She noticed he looked quite shady, his coal black hair hung down to his shoulders and his striking, yet harsh features were filled with malice. An eye-patch covered the left eye socket where a large scar was embedded from the corner of his eye clear to his cheek. The other uncovered eye was almost catlike or snakelike with a black slit running down the middle. Sarah gulped audibly and back away a couple of feet from the man in front of her. "Who are you?" she asked guardedly. He waved a black gloved hand grandly out and then bowed deeply. Rising he said with a slight sneer in a deep, yet cold voice, "I am Conway, at your service." He started to walk towards her once again and she backed away even further. She put a hand up and said, "Now, wait, stay right there," and he stopped moving. "I need to know what that is," she said gesturing to the ruins of a temple. "That was the temple of Jezebel, but it's in quite a state of disrepair, don't you agree?" Sarah nodded without realizing it, a strand of her wet hair falling rebelliously in front of her eyes. "There's something that I'm looking for, and it was supposed to be in that temple, do you mind if I take a look?" Conway chuckled, an ugly grating sound dully rumbling on her eardrums. "No, I don't mind, why don't you just tell me what you're looking for, and I'll tell you whether or not it's there?" he suggested without emotion. Rubbing her forehead tiredly, and then removing the strand of hair hanging in over her eyes, Sarah replied, "How do I know you're not going to lie?" "Fine, see for yourself then," Conway said, stepping aside and sweeping out an arm as a gesture to pass. Sarah moved around him without turning her back to him, while shuffling closer to the temple. All of a sudden he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him roughly. "You didn't really think I'd let you look did you?" he asked threateningly. Not really wanting to let this guy get the one up on her she said haughtily, "Whew, what did you eat for breakfast, a skunk?" This further angered the man and he threw her to the ground with force. Sarah stood back up hurriedly, not wanting to let this creep intimidate her. Gathering her courage, she bolted past him and up the temple steps as fast as she could, spotted the stone laying on the ground amidst the rubble, the incantations carved on it giving it away. She picked up the stone, which was no easy task because it was a bit heavy, and then hugged it against her chest. Conway was on her heels as she had bounded up the steps and now he stood facing her. He made a motion with his hand and a beam of light appeared around his fist. "Stupid mortal, don't you know you can't win?" He started to fling the conjured light at Sarah. Wishing aloud, she said, "I wish Jareth were here right now." The incantations on the stone started to rearrange and then out of nowhere, a shocked Jareth appeared in between Conway and Sarah. Seeing what was obviously about to take place, Jareth conjured one of his infamous crystals and threw it at Conway. The crystal flashed and the light engulfed Conway, and when it cleared he was no longer there. Sarah, who was relieved to see Jareth again said, "Look, Jareth, I found it." Jareth chuckled a bit and said, "Yes, I can see that." It suddenly occurred to Sarah to ask Jareth where he had been. "Hey, where were you anyway?" she asked. He sighed in annoyance, and then raised an eyebrow. "I was where I was supposed to be, waiting for you. For some reason when you jumped, you ended up quite a ways ahead of me. Who was that?" Jareth asked, referring to Conway. Sarah replied, "I'm not sure, but he said his name was Conway. Ring any bells?" Jareth rubbed his chin in contemplation, "Not really. Here, do you want me to carry that, it looks heavy," he said. Sarah shook her head. "No, I got it. We can take turns if you want," she said moving around him to walk back down the stairs, and he followed. "So, this is the center of the Old Kingdom, huh?" Sarah inquired. "Yes," Jareth agreed. "Why? Not what you expected?" he mocked. "Nope, I expected some kind of grand temple, not that pile of rocks back there." After a while, Sarah broke the silence and said, "OK, you can carry it now, my arms are starting to hurt." They stopped and Jareth took the rock from her arms. Sarah swung her arms a little to get the feeling back in them. "Thanks," she said gratefully. "So, how do we get back?" she asked curiously. Jareth shifted the weight of the rock from one arm to the other and said, "I know what you're thinking, and no, we can't use the stone to wish ourselves back to Ishtar's kingdom, no matter how tempting. Especially being so close to the center." Sarah smacked a hand to her forehead in agitation. "But, why?" Becoming angered by her ignorance, Jareth replied shortly, "Because something could follow us back. Supposedly the closer to the center you are, the more danger there is. Even though we've been lucky in that aspect." Sarah guffawed. "Lucky? What do you call Conway?" Jareth decided to leave that one alone. The tension between the two was slowly disappearing as the conversation dwindled. To the left, Jareth heard a rock being kicked, and turned to see it roll out from behind one of the gravestones. The little golden fox wandered out from behind the same gravestone, and stalked slowly closer to them. "So, I see you found what you were looking for," it stated quite smugly. Sarah nodded, "Yes.hey how did you know I was looking for that?" she said gesturing to the stone. Jareth had been silently watching and took the time to interject, "You two know each other?" he asked incredulously. "Yeah," Sarah admitted, "he sort of lead me to the temple." Unexpectedly the little fox with the golden glow started to morph and grow taller in front of their eyes. A man that looked quite cunning stood facing them in front of the fox. "I am Feldman," the man stated simply. He looked human except the golden glow still surrounded him. "Yes," Jareth replied, "I'm quite aware of who you are." Sarah's eyes and mouth had been hanging wide opened as she had watched the scene unfolding before her. Now, she closed her mouth and found her voice long enough to ask, "How do you know who he is Jareth?" Glancing over his shoulder at Sarah, he had seen her staring unbelievingly at the two of them. He chuckled deeply then stated, "Feldman is Ishtar's brother. He undoubtedly sent him to keep an eye on us. As if we needed it." Feldman sniffed, apparently insulted. "If I hadn't lead Sarah to the temple, both of you would still be looking for it." Sarah smiled sympathetically at him. "I'm sure Jareth didn't mean it that way. I'm grateful that you helped us find it," she said. Feldman grinned enticingly at her and winked. Sarah blushed at his actions and then looked away at the ground. Jareth had been watching the exchange between the two and could see Feldman's intent. "Oh no you don't," Jareth said, grabbing Sarah's hand abruptly and walking away from him. "Jareth!" Sarah squealed, surprised at his rude behavior. "Feldman was just trying to help," she explained. Jareth pulled her along by the wrist angrily behind him. Sarah started to struggle, trying to pull her reddening wrist free. "Jareth, you're hurting," she whimpered. With her wrist still held tightly in his grasp, Jareth turned on her, his face a mask of fury. "Sarah, I have been generous." he stated. By that time Sarah had freed her wrist and was rubbing it in annoyance. She finished the statement for him mockingly, "Yes, I know, and you can be cruel. What are you trying to prove!" she yelled angrily. Looking away from her questioning gaze, Jareth clenched his jaw in agitation. Sarah saw the look of pain cross his face for a moment before he looked away, and she suddenly felt guilty. "What is it?" she asked. Not believing how he had just acted he, but knowing that he couldn't take it back, he looked at her and saw that she was concerned. Knowing now that she wasn't mad, just worried, he replied, "Feldman," he whispered confidentially, "has a notorious reputation when it comes to women. He goes through them like bottles of good wine. He savors them for the moment, but once they lose their flavor, he throws them away. I hope you're getting my drift." Sarah nodded her head in complete understanding. One of her arms started to itch, so she pulled back her sleeve and relieved the itch by scratching. Inspecting her arm, she saw there was nothing wrong with it, and concluded it must be dry skin. Jareth stood watching her and noticed she suddenly found her arm very interesting. Once again he shifted the weight of the rock to his other arm. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Jareth mumbled. Quite dumbfounded, Sarah looked at him and said, "Did you just apologize?" Jareth gave her one of those dashing grins that he was oh so good at giving, and responded, "Only to you my dear." Then he resumed walking. Sarah grinned to herself, and hurried after a retreating Jareth.
"OK, I got it. If we can't teleport using the stone outside of the kingdom, why don't we just wish ourselves away to the beginning of the Old Kingdom, and if something follows us we can hopefully stop it there. Then, once we are a safe distance away from the kingdom, wish ourselves back to Ishtar's place," she explained carefully, while churning it over in her head. Jareth continued walked but thought about it as he did. "Yes," he said after a while, "that may work. I can't see any fault in it. All right," he said, and then stopped walking. "Place your hand on the stone," he instructed to Sarah, who placed her hand beside his gloved one. "Take us to the beginning of the Old Kingdom," he commanded. A small flash of light appeared out of the stone, and transported them back to the beginning. Once there, Sarah laughed at the irony of her situation. Jareth's brows furrowed in confusion. "I fail to see what is so funny," he said. Sarah sobered at his serious expression and said, still chuckling a little, "I thought I would never say this, but it's good to be back at the beginning."
Thanks for reading! Please review if you have questions, comments, or random insults. (*laughs*) Although the random insults may deter me from writing further.
Chapter 11: At the Center
The golden fox trotted steadily along the winding marble path before them. Sarah followed the little animal, a little nervous following a creature that she didn't entirely trust. Turning her head to the left and right every so often, she noticed that the gravestones were still there, and they didn't show any sign of thinning out. She shivered, and not from being cold either. Unconsciously she wrapped her arms about herself to ward off the bad feelings. Up ahead, there was something looming in the distance, only Sarah wasn't sure what it was because she couldn't quite make it out. They walked a little further before Sarah was pretty sure what she was seeing was a temple, a very old temple that was practically in ruins. For some reason it just didn't feel right. Sarah said to the little fox, "Hey, um, fox, what is that? Fox? Fox? Where'd you go?" The fox was no longer ahead of her and Sarah turned around in circles calling out, but the little creature had disappeared. "Ugh!" she cried in frustration, clenching her fist at her sides. She asked aloud to no one in particular, "Now what am I supposed to do?" A noise from just beyond one of the stone pillars in front of her grabbed Sarah's attention. An imposing figure stepped from behind the pillar of stone and started to walk towards Sarah. She noticed he looked quite shady, his coal black hair hung down to his shoulders and his striking, yet harsh features were filled with malice. An eye-patch covered the left eye socket where a large scar was embedded from the corner of his eye clear to his cheek. The other uncovered eye was almost catlike or snakelike with a black slit running down the middle. Sarah gulped audibly and back away a couple of feet from the man in front of her. "Who are you?" she asked guardedly. He waved a black gloved hand grandly out and then bowed deeply. Rising he said with a slight sneer in a deep, yet cold voice, "I am Conway, at your service." He started to walk towards her once again and she backed away even further. She put a hand up and said, "Now, wait, stay right there," and he stopped moving. "I need to know what that is," she said gesturing to the ruins of a temple. "That was the temple of Jezebel, but it's in quite a state of disrepair, don't you agree?" Sarah nodded without realizing it, a strand of her wet hair falling rebelliously in front of her eyes. "There's something that I'm looking for, and it was supposed to be in that temple, do you mind if I take a look?" Conway chuckled, an ugly grating sound dully rumbling on her eardrums. "No, I don't mind, why don't you just tell me what you're looking for, and I'll tell you whether or not it's there?" he suggested without emotion. Rubbing her forehead tiredly, and then removing the strand of hair hanging in over her eyes, Sarah replied, "How do I know you're not going to lie?" "Fine, see for yourself then," Conway said, stepping aside and sweeping out an arm as a gesture to pass. Sarah moved around him without turning her back to him, while shuffling closer to the temple. All of a sudden he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him roughly. "You didn't really think I'd let you look did you?" he asked threateningly. Not really wanting to let this guy get the one up on her she said haughtily, "Whew, what did you eat for breakfast, a skunk?" This further angered the man and he threw her to the ground with force. Sarah stood back up hurriedly, not wanting to let this creep intimidate her. Gathering her courage, she bolted past him and up the temple steps as fast as she could, spotted the stone laying on the ground amidst the rubble, the incantations carved on it giving it away. She picked up the stone, which was no easy task because it was a bit heavy, and then hugged it against her chest. Conway was on her heels as she had bounded up the steps and now he stood facing her. He made a motion with his hand and a beam of light appeared around his fist. "Stupid mortal, don't you know you can't win?" He started to fling the conjured light at Sarah. Wishing aloud, she said, "I wish Jareth were here right now." The incantations on the stone started to rearrange and then out of nowhere, a shocked Jareth appeared in between Conway and Sarah. Seeing what was obviously about to take place, Jareth conjured one of his infamous crystals and threw it at Conway. The crystal flashed and the light engulfed Conway, and when it cleared he was no longer there. Sarah, who was relieved to see Jareth again said, "Look, Jareth, I found it." Jareth chuckled a bit and said, "Yes, I can see that." It suddenly occurred to Sarah to ask Jareth where he had been. "Hey, where were you anyway?" she asked. He sighed in annoyance, and then raised an eyebrow. "I was where I was supposed to be, waiting for you. For some reason when you jumped, you ended up quite a ways ahead of me. Who was that?" Jareth asked, referring to Conway. Sarah replied, "I'm not sure, but he said his name was Conway. Ring any bells?" Jareth rubbed his chin in contemplation, "Not really. Here, do you want me to carry that, it looks heavy," he said. Sarah shook her head. "No, I got it. We can take turns if you want," she said moving around him to walk back down the stairs, and he followed. "So, this is the center of the Old Kingdom, huh?" Sarah inquired. "Yes," Jareth agreed. "Why? Not what you expected?" he mocked. "Nope, I expected some kind of grand temple, not that pile of rocks back there." After a while, Sarah broke the silence and said, "OK, you can carry it now, my arms are starting to hurt." They stopped and Jareth took the rock from her arms. Sarah swung her arms a little to get the feeling back in them. "Thanks," she said gratefully. "So, how do we get back?" she asked curiously. Jareth shifted the weight of the rock from one arm to the other and said, "I know what you're thinking, and no, we can't use the stone to wish ourselves back to Ishtar's kingdom, no matter how tempting. Especially being so close to the center." Sarah smacked a hand to her forehead in agitation. "But, why?" Becoming angered by her ignorance, Jareth replied shortly, "Because something could follow us back. Supposedly the closer to the center you are, the more danger there is. Even though we've been lucky in that aspect." Sarah guffawed. "Lucky? What do you call Conway?" Jareth decided to leave that one alone. The tension between the two was slowly disappearing as the conversation dwindled. To the left, Jareth heard a rock being kicked, and turned to see it roll out from behind one of the gravestones. The little golden fox wandered out from behind the same gravestone, and stalked slowly closer to them. "So, I see you found what you were looking for," it stated quite smugly. Sarah nodded, "Yes.hey how did you know I was looking for that?" she said gesturing to the stone. Jareth had been silently watching and took the time to interject, "You two know each other?" he asked incredulously. "Yeah," Sarah admitted, "he sort of lead me to the temple." Unexpectedly the little fox with the golden glow started to morph and grow taller in front of their eyes. A man that looked quite cunning stood facing them in front of the fox. "I am Feldman," the man stated simply. He looked human except the golden glow still surrounded him. "Yes," Jareth replied, "I'm quite aware of who you are." Sarah's eyes and mouth had been hanging wide opened as she had watched the scene unfolding before her. Now, she closed her mouth and found her voice long enough to ask, "How do you know who he is Jareth?" Glancing over his shoulder at Sarah, he had seen her staring unbelievingly at the two of them. He chuckled deeply then stated, "Feldman is Ishtar's brother. He undoubtedly sent him to keep an eye on us. As if we needed it." Feldman sniffed, apparently insulted. "If I hadn't lead Sarah to the temple, both of you would still be looking for it." Sarah smiled sympathetically at him. "I'm sure Jareth didn't mean it that way. I'm grateful that you helped us find it," she said. Feldman grinned enticingly at her and winked. Sarah blushed at his actions and then looked away at the ground. Jareth had been watching the exchange between the two and could see Feldman's intent. "Oh no you don't," Jareth said, grabbing Sarah's hand abruptly and walking away from him. "Jareth!" Sarah squealed, surprised at his rude behavior. "Feldman was just trying to help," she explained. Jareth pulled her along by the wrist angrily behind him. Sarah started to struggle, trying to pull her reddening wrist free. "Jareth, you're hurting," she whimpered. With her wrist still held tightly in his grasp, Jareth turned on her, his face a mask of fury. "Sarah, I have been generous." he stated. By that time Sarah had freed her wrist and was rubbing it in annoyance. She finished the statement for him mockingly, "Yes, I know, and you can be cruel. What are you trying to prove!" she yelled angrily. Looking away from her questioning gaze, Jareth clenched his jaw in agitation. Sarah saw the look of pain cross his face for a moment before he looked away, and she suddenly felt guilty. "What is it?" she asked. Not believing how he had just acted he, but knowing that he couldn't take it back, he looked at her and saw that she was concerned. Knowing now that she wasn't mad, just worried, he replied, "Feldman," he whispered confidentially, "has a notorious reputation when it comes to women. He goes through them like bottles of good wine. He savors them for the moment, but once they lose their flavor, he throws them away. I hope you're getting my drift." Sarah nodded her head in complete understanding. One of her arms started to itch, so she pulled back her sleeve and relieved the itch by scratching. Inspecting her arm, she saw there was nothing wrong with it, and concluded it must be dry skin. Jareth stood watching her and noticed she suddenly found her arm very interesting. Once again he shifted the weight of the rock to his other arm. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Jareth mumbled. Quite dumbfounded, Sarah looked at him and said, "Did you just apologize?" Jareth gave her one of those dashing grins that he was oh so good at giving, and responded, "Only to you my dear." Then he resumed walking. Sarah grinned to herself, and hurried after a retreating Jareth.
"OK, I got it. If we can't teleport using the stone outside of the kingdom, why don't we just wish ourselves away to the beginning of the Old Kingdom, and if something follows us we can hopefully stop it there. Then, once we are a safe distance away from the kingdom, wish ourselves back to Ishtar's place," she explained carefully, while churning it over in her head. Jareth continued walked but thought about it as he did. "Yes," he said after a while, "that may work. I can't see any fault in it. All right," he said, and then stopped walking. "Place your hand on the stone," he instructed to Sarah, who placed her hand beside his gloved one. "Take us to the beginning of the Old Kingdom," he commanded. A small flash of light appeared out of the stone, and transported them back to the beginning. Once there, Sarah laughed at the irony of her situation. Jareth's brows furrowed in confusion. "I fail to see what is so funny," he said. Sarah sobered at his serious expression and said, still chuckling a little, "I thought I would never say this, but it's good to be back at the beginning."
Thanks for reading! Please review if you have questions, comments, or random insults. (*laughs*) Although the random insults may deter me from writing further.