The Truth
Sadly...I still own nothing. Boo hoo. Thanks Tial for all your help.
Jareth had slept peacefully and had woken up with just enough time to get ready before speeding off to Sarah's house. He wondered what she was going to be wearing this time. Her pajamas had been nice but he doubted that that's what she would wear to lunch. He was dressed in a white shirt with tight black pants and motorcycle boots to match his black leather jacket. (In which his phone was nestled. He be damned if he left it behind again.) His fluffy hair was uncovered and he had a pair of dark sports sunglasses stuck on his face. All in all he thought he looked pretty damn good. He was amazed at what a man could accomplish with out makeup.
He walked up to Sarah's door, checked himself over, and knocked.
The door jerked open and a disheveled looking Sarah looked out. Her eyes widened when she saw Jareth.
"Oh no, what time is it?" she asked in a panicked voice, stepping aside so Jareth could step in.
Jareth chuckled and took off his glasses, looking at her with his mismatched eyes. Why what a welcome surprise. She was still in her pajamas. How nice."
"Why good morning Sarah. Sleep well?"
No, she thought. "Yes, I slept all right. Give me fifteen minutes, please and then I'll be ready."
Jareth tucked his glasses away next his phone and smiled at her. "Oh take your time. I can wait."
Sarah smiled at him before dashing to her bedroom and shutting the door. After fifteen minutes Sarah opened the door and walked into the living room, wearing a black spaghetti strap and denim capris.
"I'm ready to go, sorry that I kept you waiting."
Jareth let his eyes skim over her. Not as good as the pajamas but...nice. "Oh it was worth the wait. I know this place that has good music where we can go for lunch, unless you have plans."
"I'll go wherever," Sarah said with a smile, grabbing her purse.
They walked out to his bike and he handed her a helmet. He took her purse and put it in the side bags and then sat on the bike. She sat behind him and wrapped her arms around his waits. He could have taken any of his many cars, or even taken a limosein, but he liked this better.
"It's quite a ways from here so get comfortable."
Sarah nodded after putting on the helmet and settled herself against his back, still slightly drowsy.
Jareth took started up his bike and they were soon zooming along on the freeway. He couldn't wait to show Sarah his little club. He had named it The Underground. Perhaps he could tell her who he was there. He could sing her a song. Yes. That would be nice. He felt her head fall to his shoulder. He took one hand off the handlebars and held her hands to his stomach so she wouldn't fall off. He quickly spun a balance spell over her so that even if he slipped, she wouldn't.
He pulled his bike into his private parking spot and turned off the motor. He looked back over his shoulder and smiled. She was still sleeping. He rubbed at her hands.
"Sarah. Sarah, we're here."
She opened her eyes and sleepily blinked at him, smiling sheepishly as she took of the helmet.
"Where is here?"
Jareth smiled and took the helmet from her. "My club. I started it up a few years ago. Good food too. Nice music. All that jazz."
"Sounds great-" Sarah stopped as she saw the title. The Underground.
Jareth noticed her discomfort and tried to shrug it off.
"We can leave the helmets here. No one will take them."
Sarah nodded, not quite hearing him. The Underground, the realm of Jareth, the Goblin King. If there was anything that even vaguely resembled a labyrinth in there, she didn't think she'd be able to take it.
Jareth looked worriedly at her. Maybe this wasn't the best time to take her here.
"Are you all right? We could go back to your place and you could sleep some more. I don't mind."
Sarah gave him what she hoped was a charming smile. "Don't be silly, I can't wait to see your club."
He grinned and took her arm. "I hope you like music. There's a lot of it in there."
He guided her down a spiral staircase and through a stone archway. A huge man with a tight fitting black shirt and loose jeans smiled at Jareth and opened the heavy wooden double door for him and Sarah. Jareth nodded his thanks and entered his club.
The floors were the best part. It was a huge maze. If you took off all the table and looked around at it you could solve it...although it would take a while. There was a bar shoved into one corner and a danc efloor made of white marble in front of a low stage where live music was sometimes performed. He waved his arm around at the room.
"Were would you like to sit my lady Sarah?"
"Anywhere would be fine," Sarah murmured, her eyes tracing the familiar pattern on the floor. She knew exactly which way to get to the center of the labyrinth, it was the same pattern as the one she had dreamed seven years earlier.
He led her to a table in the corner of the room. He pulled out a chair for her and then leaned on the table, smiling at her.
"So Sarah. What will it be?"
She finally pulled her eyes away from the maze and looked up at David. "What's good here?"
He smiled and ran his finger tip from her wrist to the end of her fingers. "Everything is good. We can make anything your heart desires. Just name it."
"In that case, I'll take a club sandwich and a coke," she said with a smile.
Jareth dashed off and came back a few minutes later carrying two plates on his arm and two mugs in his hand. He set down a club sandwich in front of her and a heaping plate of spaghetti in front of himself. He set down her coke...and his...and smiled.
"Well, chow down."
Sarah smiled and lifted her glass. "To you."
Jareth smirked and raised his eyebrow. He raised his glass and touched it to hers. "How about to us? To finding out all about each other?"
"All right, to us."
Jareth grinned and gulped down half his soda.
"So," he said after a mouthful of pasta. "What does Jareth wear? Anything fashionable?"
"Actually, what I remember him wearing was probably one of the more frightening things about him. He wore these pants that were tight enough to be painted on and this huge flowing shirt, almost like a fencers. His hair I'm sorry to admit looked like a startled dandelion and if I remember rightly, he always had this cloud of glitter floating about him," Sarah said with a smile.
Jareth frowned. He didn't dress all that bad. It came with the part. "Sounds interesting. Will I get to model for you book?"
Sarah misunderstood his frown. "Don't worry, I know the clothing sounds bad, so I won't make you try it on."
Jareth hid his grimace with a mouthful of food. He could do without the glitter. He would even let the shirt and pants go...but not his hair! He liked his hair!
"Of course, if you let your hair grow for a little while, it could probably pass as Jareth's," Sarah said with a slightly chuckle, running her fingers through his hair.
Jareth shuddered slightly. Oh what a lovely feeling. "I could do that."
"Although, I don't have the slightest idea how you'd get it to stand straight up," Sarah mused, finishing the last of her coke.
Jareth laughed. "Oh you'd be surprised what a blow drier can do."
"I'll have to trust you on that," Sarah replied, looking at the dance floor, where the ceiling and walls all curved ever so slightly, giving the illusion of the inside of a bubble.
Jareth nodded slightly and took a deep breath. "Well. Time for dessert."
He stood and came back a moment later with two bowls of ice-cream. He set one down in front of Sarah and helped himself to his own bowl. He sat down and smiled across the table at her.
"Peach ice cream. My favorite."
"I'll pass thank you, I'm allergic to peaches," Sarah murmured. At least she had been ever since she ate the one Jareth had given her.
Jareth frowned. "I'm sorry. Would you like something else perhaps?"
"No thank you, I'm fine," Sarah replied with a smile.
Jareth looked around his club. A few other groups of people had come in and were talking quietly at their tables. Slow day. He smiled and Magically started up the musicbox that sat next to the bar. A slow song began to play and his smiled turned into a grin. If only he could get her to relax then perhaps he could tell her who he really was.
He looked across the table at her and stood, not breaking eye contact.
"May I please have this dance m'lady?"
"Well, I'm not exactly dressed for dancing, but I would love to," Sarah said, smiling as she stood and slipped her hand into his.
Jareth lead her out onto the floor and a few other couples followed his lead. He rested his hands on Sarah's waist and put his mouth next to her ear.
"So tell me Sarah," he said after a few minutes. "What about this Jareth character scares you?"
Sarah shuddered slightly. "He's so cruel. He kidnapped my brother..."
He wouldn't have hurt the child.
"He tried to hurt me and my friends..."
He had never...but she was scared. He could see how it might look like that.
"He even tried to seduce me so he could keep my brother. He's terrible."
He hadn't been trying to seduce her so he could keep her brother...he had had his own reasons for that. It had just been a game.
She shook her head. "But this is silly. He's not real."
Like hell he wasn't.
"Sarah? If he was real, what would you say to him?"
"I would tell him to go and not bother me. I would tell him again that he has no power over me and never will," she murmured, unconsciously moving closer to Jareth.
Jareth shuddered, but not because of her closeness. Oh how he hated those words. Those simple words that had turned his well balanced live upside down. He sighed and tried to think of what to do, humming to himself to try and soothe his frayed nerves. He had thought this would work out so well. What was he going to do? Sooner or later she would find out...and then what?
Sarah stopped dancing and looked at Jareth, watching him with horror as he hummed "As the World Falls Down."
He looked at her confused.
"What's wrong Sarah?"
"You're humming what he sang to me when we danced," she whispered, looking into his mismatched eyes.
Jareth stared at her in shock. How was he going to explain this? He cleared his throat and began to walk off the dance floor, the song not even half over.
"May I please speak with you for a moment Sarah?"
"Of course," Sarah said softly, following him as she wondered about his humming.
He lead her through a door and into a dark room. He clapped his hands and the lights turned on. A black wood desk was in the middle of the room. A stereo system was against the far wall and a computer was on a small table next to the desk. A thrown sat behind the desk. Behind the thrown was a bookshelf jammed full of books.
Jareth leaned up against the desk and motioned for Sarah to sit down.
"Sarah. What do you think of me? As a person I mean? Am I good or bad?"
"Well, I hardly know you at all, but I'd say you're good as far as I know you," Sarah said, confused.
Jareth ran his slender fingers over his face. "Sarah. I'm afraid we've known each other longer than you think."
Sarah looked at him, her face full of confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Jareth took a deep breath and looked up at her. "Sarah. Your not crazy. It was all real. It wasn't a dream. Jareth is real...I'm real Sarah."
No, no it wasn't real. It was just a dream. Jareth isn't real, you're real, but you aren't Jareth, you're David Bowie," Sarah said, leaning against the desk for support.
Jareth's image simmered for a moment and his vision spell dropped. He looked at her, praying she wouldn't scream and try to run. The door was locked but it would be much easier to speak with her if she was calm. He sat and watched her, his looks back to the way they had been 7 years ago when she had left...minus the pants, shirt and glitter...but the hair was the same.
Sarah's eyes widened and her mouth moved soundlessly. A soft moan finally escaped her lips and she sank down to her knees. "No, no, no," she whispered to herself, not looking up at him.
He quickly knelt down next to her and put a hand to her shoulder. "I can explain if you will give me the chance..."
She cringed away from his touch and looked up at him, tears streaking her mascara. "Why are you here, you're supposed to be in your own realm stealing children from stupid people like me for a hobby."
Jareth frowned at her. "I don't steal children...I take them when they aren't wanted."
"I was angry and confused I didn't want you to take Toby," Sarah protested.
Jareth caught himself before he blurted out ' Oh you didn't?' He didn't want to tease her.
"As I said before. What's said is said. You said something and I did it. But that's not the point right now. Look, why don't you have a seat and I'll make some tea or something to help calm you. You look as if you're going to break," he said moving closer.
"Don't touch me," Sarah said, climbing into the chair and drawing her knees to her chest, her eyes slightly unfocused.
Jareth tried not to cringe at the fear in her voice. He created another crystal and set it on the desk. After a moment a steaming cup of tea sat in it's place. He picked up the cup and held it out to Sarah.
"I know you must be pretty confused. I think I should explain everything."
"I don't want any tea, I remember what happened when I accepted a peach from you, so I'd rather not."
He sighed and knelt down in front of her, still holding the tea. "It's just tea Sarah. I haven't done anything to it. It will help calm you. You don't have your pills with you now."
"If it has any chance of calming me, there'll be something in it," she said, shaking her head.
"Fine then," he murmured, taking a sip of the tea himself and putting it on the desk.
"I came here just a few weeks after you left. Ruling wasn't fun any more. When you left the challenge was gone. I came here to find you...but I couldn't. I began to make music and the people here liked it, so I continued. Then one day a thought came to me. I thought that if I get good enough you would come back to see me."
"I would have stayed far away and kept my brother and myself from listening to your music if I had known who you were," Sarah said, feeling the room spin as all the psychiatrists advice and his assurance that Jareth wasn't real came crashing down.
He ran a hand through his hair. "I realized that if you found out who I was I wouldn't have a chance at seeing you again...so I put a spell on myself and my songs...to draw you to me. When you came into my office I decided see how you had changed. Once I spent some time around you I couldn't let you go again. Then I realized that you would have to find out who I was sooner or later, so I brought you here. I must admit, your taking this much better than I thought you would."
He sighed, stood, and took another long sip of the cooled tea.
"How the hell did you think I would take this?" Sarah asked in a high voice, looking down at her shaking hands.
He leaned against his desk, his eyes focused sadly on her trembling figure.
"Well, when I first came I thought you might gloat over my lose, then I thought, after spending time with you, that you might hit me."
Sarah contemplated that suggestion for a moment, then decided she probably wasn't able to stand much less convince her muscles to work together to actually hit him without missing.
He cleared his throat. "Sarah? Would you give me a chance to prove to you that I'm actually a nice guy?"
"You're not nice though, you steal children and you kept doing things to make it harder to get through the labyrinth."
He straightened. "I did what you wished me to do."
"I never said I wanted you to throw me in an oubliette, or take away a few hours of my time, or anything," Sarah muttered.
"I didn't throw you there. You fell. I sent Hoggle to get you out. You said my Labyrinth was easy...so I made it a little more challenging. I did only what you asked me to. You wanted me to play the villain. That's how you saw me. So I did. Did I do a good job Sarah? I know I did. I know I scared you."
He knelt by the side of her chair and lightly rested his hand on hers.
"Just let me try and play the charming hero? Please? If I'm no good at it then I'll go away forever. You'll never see me again. I promise."
"You'll go away and leave me alone? What do I have to do?"
"Come back with me? Just for a little while?"
"Go back Underground? To the labyrinth?" she asked in a whisper.
His hand tightened on hers. "It will be much different than your last trip. No dangers. No tricks."
"Your word?" Sarah asked softly, looking him in the eye.
He smiled softly and raised her hand to his lips. He kissed the back of it, still smiling.
"My word and my honor m'lady."
Sarah sighed. "I'll go, as long as I can bring a camera."
He looked confused. "You can of course but...why?"
"Maybe a few pictures will help convince the psychiatrist that I really wasn't a basket case."
Sadly...I still own nothing. Boo hoo. Thanks Tial for all your help.
Jareth had slept peacefully and had woken up with just enough time to get ready before speeding off to Sarah's house. He wondered what she was going to be wearing this time. Her pajamas had been nice but he doubted that that's what she would wear to lunch. He was dressed in a white shirt with tight black pants and motorcycle boots to match his black leather jacket. (In which his phone was nestled. He be damned if he left it behind again.) His fluffy hair was uncovered and he had a pair of dark sports sunglasses stuck on his face. All in all he thought he looked pretty damn good. He was amazed at what a man could accomplish with out makeup.
He walked up to Sarah's door, checked himself over, and knocked.
The door jerked open and a disheveled looking Sarah looked out. Her eyes widened when she saw Jareth.
"Oh no, what time is it?" she asked in a panicked voice, stepping aside so Jareth could step in.
Jareth chuckled and took off his glasses, looking at her with his mismatched eyes. Why what a welcome surprise. She was still in her pajamas. How nice."
"Why good morning Sarah. Sleep well?"
No, she thought. "Yes, I slept all right. Give me fifteen minutes, please and then I'll be ready."
Jareth tucked his glasses away next his phone and smiled at her. "Oh take your time. I can wait."
Sarah smiled at him before dashing to her bedroom and shutting the door. After fifteen minutes Sarah opened the door and walked into the living room, wearing a black spaghetti strap and denim capris.
"I'm ready to go, sorry that I kept you waiting."
Jareth let his eyes skim over her. Not as good as the pajamas but...nice. "Oh it was worth the wait. I know this place that has good music where we can go for lunch, unless you have plans."
"I'll go wherever," Sarah said with a smile, grabbing her purse.
They walked out to his bike and he handed her a helmet. He took her purse and put it in the side bags and then sat on the bike. She sat behind him and wrapped her arms around his waits. He could have taken any of his many cars, or even taken a limosein, but he liked this better.
"It's quite a ways from here so get comfortable."
Sarah nodded after putting on the helmet and settled herself against his back, still slightly drowsy.
Jareth took started up his bike and they were soon zooming along on the freeway. He couldn't wait to show Sarah his little club. He had named it The Underground. Perhaps he could tell her who he was there. He could sing her a song. Yes. That would be nice. He felt her head fall to his shoulder. He took one hand off the handlebars and held her hands to his stomach so she wouldn't fall off. He quickly spun a balance spell over her so that even if he slipped, she wouldn't.
He pulled his bike into his private parking spot and turned off the motor. He looked back over his shoulder and smiled. She was still sleeping. He rubbed at her hands.
"Sarah. Sarah, we're here."
She opened her eyes and sleepily blinked at him, smiling sheepishly as she took of the helmet.
"Where is here?"
Jareth smiled and took the helmet from her. "My club. I started it up a few years ago. Good food too. Nice music. All that jazz."
"Sounds great-" Sarah stopped as she saw the title. The Underground.
Jareth noticed her discomfort and tried to shrug it off.
"We can leave the helmets here. No one will take them."
Sarah nodded, not quite hearing him. The Underground, the realm of Jareth, the Goblin King. If there was anything that even vaguely resembled a labyrinth in there, she didn't think she'd be able to take it.
Jareth looked worriedly at her. Maybe this wasn't the best time to take her here.
"Are you all right? We could go back to your place and you could sleep some more. I don't mind."
Sarah gave him what she hoped was a charming smile. "Don't be silly, I can't wait to see your club."
He grinned and took her arm. "I hope you like music. There's a lot of it in there."
He guided her down a spiral staircase and through a stone archway. A huge man with a tight fitting black shirt and loose jeans smiled at Jareth and opened the heavy wooden double door for him and Sarah. Jareth nodded his thanks and entered his club.
The floors were the best part. It was a huge maze. If you took off all the table and looked around at it you could solve it...although it would take a while. There was a bar shoved into one corner and a danc efloor made of white marble in front of a low stage where live music was sometimes performed. He waved his arm around at the room.
"Were would you like to sit my lady Sarah?"
"Anywhere would be fine," Sarah murmured, her eyes tracing the familiar pattern on the floor. She knew exactly which way to get to the center of the labyrinth, it was the same pattern as the one she had dreamed seven years earlier.
He led her to a table in the corner of the room. He pulled out a chair for her and then leaned on the table, smiling at her.
"So Sarah. What will it be?"
She finally pulled her eyes away from the maze and looked up at David. "What's good here?"
He smiled and ran his finger tip from her wrist to the end of her fingers. "Everything is good. We can make anything your heart desires. Just name it."
"In that case, I'll take a club sandwich and a coke," she said with a smile.
Jareth dashed off and came back a few minutes later carrying two plates on his arm and two mugs in his hand. He set down a club sandwich in front of her and a heaping plate of spaghetti in front of himself. He set down her coke...and his...and smiled.
"Well, chow down."
Sarah smiled and lifted her glass. "To you."
Jareth smirked and raised his eyebrow. He raised his glass and touched it to hers. "How about to us? To finding out all about each other?"
"All right, to us."
Jareth grinned and gulped down half his soda.
"So," he said after a mouthful of pasta. "What does Jareth wear? Anything fashionable?"
"Actually, what I remember him wearing was probably one of the more frightening things about him. He wore these pants that were tight enough to be painted on and this huge flowing shirt, almost like a fencers. His hair I'm sorry to admit looked like a startled dandelion and if I remember rightly, he always had this cloud of glitter floating about him," Sarah said with a smile.
Jareth frowned. He didn't dress all that bad. It came with the part. "Sounds interesting. Will I get to model for you book?"
Sarah misunderstood his frown. "Don't worry, I know the clothing sounds bad, so I won't make you try it on."
Jareth hid his grimace with a mouthful of food. He could do without the glitter. He would even let the shirt and pants go...but not his hair! He liked his hair!
"Of course, if you let your hair grow for a little while, it could probably pass as Jareth's," Sarah said with a slightly chuckle, running her fingers through his hair.
Jareth shuddered slightly. Oh what a lovely feeling. "I could do that."
"Although, I don't have the slightest idea how you'd get it to stand straight up," Sarah mused, finishing the last of her coke.
Jareth laughed. "Oh you'd be surprised what a blow drier can do."
"I'll have to trust you on that," Sarah replied, looking at the dance floor, where the ceiling and walls all curved ever so slightly, giving the illusion of the inside of a bubble.
Jareth nodded slightly and took a deep breath. "Well. Time for dessert."
He stood and came back a moment later with two bowls of ice-cream. He set one down in front of Sarah and helped himself to his own bowl. He sat down and smiled across the table at her.
"Peach ice cream. My favorite."
"I'll pass thank you, I'm allergic to peaches," Sarah murmured. At least she had been ever since she ate the one Jareth had given her.
Jareth frowned. "I'm sorry. Would you like something else perhaps?"
"No thank you, I'm fine," Sarah replied with a smile.
Jareth looked around his club. A few other groups of people had come in and were talking quietly at their tables. Slow day. He smiled and Magically started up the musicbox that sat next to the bar. A slow song began to play and his smiled turned into a grin. If only he could get her to relax then perhaps he could tell her who he really was.
He looked across the table at her and stood, not breaking eye contact.
"May I please have this dance m'lady?"
"Well, I'm not exactly dressed for dancing, but I would love to," Sarah said, smiling as she stood and slipped her hand into his.
Jareth lead her out onto the floor and a few other couples followed his lead. He rested his hands on Sarah's waist and put his mouth next to her ear.
"So tell me Sarah," he said after a few minutes. "What about this Jareth character scares you?"
Sarah shuddered slightly. "He's so cruel. He kidnapped my brother..."
He wouldn't have hurt the child.
"He tried to hurt me and my friends..."
He had never...but she was scared. He could see how it might look like that.
"He even tried to seduce me so he could keep my brother. He's terrible."
He hadn't been trying to seduce her so he could keep her brother...he had had his own reasons for that. It had just been a game.
She shook her head. "But this is silly. He's not real."
Like hell he wasn't.
"Sarah? If he was real, what would you say to him?"
"I would tell him to go and not bother me. I would tell him again that he has no power over me and never will," she murmured, unconsciously moving closer to Jareth.
Jareth shuddered, but not because of her closeness. Oh how he hated those words. Those simple words that had turned his well balanced live upside down. He sighed and tried to think of what to do, humming to himself to try and soothe his frayed nerves. He had thought this would work out so well. What was he going to do? Sooner or later she would find out...and then what?
Sarah stopped dancing and looked at Jareth, watching him with horror as he hummed "As the World Falls Down."
He looked at her confused.
"What's wrong Sarah?"
"You're humming what he sang to me when we danced," she whispered, looking into his mismatched eyes.
Jareth stared at her in shock. How was he going to explain this? He cleared his throat and began to walk off the dance floor, the song not even half over.
"May I please speak with you for a moment Sarah?"
"Of course," Sarah said softly, following him as she wondered about his humming.
He lead her through a door and into a dark room. He clapped his hands and the lights turned on. A black wood desk was in the middle of the room. A stereo system was against the far wall and a computer was on a small table next to the desk. A thrown sat behind the desk. Behind the thrown was a bookshelf jammed full of books.
Jareth leaned up against the desk and motioned for Sarah to sit down.
"Sarah. What do you think of me? As a person I mean? Am I good or bad?"
"Well, I hardly know you at all, but I'd say you're good as far as I know you," Sarah said, confused.
Jareth ran his slender fingers over his face. "Sarah. I'm afraid we've known each other longer than you think."
Sarah looked at him, her face full of confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Jareth took a deep breath and looked up at her. "Sarah. Your not crazy. It was all real. It wasn't a dream. Jareth is real...I'm real Sarah."
No, no it wasn't real. It was just a dream. Jareth isn't real, you're real, but you aren't Jareth, you're David Bowie," Sarah said, leaning against the desk for support.
Jareth's image simmered for a moment and his vision spell dropped. He looked at her, praying she wouldn't scream and try to run. The door was locked but it would be much easier to speak with her if she was calm. He sat and watched her, his looks back to the way they had been 7 years ago when she had left...minus the pants, shirt and glitter...but the hair was the same.
Sarah's eyes widened and her mouth moved soundlessly. A soft moan finally escaped her lips and she sank down to her knees. "No, no, no," she whispered to herself, not looking up at him.
He quickly knelt down next to her and put a hand to her shoulder. "I can explain if you will give me the chance..."
She cringed away from his touch and looked up at him, tears streaking her mascara. "Why are you here, you're supposed to be in your own realm stealing children from stupid people like me for a hobby."
Jareth frowned at her. "I don't steal children...I take them when they aren't wanted."
"I was angry and confused I didn't want you to take Toby," Sarah protested.
Jareth caught himself before he blurted out ' Oh you didn't?' He didn't want to tease her.
"As I said before. What's said is said. You said something and I did it. But that's not the point right now. Look, why don't you have a seat and I'll make some tea or something to help calm you. You look as if you're going to break," he said moving closer.
"Don't touch me," Sarah said, climbing into the chair and drawing her knees to her chest, her eyes slightly unfocused.
Jareth tried not to cringe at the fear in her voice. He created another crystal and set it on the desk. After a moment a steaming cup of tea sat in it's place. He picked up the cup and held it out to Sarah.
"I know you must be pretty confused. I think I should explain everything."
"I don't want any tea, I remember what happened when I accepted a peach from you, so I'd rather not."
He sighed and knelt down in front of her, still holding the tea. "It's just tea Sarah. I haven't done anything to it. It will help calm you. You don't have your pills with you now."
"If it has any chance of calming me, there'll be something in it," she said, shaking her head.
"Fine then," he murmured, taking a sip of the tea himself and putting it on the desk.
"I came here just a few weeks after you left. Ruling wasn't fun any more. When you left the challenge was gone. I came here to find you...but I couldn't. I began to make music and the people here liked it, so I continued. Then one day a thought came to me. I thought that if I get good enough you would come back to see me."
"I would have stayed far away and kept my brother and myself from listening to your music if I had known who you were," Sarah said, feeling the room spin as all the psychiatrists advice and his assurance that Jareth wasn't real came crashing down.
He ran a hand through his hair. "I realized that if you found out who I was I wouldn't have a chance at seeing you again...so I put a spell on myself and my songs...to draw you to me. When you came into my office I decided see how you had changed. Once I spent some time around you I couldn't let you go again. Then I realized that you would have to find out who I was sooner or later, so I brought you here. I must admit, your taking this much better than I thought you would."
He sighed, stood, and took another long sip of the cooled tea.
"How the hell did you think I would take this?" Sarah asked in a high voice, looking down at her shaking hands.
He leaned against his desk, his eyes focused sadly on her trembling figure.
"Well, when I first came I thought you might gloat over my lose, then I thought, after spending time with you, that you might hit me."
Sarah contemplated that suggestion for a moment, then decided she probably wasn't able to stand much less convince her muscles to work together to actually hit him without missing.
He cleared his throat. "Sarah? Would you give me a chance to prove to you that I'm actually a nice guy?"
"You're not nice though, you steal children and you kept doing things to make it harder to get through the labyrinth."
He straightened. "I did what you wished me to do."
"I never said I wanted you to throw me in an oubliette, or take away a few hours of my time, or anything," Sarah muttered.
"I didn't throw you there. You fell. I sent Hoggle to get you out. You said my Labyrinth was easy...so I made it a little more challenging. I did only what you asked me to. You wanted me to play the villain. That's how you saw me. So I did. Did I do a good job Sarah? I know I did. I know I scared you."
He knelt by the side of her chair and lightly rested his hand on hers.
"Just let me try and play the charming hero? Please? If I'm no good at it then I'll go away forever. You'll never see me again. I promise."
"You'll go away and leave me alone? What do I have to do?"
"Come back with me? Just for a little while?"
"Go back Underground? To the labyrinth?" she asked in a whisper.
His hand tightened on hers. "It will be much different than your last trip. No dangers. No tricks."
"Your word?" Sarah asked softly, looking him in the eye.
He smiled softly and raised her hand to his lips. He kissed the back of it, still smiling.
"My word and my honor m'lady."
Sarah sighed. "I'll go, as long as I can bring a camera."
He looked confused. "You can of course but...why?"
"Maybe a few pictures will help convince the psychiatrist that I really wasn't a basket case."