Nevermore
Chapter One: A New Beginning
At the beginning there was nothing, save a series of frightened whispers, drifting past her ears as she listened. The whispers, although entirely terrifying in their ethereal quality, seemed to almost bring tears to her shimmering hazel eyes, as their quiet secrets tumbled about in half-words, only barely understandable.
As she listened, the words broke away slowly as if riding the faint breeze and drifting into the past. To cover the overwhelming silence that suddenly was there to meet the shivering woman, a gentle series of sobs erupted only a scant distance away. They came from the depths of some being, someone who had experienced such eternal sadness that their heart had completely split into two and all that was left was the urge to end this painful existence.
The sounds brought back painful memories, that leapt from the further recesses of her mind. To remember those harmful times, nights that meant only never-ending dreams that eventually had prevented her from any semblance of sleep, brought only pain. Sarah had seen his eyes everywhere during that period of her life. She had witnessed the mismatched colors shining through to her from her own mirror, in her bathroom, and even in a reflection she might catch out of the corner of her eyes in some highly polished surface. There had even been the slightest crystalline glint of the cold sapphire ice, and flicking chestnut of his gaze hidden in the razor she had held in one trembling hand. Only then the vision was drawn away by the crimson flow, that led her slowly into sweet oblivion. That had been her dance with death, where she felt cold skeletal hands brush her cheeks, as Sarah had only wished 'he' would have done ages ago.
Sarah could remember this all, her years that were forever lost in the black depths of a hidden past. She would never dwell on that time, for it was just as well left where no one could touch it, and bring it into the view of all who dared to enter the turmoil of her life. Sarah covered it well, with smiles and laughter, all false, but convincing nonetheless. After all, she did pride herself on her acting.
The crying broke through her train of thoughts, and at last dispelled her memories. This was no time to think of her pain and hardship. For, at that moment, she had no idea of her whereabouts. She knew only that someone, or something, was still crying, and the darkness that surrounded her had now begun to take on a shade of solemn gray tones.
Yet, it was still so utterly lonesome. Just the faint cries, and now the trickles of golden sunshine that broke through the overcast sky, was all that Sarah was allowed to experience. Nothing else came, and so she sat down on the strange, sand-like surface that had since then been nothing more but hard, darkness. The land she now dwelled in was slowly beginning to exist, to step forth from the nothingness that previously had overcome it.
It was just as well that something break the darkness, so that she might take her mind off of the crying spirit, that now appeared to be drawing nearer, though there was nothing to be seen. Sarah ran a trembling hand through the sifting sand, and allowed it to drift from between her slender fingers as it returned to its rightful place, along with its brethren.
Her dark hair caught the breeze, and another sensation rose to meet her. A faint scent of salt, of brine, of all the things that are attributed to the ocean on a cool morning, drifted past. That was where she sat, near the ocean, upon the golden sandy shores of a beach. However, her only companion was a sobbing girl, who, judging only by the sound of the cries, seemed to be not much older than Sarah herself. She would guess the woman was in her early twenties, if not younger.
The gentle morning sun, illuminating the sand into a faintest orange hue, at long last caught the water in its light. The rolling water, as it crashed against the shore, unrelenting in its eternal duties, shimmered as if thousands of crystals rode the every wave. It was all so beautiful and fresh, clean and new. Had Sarah been there entirely alone, and rid of the fretful crying that even now drifted over the pounding sound of the waves hitting against the sand and drifting back to sea, she would have felt overwhelmed with a sensation of rebirth, and happiness.
Even the chill in the air was a welcomed experience. Sarah wrapped her arms around her shivering body and tried to keep some warmth from escaping. She rose to her feet, in hopes that some movement might prove to push away the cold morning air that fought beneath her light sweater. Perhaps, walking would put the crying at a further distance, for even then it continued, non-stopping and becoming rather annoying as well.
Sarah stopped abruptly as a sight fell before her eyes. Resting just ahead of her, was a tall rocky outcropping, black and viscous in its brutal appearance. It simply did not belong on this lovely, untouched beach, that was only warm golden highlighted sand as far as the eye could see. However, there it stood, reaching far into the sky, and glistening with sprays of water, produced as countless surges of waves attacked the intruder, trying in vain to drive it away. The massive black cliff, appeared ancient, as if it had inhabited this beach since the dawn of time.
The rock itself was shocking alone, yet Sarah's gaze had not dwelled upon it for long. Instead she had noticed something else, another stranger in this serene beach that she had believed herself to be alone upon, save the crying that came from nowhere and everywhere. She could still hear it in the back of her mind, though her attention was entirely focused elsewhere.
Sitting upon the very peak of the mighty stone structure, was a figure clothed entirely in white, as if a ghost himself. His wispy blonde hair trailed in the wind, which was obviously more powerful at such a great height. Sarah saw him, and was instantly driven back, almost faint at the sight. She had left this all behind, had started anew, and now here was her past, back again to haunt her, and perhaps truly drive her insane this time around.
Jareth, however, did not seem to have noticed the woman, the single one who had defeated his massive labyrinth and himself in one fell swoop. Instead he looked out into the ocean, seeming to even gaze past it, and into a distance that was immeasurable. Even from her place upon the ground, far away from him, Sarah could sense a certain change in the Goblin King, an air of grief that had struck him so entirely that he himself did not know how to handle it.
Then, as if Jareth had known the entire time that Sarah would be there, on this beach, watching him, he turned to look down at her. His eyes shone, and still she felt drawn to them, to him. It felt, almost, that this was what was meant to be. Fate, perhaps, had worked in some strange way to bring the two together once again.
For the briefest time Sarah experienced the strange childish giddiness rise within her soul. When he first had happened into her room, cloaked in midnight shades of darkest blues, and emanating an air of utter power that terrified her and excited her all at the same instant, she had felt this attraction. Still she knew it was there, and tried in desperation to force the emotion aside, reminding herself of the Hell she had experienced due to his brutal ways, and his damn suave manners. His image was forever implanted on her mind, and so had nearly driven her mad.
At that moment, when their eyes first met, and she felt all reasonable, and rationale thinking flit away, she knew of nothing to tell him. Sarah very well could have informed this man of all the trouble his presence in her life had caused. Nothing came, and she could only look at him, feeling her heartbeat race at a truly unnatural pace. The only thing to break the strange spell was the sobbing in the distance. Suddenly a question rose in her mouth and she rushed to break the overwhelming silence that surrounded the two of them.
"Do you hear her?" Sarah asked, not truly able to decide why she had inquired about the sobbing girl.
Jareth allowed his eyes to stray from Sarah's as he listened to the mysterious woman still mournful for some unknown reason. His face was set, emotionless, as it had always been when Sarah had seen him. However, Jareth had, for only a few moments, been normal, been nearly human as he gazed into the ocean. Yet, when his eyes met with hers once again, there was no feeling, there was only the king who stole babies away and forced hardships upon the innocent and naive.
He allowed a sly grin to cross his features and he casually produced a perfect crystal, to rest in the palm of his hand, cloaked in a shimmering white glove. Sarah bit her lip, trying in desperation to rid herself of this dream, and this Goblin King. However, he obviously would not allow the nightmare to end yet.
"Why does she cry?" Sarah asked, her voice more urgent then she had wanted it to be.
Jareth gazed into the crystal for a short time, and then looked back at the woman down on the shore. His smile remained on his face, and his eyes continued to dance with otherworldly and magical lights and illuminations. For a scant second an answer almost formed in his eyes, as if a flash of lightening played across his darkened pupils, but that was as close to the truth that Sarah was allowed to get.
"Ask her, dear Sarah," Jareth stated with a ruthless laugh, and then tossed the crystal into the air.
Sarah followed the path that the magical orb took with her slightly dazed eyes. However, it only continued upwards, into the clouded sky overhead, as if the crystal had actually sprouted wings in order to fly away from this beach.
"Miss....," the voice came from all around her, and instantly Sarah felt the fragile, sleep-woven existence of the beach begin to break away.
Sarah startled awake and grasped the arm rests firmly in her slender hands. Her breath caught in her throat, and she struggled against the strange, almost choking grip that had found its way around her neck. She took in her surrounding with one rushed glance, and allowed several deep breaths to calm her frazzled nerves.
She was once again in the cramped coach seat in the plane, on her way to her new life. Sarah felt a tentative hand touch her shoulder and she immediately spun around to look, wide-eyed at the young stewardess who smiled nervously at the passenger. Sarah could feel her cheeks redden in embarrassment, at the scene that she had obviously put on for the rest of the rather annoyed passengers. In fact, the man who sat next to her, was already mumbling something about 'his luck.'
"We are about to start our descent and the seatbelt sign has been lit. Miss, are you feeling well?" the stewardess questioned, her worry obvious in the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes.
Sarah nodded abruptly and then allowed a faint, forced smile to cover her paled lips. With a jerking movement, which only succeeded in striking the annoyed man next to her, Sarah fastened her seatbelt and then glanced back at the young woman. She waited until the flight attendant had nodded a few more times and continued down the aisle to check on other dozing people, only then did she turn her attention to the scenery outside, through the rather dingy window.
The entire experience of flying was something Sarah could have done without. The thought of being thousands of feet, above the security of the ground in a large metal object, nearly made her nauseous. However, the opportunity that had been presented to her just a few short weeks earlier had been something that she simply could not pass up. Plane or not, Sarah had been determined to make the long trip to England.
Surely it had been the only thing her true birth mother had ever done for her. Her mother had called and mentioned, rather downsizing the chance as she spoke, that she happened to know someone in England that was looking for an aspiring young actress, and of course Sarah would be perfect. After everything Sarah had been handling, the sudden ray of light had been enough to lift her back into high spirits, and rid herself of the final bit of depression that was left after the horrendous year spent in the 'home.'
"Yeah, home," Sarah thought bitterly as she readjusted herself in the uncomfortable airline seat. If only her mother had offered a bit more money to travel, then perhaps she could have done so without all these awful muscle cramps.
Sarah had been labeled suicidal, though the only time she had actually attempted had frightened her enough to entirely push aside the thought of ever taking her own life. Just the sight of the pools of bright blood, slipping down the white porcelain sink, and finally dripping to the cool linoleum floor, had frightened her to the point of hysterics. If she had not suddenly become so horrified, and had not screamed with such intensity, then perhaps Sarah would have been nothing more than a name on a new headstone in the midst of hundreds more. However, she had been saved, and then had been quickly placed into an institution, so as to assess her state of mind.
Sarah pushed the thoughts of the horrid place away. She did not want to dwell on all that had gone wrong in her life at that time. There was so much waiting for her in the future. She was, after all, only twenty-three. Sarah reassured herself with a brisk nod and then smiled as she continued to watch the ground slowly draw nearer, and her fear of the flight began to dissipate.
It would not be long until she would be safely back on solid ground, and in her new life. Things were finally looking up.
* * * * * * * *
Sarah lurched forward as a rude teenager behind her pushed to get out quicker than everyone else. She very nearly turned and told him off, but decided against it. She did not need to start everything on the wrong foot. There was always sure to be a certain individual that would be tactless, and uncivil. She ignored the shoving and instead chose to walk ever so slowly towards the exit from the plane.
However, the moment the fresh air reached her, and the scenery showed itself, Sarah forgot all about the unmannerly young man behind her. England had never looked so amazing, even though she had only set eyes on the airport, and a vague view of a few lonesome tree tops peaking over the buildings. Still, just finally being there was enough.
Everything had the air of change, of difference, of renewal where she could finally place her less than favorable past behind herself. That was where it belonged, out of mind and away from the prying eyes of those who supposedly only wanted to help her. She took one confident step out of the plane, and onto the chipped metal loading ramp that had been brought directly beside the plane so that passengers could be free of the restricting metal beast.
This new beginning was her chance to prove to both her doubting father and stepmother that had attempted in vain to convince her not to take this trip due to her rocky past, that it was for the best. With a wonderful breath of fresh, slightly damp evening air, she proceeded the rest of the way down the creaking ramp, and onward into her future, into a time that seemed only bright as she waited with anticipation.
Sarah paused at the bottom of the steep stairs, feet firmly planted on the solid concrete, and expectations flying straight into the highest realms of the atmosphere. Of course, she had yet to even speak to the man who had inquired about this new, unknown actress (without any real experience), and the thoughts of fame and fortune were currently only hopeful dreams. However, that was what she was, and had always been, a dreamer. It would not seem right to even consider the horrid possibility that this 'big break' would become nothing more than another in the line of countless rejections, and numerable false hopes.
"Ah, the life of an aspiring actress!" Sarah thought bitterly, though with a certain hint of sarcasm.
However, those considerations where quickly thrown aside from her overjoyed mind. She did not have time to dwell on the 'what ifs.' Her spirits were in rare high form, far different from the depressing, and life-threatening times she had experienced shortly after dropping out of her Senior year in the pathetic institution know to many as 'highschool.' Sarah very nearly gagged at the thought of the place in which she had experienced taunts and so many hours of tears brought on by harsh, brutal words uttered by her peers.
She casually slung her bag to the ground, already tired from the obvious jet lag which would soon be there to greet her. After all, one does not simply travel to an entirely different continent and come out feeling fresh and awake. Sarah was fairly sure that the small amount of slumber that would grace her tired mind and body that night, would be by far insufficient. Nonetheless, that was the way things would go, and she would take it all in stride.
A warm hand fell on the thick cotton coat she had rushed to pull over her shivering shoulders, the instant the stewardess had warned everyone of the extreme fall in temperature, when compared to the lovely weather that had been experienced back in their last stop off. Sarah had already begun to confuse the many places in which she had spent a few fleeting moments of rest, as planes where changed.
"Sarah Williams?" a smooth, dignified man asked, his British accent evident immediately.
Sarah spun around and smiled, placing a slender hand over her fluttering heart. She had not expected to be surprised so. Yet, had she really known what to expect upon arriving at her destination, England? Even the sound of the country brought a tingle to her soul and her body as well. This was her future, this land with such refined tastes, and a royal family as well. It was all like some fairy story.
"Yes, are you the man whom I spoke with yesterday?" Sarah questioned, drawing her hand away from her heart and offering it to the older gentleman.
The word 'gentleman' certainly did describe this stranger to a key. He was tall, refined, slightly grayed and dressed impeccably in a dark navy suit. She could tell that he had been handsome in his younger days, and even now held the regal look of one who could still attract quite a few younger woman. The man nodded slightly as he shook her hand and then bent to take Sarah's bags.
Sarah was quite shocked to see just how well she was treated already. In reality, she had yet to learn of her place, or what she really would be doing, save filling a spot that had suddenly become vacant in some acting troupe of kinds. It didn't really matter what it was, for she would make the best out of anything. Sarah would be happy even if she was just a minor role, that had the briefest speaking part.
"Miss Williams?" the man questioned from the open door of a rather exquisite looking black car.
She bit her lip and hurried, so as not to keep anyone waiting. That, of course, was the furthest thought from her mind. The door closed firmly behind her, and she found herself alone in the back of the car, a tinted glass separating herself from the front seat. Sarah squirmed a bit as her nerves got the better of her, but then calmed, as the car revved to life and began to pull out of the airport, and onwards to...her future.
Chapter One: A New Beginning
At the beginning there was nothing, save a series of frightened whispers, drifting past her ears as she listened. The whispers, although entirely terrifying in their ethereal quality, seemed to almost bring tears to her shimmering hazel eyes, as their quiet secrets tumbled about in half-words, only barely understandable.
As she listened, the words broke away slowly as if riding the faint breeze and drifting into the past. To cover the overwhelming silence that suddenly was there to meet the shivering woman, a gentle series of sobs erupted only a scant distance away. They came from the depths of some being, someone who had experienced such eternal sadness that their heart had completely split into two and all that was left was the urge to end this painful existence.
The sounds brought back painful memories, that leapt from the further recesses of her mind. To remember those harmful times, nights that meant only never-ending dreams that eventually had prevented her from any semblance of sleep, brought only pain. Sarah had seen his eyes everywhere during that period of her life. She had witnessed the mismatched colors shining through to her from her own mirror, in her bathroom, and even in a reflection she might catch out of the corner of her eyes in some highly polished surface. There had even been the slightest crystalline glint of the cold sapphire ice, and flicking chestnut of his gaze hidden in the razor she had held in one trembling hand. Only then the vision was drawn away by the crimson flow, that led her slowly into sweet oblivion. That had been her dance with death, where she felt cold skeletal hands brush her cheeks, as Sarah had only wished 'he' would have done ages ago.
Sarah could remember this all, her years that were forever lost in the black depths of a hidden past. She would never dwell on that time, for it was just as well left where no one could touch it, and bring it into the view of all who dared to enter the turmoil of her life. Sarah covered it well, with smiles and laughter, all false, but convincing nonetheless. After all, she did pride herself on her acting.
The crying broke through her train of thoughts, and at last dispelled her memories. This was no time to think of her pain and hardship. For, at that moment, she had no idea of her whereabouts. She knew only that someone, or something, was still crying, and the darkness that surrounded her had now begun to take on a shade of solemn gray tones.
Yet, it was still so utterly lonesome. Just the faint cries, and now the trickles of golden sunshine that broke through the overcast sky, was all that Sarah was allowed to experience. Nothing else came, and so she sat down on the strange, sand-like surface that had since then been nothing more but hard, darkness. The land she now dwelled in was slowly beginning to exist, to step forth from the nothingness that previously had overcome it.
It was just as well that something break the darkness, so that she might take her mind off of the crying spirit, that now appeared to be drawing nearer, though there was nothing to be seen. Sarah ran a trembling hand through the sifting sand, and allowed it to drift from between her slender fingers as it returned to its rightful place, along with its brethren.
Her dark hair caught the breeze, and another sensation rose to meet her. A faint scent of salt, of brine, of all the things that are attributed to the ocean on a cool morning, drifted past. That was where she sat, near the ocean, upon the golden sandy shores of a beach. However, her only companion was a sobbing girl, who, judging only by the sound of the cries, seemed to be not much older than Sarah herself. She would guess the woman was in her early twenties, if not younger.
The gentle morning sun, illuminating the sand into a faintest orange hue, at long last caught the water in its light. The rolling water, as it crashed against the shore, unrelenting in its eternal duties, shimmered as if thousands of crystals rode the every wave. It was all so beautiful and fresh, clean and new. Had Sarah been there entirely alone, and rid of the fretful crying that even now drifted over the pounding sound of the waves hitting against the sand and drifting back to sea, she would have felt overwhelmed with a sensation of rebirth, and happiness.
Even the chill in the air was a welcomed experience. Sarah wrapped her arms around her shivering body and tried to keep some warmth from escaping. She rose to her feet, in hopes that some movement might prove to push away the cold morning air that fought beneath her light sweater. Perhaps, walking would put the crying at a further distance, for even then it continued, non-stopping and becoming rather annoying as well.
Sarah stopped abruptly as a sight fell before her eyes. Resting just ahead of her, was a tall rocky outcropping, black and viscous in its brutal appearance. It simply did not belong on this lovely, untouched beach, that was only warm golden highlighted sand as far as the eye could see. However, there it stood, reaching far into the sky, and glistening with sprays of water, produced as countless surges of waves attacked the intruder, trying in vain to drive it away. The massive black cliff, appeared ancient, as if it had inhabited this beach since the dawn of time.
The rock itself was shocking alone, yet Sarah's gaze had not dwelled upon it for long. Instead she had noticed something else, another stranger in this serene beach that she had believed herself to be alone upon, save the crying that came from nowhere and everywhere. She could still hear it in the back of her mind, though her attention was entirely focused elsewhere.
Sitting upon the very peak of the mighty stone structure, was a figure clothed entirely in white, as if a ghost himself. His wispy blonde hair trailed in the wind, which was obviously more powerful at such a great height. Sarah saw him, and was instantly driven back, almost faint at the sight. She had left this all behind, had started anew, and now here was her past, back again to haunt her, and perhaps truly drive her insane this time around.
Jareth, however, did not seem to have noticed the woman, the single one who had defeated his massive labyrinth and himself in one fell swoop. Instead he looked out into the ocean, seeming to even gaze past it, and into a distance that was immeasurable. Even from her place upon the ground, far away from him, Sarah could sense a certain change in the Goblin King, an air of grief that had struck him so entirely that he himself did not know how to handle it.
Then, as if Jareth had known the entire time that Sarah would be there, on this beach, watching him, he turned to look down at her. His eyes shone, and still she felt drawn to them, to him. It felt, almost, that this was what was meant to be. Fate, perhaps, had worked in some strange way to bring the two together once again.
For the briefest time Sarah experienced the strange childish giddiness rise within her soul. When he first had happened into her room, cloaked in midnight shades of darkest blues, and emanating an air of utter power that terrified her and excited her all at the same instant, she had felt this attraction. Still she knew it was there, and tried in desperation to force the emotion aside, reminding herself of the Hell she had experienced due to his brutal ways, and his damn suave manners. His image was forever implanted on her mind, and so had nearly driven her mad.
At that moment, when their eyes first met, and she felt all reasonable, and rationale thinking flit away, she knew of nothing to tell him. Sarah very well could have informed this man of all the trouble his presence in her life had caused. Nothing came, and she could only look at him, feeling her heartbeat race at a truly unnatural pace. The only thing to break the strange spell was the sobbing in the distance. Suddenly a question rose in her mouth and she rushed to break the overwhelming silence that surrounded the two of them.
"Do you hear her?" Sarah asked, not truly able to decide why she had inquired about the sobbing girl.
Jareth allowed his eyes to stray from Sarah's as he listened to the mysterious woman still mournful for some unknown reason. His face was set, emotionless, as it had always been when Sarah had seen him. However, Jareth had, for only a few moments, been normal, been nearly human as he gazed into the ocean. Yet, when his eyes met with hers once again, there was no feeling, there was only the king who stole babies away and forced hardships upon the innocent and naive.
He allowed a sly grin to cross his features and he casually produced a perfect crystal, to rest in the palm of his hand, cloaked in a shimmering white glove. Sarah bit her lip, trying in desperation to rid herself of this dream, and this Goblin King. However, he obviously would not allow the nightmare to end yet.
"Why does she cry?" Sarah asked, her voice more urgent then she had wanted it to be.
Jareth gazed into the crystal for a short time, and then looked back at the woman down on the shore. His smile remained on his face, and his eyes continued to dance with otherworldly and magical lights and illuminations. For a scant second an answer almost formed in his eyes, as if a flash of lightening played across his darkened pupils, but that was as close to the truth that Sarah was allowed to get.
"Ask her, dear Sarah," Jareth stated with a ruthless laugh, and then tossed the crystal into the air.
Sarah followed the path that the magical orb took with her slightly dazed eyes. However, it only continued upwards, into the clouded sky overhead, as if the crystal had actually sprouted wings in order to fly away from this beach.
"Miss....," the voice came from all around her, and instantly Sarah felt the fragile, sleep-woven existence of the beach begin to break away.
Sarah startled awake and grasped the arm rests firmly in her slender hands. Her breath caught in her throat, and she struggled against the strange, almost choking grip that had found its way around her neck. She took in her surrounding with one rushed glance, and allowed several deep breaths to calm her frazzled nerves.
She was once again in the cramped coach seat in the plane, on her way to her new life. Sarah felt a tentative hand touch her shoulder and she immediately spun around to look, wide-eyed at the young stewardess who smiled nervously at the passenger. Sarah could feel her cheeks redden in embarrassment, at the scene that she had obviously put on for the rest of the rather annoyed passengers. In fact, the man who sat next to her, was already mumbling something about 'his luck.'
"We are about to start our descent and the seatbelt sign has been lit. Miss, are you feeling well?" the stewardess questioned, her worry obvious in the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes.
Sarah nodded abruptly and then allowed a faint, forced smile to cover her paled lips. With a jerking movement, which only succeeded in striking the annoyed man next to her, Sarah fastened her seatbelt and then glanced back at the young woman. She waited until the flight attendant had nodded a few more times and continued down the aisle to check on other dozing people, only then did she turn her attention to the scenery outside, through the rather dingy window.
The entire experience of flying was something Sarah could have done without. The thought of being thousands of feet, above the security of the ground in a large metal object, nearly made her nauseous. However, the opportunity that had been presented to her just a few short weeks earlier had been something that she simply could not pass up. Plane or not, Sarah had been determined to make the long trip to England.
Surely it had been the only thing her true birth mother had ever done for her. Her mother had called and mentioned, rather downsizing the chance as she spoke, that she happened to know someone in England that was looking for an aspiring young actress, and of course Sarah would be perfect. After everything Sarah had been handling, the sudden ray of light had been enough to lift her back into high spirits, and rid herself of the final bit of depression that was left after the horrendous year spent in the 'home.'
"Yeah, home," Sarah thought bitterly as she readjusted herself in the uncomfortable airline seat. If only her mother had offered a bit more money to travel, then perhaps she could have done so without all these awful muscle cramps.
Sarah had been labeled suicidal, though the only time she had actually attempted had frightened her enough to entirely push aside the thought of ever taking her own life. Just the sight of the pools of bright blood, slipping down the white porcelain sink, and finally dripping to the cool linoleum floor, had frightened her to the point of hysterics. If she had not suddenly become so horrified, and had not screamed with such intensity, then perhaps Sarah would have been nothing more than a name on a new headstone in the midst of hundreds more. However, she had been saved, and then had been quickly placed into an institution, so as to assess her state of mind.
Sarah pushed the thoughts of the horrid place away. She did not want to dwell on all that had gone wrong in her life at that time. There was so much waiting for her in the future. She was, after all, only twenty-three. Sarah reassured herself with a brisk nod and then smiled as she continued to watch the ground slowly draw nearer, and her fear of the flight began to dissipate.
It would not be long until she would be safely back on solid ground, and in her new life. Things were finally looking up.
* * * * * * * *
Sarah lurched forward as a rude teenager behind her pushed to get out quicker than everyone else. She very nearly turned and told him off, but decided against it. She did not need to start everything on the wrong foot. There was always sure to be a certain individual that would be tactless, and uncivil. She ignored the shoving and instead chose to walk ever so slowly towards the exit from the plane.
However, the moment the fresh air reached her, and the scenery showed itself, Sarah forgot all about the unmannerly young man behind her. England had never looked so amazing, even though she had only set eyes on the airport, and a vague view of a few lonesome tree tops peaking over the buildings. Still, just finally being there was enough.
Everything had the air of change, of difference, of renewal where she could finally place her less than favorable past behind herself. That was where it belonged, out of mind and away from the prying eyes of those who supposedly only wanted to help her. She took one confident step out of the plane, and onto the chipped metal loading ramp that had been brought directly beside the plane so that passengers could be free of the restricting metal beast.
This new beginning was her chance to prove to both her doubting father and stepmother that had attempted in vain to convince her not to take this trip due to her rocky past, that it was for the best. With a wonderful breath of fresh, slightly damp evening air, she proceeded the rest of the way down the creaking ramp, and onward into her future, into a time that seemed only bright as she waited with anticipation.
Sarah paused at the bottom of the steep stairs, feet firmly planted on the solid concrete, and expectations flying straight into the highest realms of the atmosphere. Of course, she had yet to even speak to the man who had inquired about this new, unknown actress (without any real experience), and the thoughts of fame and fortune were currently only hopeful dreams. However, that was what she was, and had always been, a dreamer. It would not seem right to even consider the horrid possibility that this 'big break' would become nothing more than another in the line of countless rejections, and numerable false hopes.
"Ah, the life of an aspiring actress!" Sarah thought bitterly, though with a certain hint of sarcasm.
However, those considerations where quickly thrown aside from her overjoyed mind. She did not have time to dwell on the 'what ifs.' Her spirits were in rare high form, far different from the depressing, and life-threatening times she had experienced shortly after dropping out of her Senior year in the pathetic institution know to many as 'highschool.' Sarah very nearly gagged at the thought of the place in which she had experienced taunts and so many hours of tears brought on by harsh, brutal words uttered by her peers.
She casually slung her bag to the ground, already tired from the obvious jet lag which would soon be there to greet her. After all, one does not simply travel to an entirely different continent and come out feeling fresh and awake. Sarah was fairly sure that the small amount of slumber that would grace her tired mind and body that night, would be by far insufficient. Nonetheless, that was the way things would go, and she would take it all in stride.
A warm hand fell on the thick cotton coat she had rushed to pull over her shivering shoulders, the instant the stewardess had warned everyone of the extreme fall in temperature, when compared to the lovely weather that had been experienced back in their last stop off. Sarah had already begun to confuse the many places in which she had spent a few fleeting moments of rest, as planes where changed.
"Sarah Williams?" a smooth, dignified man asked, his British accent evident immediately.
Sarah spun around and smiled, placing a slender hand over her fluttering heart. She had not expected to be surprised so. Yet, had she really known what to expect upon arriving at her destination, England? Even the sound of the country brought a tingle to her soul and her body as well. This was her future, this land with such refined tastes, and a royal family as well. It was all like some fairy story.
"Yes, are you the man whom I spoke with yesterday?" Sarah questioned, drawing her hand away from her heart and offering it to the older gentleman.
The word 'gentleman' certainly did describe this stranger to a key. He was tall, refined, slightly grayed and dressed impeccably in a dark navy suit. She could tell that he had been handsome in his younger days, and even now held the regal look of one who could still attract quite a few younger woman. The man nodded slightly as he shook her hand and then bent to take Sarah's bags.
Sarah was quite shocked to see just how well she was treated already. In reality, she had yet to learn of her place, or what she really would be doing, save filling a spot that had suddenly become vacant in some acting troupe of kinds. It didn't really matter what it was, for she would make the best out of anything. Sarah would be happy even if she was just a minor role, that had the briefest speaking part.
"Miss Williams?" the man questioned from the open door of a rather exquisite looking black car.
She bit her lip and hurried, so as not to keep anyone waiting. That, of course, was the furthest thought from her mind. The door closed firmly behind her, and she found herself alone in the back of the car, a tinted glass separating herself from the front seat. Sarah squirmed a bit as her nerves got the better of her, but then calmed, as the car revved to life and began to pull out of the airport, and onwards to...her future.
