In
The Goblin Kingdom
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Sarah stuffed her belongings into a bag. I
seem to be making a habit of this, she noted wryly, darkly amused. Eleraine
had promised that she would be assigned a different tutor if Jareth was
intolerable and Sarah meant to take her up on it.
And he had
been intolerable. All she had done was her job. He couldn't have expected her
to let that tower fall on that mixed crowd of goblins, fairies, elves and
dwarfs, could he? Then why was he so mad?
She remembered him rushing to her prone
figure, not bothering with the usual shower of glitter which usually
accompanied his appearances. He had linked with her, seemingly concerned, doing
his best to restore the natural energy she had expended on the telekinesis. And
then, when she was well, he had rebuked her severely.
Sarah flinched, remembering that Conversation. "What
the devil were you thinking of, Sarah. Oh don't tell me, let me guess…. You
weren't thinking. If I hadn't noticed the problem, you might have died "
Jareth, she had discovered, frequently
lost his temper. It came, she supposed, of being a spoiled, reclusive king. His
temper tantrums reminded her of Toby. She had outraged him by making the
comparison aloud when he asked her why she found his anger funny. Before Sarah
had left for the Goblin kingdom, Elleraine had asked her to make allowances for
Jareth, as he had lived alone for about fifty years.
Sarah wondered why he had lived so solitary a life and then
ruthlessly suppressed her curiosity. Jareth the Goblin King was no longer her
concern.
Jareth sat in the darkened throne room of
his most used castle at the edge of the Goblin city of Ghenotosh. It was in
much better order than the one Sarah had seen briefly during her earlier trip
to the Labyrinth. That one, he remembered with amusement, was kept in a
deliberate state of disrepair.
He frowned, reminded of the reason he was brooding. That idiotic
girl had almost killed herself today!!! Vanessa had been much more careful with
magic, he remembered. More dull….? He forced himself away from that thought,
disturbed by the mental infidelity to his lost love. She had not been dull, he
argued with himself, just cautious.
That was why she left, the treacherous voice inside him whispered,
because she was
cautious. Jareth decided that he did not like the way his subconscious could
make a virtue sound so bad.
Anyway, Sarah had demonstrated incontrovertibly today, that she
was not an exact replica of her grandmother. Vanessa would never have attempted
a spell she was not ready for, not even to save the lives of a substantial
portion of Ghenotosh.
So she was not a reincarnation of his love. That was a
disappointment. Jareth closed his eyes, attempting to avert an on coming
headache. If she was not Vanessa re-born than why did she obsess him so? Why
did he find himself caught by her eyes, her voice, her laugh? She had been so
familiar to him, even in the Labyrinth. He had known her on an instinctive level, known when she would flinch from
him, that she would run in the ball room, that she would not give up her
brother.
But, the insidious voice that was part
of him said, Vanessa would have sacrificed ten
brothers for something she wanted. Jareth swore, his muttered oath
disturbing the silence of the darkened throne room. Why did he insist on
comparing Sarah and Vanessa?
Now that he knew that the girl wasn't what
he had thought her, he should return her to his sister and be done with it. He
would then be able to resume his comfortable seclusion. The thought was not so
tempting anymore. It was enjoyable, he realized, to teach Sarah, to watch her
face light up as she grasped a difficult concept. She was bright and learned
well and it was refreshing to have someone around who was not afraid of him.
Even her impudence was refreshing. She also showed signs of becoming a capable
second in command.
He summoned a crystal bubble and conjured
up Sarah. She was packing, he noted with consternation, and there were tear
stains on her face. In a breath he teleported to her room.
"What are you doing Sarah?" Jareth demanded roughly, concealing
his inner panic at the thought of her leaving behind an autocratic manner.
Sarah stiffened then whirled towards him
"It's considered polite to knock" she prissily informed him. She was not quite
sure what to make of his appearance and suppressed her awareness that they were
in her bedroom. She frowned, looking at the glitter on her bed "You've messed
up my bed."
"If you're leaving it's not your bed
anymore, is it?" Jareth questioned his expression inscrutable.
Sarah wondered why his words hurt her,
why she felt sad about leaving this place she had come to only two weeks ago.
She had made no friends here and there was no one to talk to but the servants.
She had been disappointed to learn that Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus were
not in Ghenotosh, that they lived in the Labyrinth. Jareth advanced towards
her, invading her personal space, and she backed away from him.
"I'm here to apologize," Jareth said,
when it became clear that she wouldn't do anything but silently observe him. "I
shouldn't have lost my temper"
Sarah was speechless. An apology was the
last thing she had expected from the commanding Goblin King. She was aware that
the smart thing to do would be to shut up and accept but she was feeling daring
today.
"Why did you get so mad?" she asked
hesitantly.
"I was afraid you'd die" said Jareth,
surprising both himself and Sarah. He was astonished as he realised that it was
true, that he had been afraid that she would die.
Jareth's unexpected disclosure made Sarah
bold. "I didn't think you cared" she said matter of factly.
"As I said earlier, my dear, it's hard to
avoid caring about someone you've watched since babyhood"
Sarah felt her curiosity stir. "Why have you watched me since babyhood? I
could understand watching me after I went through the Labyrinth, but why
before?"
Jareth caught himself on a sigh. She was
bright, this girl and she had asked the one question he had been hoping to
avoid. He sat down on the bed and motioned for her to do the same.
Sarah sat down at the head of the bed, as
far away from Jareth as she could.
Jareth observed this impassively, with an
inner smile. "Your grandmother came to the Labyrinth as a girl," he began "but
chose to return to your world later. As magic is inborn, I observed her
descendants to see if they were suited to a life Underground. Your mother I
excluded early on. Extreme selfishness is a disqualifying characteristic, and
your mother had it in spades"
Sarah's expression became withdrawn as
Jareth spoke of her mother. She had been selfish, Sarah realized, always
putting herself first. The pain of her abandonment throbbed momentarily, like a
scab which had been picked at.
"You, on the other hand, showed promises"
Jareth continued "and so I observed you to see whether you were suited for a
life here" and also because I hoped that
you were a reincarnation of Vanessa, he added mentally, his face showing a
trace of sadness.
Sarah looked at Jareth, her mind in a
whirl. Her grandmother, who had died before her birth, had also come to the
underground. "Why did she leave?" Sarah asked, knowing by Jareth's expression
that he wasn't telling her everything about her grandmother.
"Because she missed her home" Jareth said
evasively, knowing that he could not tell Sarah the real reason.
Sarah sensed that Jareth was being
evasive, but did not press the issue. "I don't miss home" she declared
brightly, trying to cheer Jareth up.
Jareth smiled at her. "If you want," he
offered diffidently "I'll teach you telekinesis tomorrow. And later we can go
visit the Labyrinth." He offered these things as bribes, the closest he could
bring himself to asking her to stay.
Sarah answered with a smile. What happened to leaving!!!! her self
preservation screamed at her. Common sense dictated that she leave this aloof,
dangerously appealing Goblin King. To hell with common sense, she decided and
began unpacking her bags
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A/N:
I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I live for reviews. J