AN: I decided to take a break from all of the angst that has been and is to come in this story. Just a cozy little chapter to get things rolling between Sarah and Jareth. He is not so gushy in this fic as he is in my other one. He is more in character here. Of course that means that they will argue....and this chapter is no exception! Enjoy!
Chapter 3
Morning
My first recollection of the next morning was hearing whispers and the crackling of a fire. As I woke slowly, I got a very comfortable and cozy feeling, like I didn't have a care in the world. Then, the memories of the previous night flooded back. I sighed, and the whispering stopped briefly before starting again.
"Should we wake her?"
"No, you heard what we were told. She is not to be disturbed by anything. You want to face him if we wake her?"
"No, but she ain't doin' nothing else. So, what's the harm?"
I lay in my bed, trying to make sense of the whispered conversation. The fire snapped and crackled on, before I realized that I didn't have a fireplace in my bedroom. My eyes flew open, only to be met by two sets of eyes accompanied by two very knobby greenish-yellow heads. Shrieking, I scooted across the bed, wondering how the hideous things could have gotten in my house. My house? This wasn't my house, my bedroom, my bed, my sheets, nothing. As comfortable as the bed had been only minutes before, the silky dark green sheets definatly did not belong to me. I tried to make sense of it all.
"Oh good. You're awake. Now we can go tell his majesty."
HIS MAJESTY? Looking around and finally taking in the room where I had been sleeping, I realized where I was. It wasn't a terribly large room, but it was a fair size, big enough to accommodate a large chair near the fireplace, the rather large bed that I had been sleeping in, a table on either side of the bed, and a tall wardrobe set against the opposite wall. Stone floor, ceiling, and walls. I knew where I was. I was in the castle at the center of the Labyrinth.
A knock on the door snapped me back to my senses. I told the knocker to wait as I pulled on the dressing gown that was laying across one of the chairs. It was much too large, but I would not let whomever was knocking see me in my rumpled pajamas, regardless of how I looked the night before. I knew who was knocking, but it didn't seem right to greet him with almost nothing between us but the thin material of my pajamas and his clothes.
Tying the belt around my waist, I called out "Come in" and was met with a sight that was not all surprising to me: Jareth with a smirk on his face, leaning roguishly against the door frame and letting his eyes roam up and down my figure.
"Making yourself at home I see. I must say that the dressing gown looks better on you that it does on me." His smile got a bit wolfish, and I fidgeted nervously with the end of the belt tie. In all actuality, I was furious with him, but I only managed to get out, "This is yours?"
"Whose room do you think you have been sleeping in? Despite popular opinion, I do not keep rooms for potential visitors and guests. Chances are that they won't come, and I think it wastes a lot of space. Are you hungry?"
As if on cue, my stomach made a loud grumbling noise. Jareth chuckled and straightened up. "As well you should be. You've slept almost half the day away. Get dressed and we will have some lunch."
"We? I'm not eating with you! I'm not one of your subjects! I will not be told what to do! I want to go home."
"Sarah, I am so thankful that you appreciate the use of my bed all night long and my dressing gown. Now, if you would please do me the honor of joining me for lunch, maybe we can talk about my shortcomings in generosity and hospitality. I will see you in half an hour."
Jareth turned and closed the door behind him, leaving me alone with my rapidly blushing face.
After half an hour of being bathed, brushed, combed, pinched, poked, and buttoned into a simple dress of blue brocade, I was ready to take on Jareth again. The team of female goblins he had sent to help me giggled their way through the entire process, so I was glad to be left alone when they had completed their task. Minutes flew by, and I found myself answering Jareth's knock once more. As soon as I opened the door, the smirk fell from his mouth, and it gaped open for a few seconds before closing to form a thin line.
"You look lovely, Sarah. Shall we?" I decided not to insult him and took his arm, beginning the silent trip to the dining room. Inside, I was still boiling from the fact that he had brought me here without my knowledge. I waited and bided my time before I brought up the subject. I didn't have to. Once we had reached the large dining room and had sat down to eat, Jareth started.
"I can't get used to the fact that you are here."
I dropped my fork and knife and looked at him, astonished, "What do you mean?"
"To have someone else here besides the goblins is very different. I can't say that I have ever enjoyed having anyone come to the castle, but with you I can not decide."
"Why did you answer me then?" I felt my cheeks redden as my body became uncomfortable hot inside of my dress.
Jareth shrugged nonchalantly, averting his eyes from my stare. "I had to come. You called me. Just call it a little measure of my generosity."
"But why bring me here? I do have a life, you know. Mark will call with an apology, and if he doesn't get to talk to me he will be even more upset than he was last night."
Jareth stared back at me, "You call that merely being upset? Sarah, the man could've killed you! That was no small tantrum he was throwing!"
"You were watching? What kind of sicko are you?" I threw my napkin down on the table and stood up, hands on my hips.
"The kind who obviously cares enough to get you out of that situation! I had to bring you back here! It's the only way I knew that you would be completely safe."
His words hit me like a bolt of lightening. As I sat back down, I could see him almost grimace once the realization of what he said hit him. He cared, cared about me and wanted to ensure my safety. At the time, the thought annoyed me to no end.
"I didn't ask for your protection. I don't even know why I called you. I was perfectly fine living my life, in my house, at my job, and with my fiancé! Fine time for you to come along and whisk me away from it all!"
"Yes, from a shabby firetrap of a house and a job that will put you in an early grave if your beloved Mark doesn't do it first! No, here you are and here you will stay until I think that it is alright for you to return." He started eating again.
"What? I have a job and responsibilities! How am I supposed to explain my absence? Am I supposed to just waltz up to my boss and say 'Oh, I decided to take a little vacation. Sorry about the clients, but I am sure that everything is just fine?' Things don't exactly work that way up there."
"Don't worry about it. It's being taken care of."
"What are you going to do?"
Jareth didn't answer me, so I sat glowering at the plate full of food in front of me, poking it violently with my fork every so often. I was desperate to get out of the situation I found myself in, but I didn't know why. All that was waiting for me at home was an empty house and an answering machine full of apologies from Mark. Inevitably, there would be a fight in there somewhere. I looked up at Jareth, who was also glaring at his food. I still thought of him as the villain and I the captive, yet he had never physically harmed or threatened me. I wondered why I was so anxious to leave when I was interrupted.
"Because you still think I am the evil villain. You answered your own question before your asked it." Jareth was still staring at his food.
"Stop reading my thoughts!"
"Stop thinking so loudly. When you are angry, even your thoughts yell at me."
"I can see that it is no good keeping anything from you."
"Then why don't you say what you are thinking? It would save us a lot of time."
"Fine!"
"Fine."
"Fine! What do you want to talk about?"
"Mark"
I rolled my eyes. "Isn't there anything else you would rather hear about?"
"You may be talking about anything in the world, but you continue to think about him. That's all I can hear. It is rather exhausting trying to focus on a conversation when another is being played out inside your head. How about we just stick with him for now."
"Why are you so interested?"
"Why do you keep avoiding the subject?"
"Okay, you win. What do you want to know."
"Everything."
For some reason, that was all I needed. I opened up like overflowing flood gates and told our entire story. I told Jareth things that I couldn't even admit to myself. Every fight, every harsh word, every time Mark had hit me played out in my mind and came racing out of my mouth. I watched Jareth's eyes fill with rage as I continued on. By the time I finished with the details of the previous night, my eyes were teary and my voice was wavering.
Both of us sat silent for a few minutes before Jareth reached and took my hand. "I'm sorry, Sarah. No one deserves to be treated that way. Why do you stay?"
"Because it is better than being alone, I guess. I've done the dating scene. I know what it's like. Constantly being judged by what you look like, trying to make decent conversation with a complete stranger. It's a nightmare!"
"And having to worry about how you will cover bruises isn't?"
"It's not like that at all! Mark needs someone who understands him. He needs someone who can help him get through his anger. He needs...."
"He needs a week in the Bog, among several other things." Jareth was beginning to get a dangerous gleam in his eye, one that usually led to something or someone running for their lives.
"No please, don't do anything. It would only make it worse."
"Don't worry. Just make yourself at home here. I will be back later."
Before I could open my mouth, he was gone.