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To Love You More
Chapter Two
"Hiding Her Feelings"
Sarah smiled as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The past two days had been crazy, but everything for the engagement party was ready. Sarah wasn't a mean person by nature, but she knew there was no way she could let Jareth marry Audrey. She just had to find some way to convince him of this. If only there was something bad about Audrey, but try as she might, Sarah could find no flaw except for the fact that she was too perky.
A knock at the door brought Sarah out of her thoughts. She crossed to the door and opened it to find Beth standing on the other side. Beth came into the room and quickly shut the door behind her.
"Sarah, you will never believe what I just overheard," Beth said, trying to catch her breath. "This could be what you need to get Jareth back."
"Calm down and breathe," Sarah said. "What are you talking about?"
*flashback*
Beth was walking down the hallway on her way to Sarah's room when she heard voices coming from the library. Thinking it may have been Sarah, Beth slowed down and put her hand on the doorknob. She was about to open the door when the voices grew louder and she realized it wasn't Sarah. Beth was about to walk away, but stopped when she heard what was being said.
"Sarah being here is a big threat to you Audrey," a female voice said. "She could ruin everything."
"I'm aware of that Mother, that's why I insisted she help. I wanted her where I could see her."
"So help me Audrey, if you screw this up, I'll… I don't know what I'll do, but it won't be pretty," Audrey's mother said. "This kingdom will be ours by the end of next month and I'm not going to let anything ruin that."
Beth let out a muffled gasp. She had to tell Sarah.
*back to present*
Sarah stared at Beth in shock. Was this true?
"Beth, are you sure about this?" Sarah asked.
"Yes I'm sure! Sarah, you have to tell Jareth!" Beth said. "That's all I heard, but I know the only way for them to have control of the kingdom is if Jareth dies. So if they're planning to take the kingdom, then they must also be planning to kill him after the wedding."
"I can't tell him," Sarah said quietly. "It would kill him if I told him. I think he truly loves Audrey in some way. I can't be the one to tell him."
"Sarah, you're the only one he's going to listen to!" Beth wailed.
"Why would he listen to me?" Sarah asked. "He's said maybe two words to me the entire time I've been here. If you ask me, I think he's trying his hardest to avoid me. I mean, Hoggle said he still loved me, but I'm beginning to wonder. He wasn't exactly thrilled that I wanted to come back. And why should he be? I broke his heart once, Beth. I'm not going to do it again."
Beth sighed and sat down on Sarah's bed. Sarah could be so stubborn sometimes.
"Well, if you're not going to talk to him, then I will," Beth said. "Somebody has to warn him."
"Fine, go ahead and tell him," Sarah said as she turned and walked out on the balcony. "I refuse to hurt him again."
Beth sighed as she walked out of Sarah's room. She couldn't understand why Sarah was being so stubborn. She knew Sarah loved Jareth, so why wasn't she willing to help.
"Maybe it's finally happened," Beth said to herself. "Maybe Sarah has finally grown up."
Beth walked into the throne room and saw Jareth lounging in his throne. She cleared her throat to get his attention. Jareth looked up at her.
"Hello, Beth," he said. "I think this is the first time I've seen you without Sarah since you were fifteen."
"So you've been watching her," Beth said. "Somehow, I'm not surprised. It's really not that hard to tell that you're in love with her."
"Yes well, things change," Jareth said. "And so do feelings."
"Are you sure about that?" Beth asked.
"Not as sure as I used to be," Jareth answered after a moment. "It's been four years since I last saw Sarah face to face. I gave up any hope of her ever calling for me. So I decided to look elsewhere and found Audrey. Now I am happily engaged to a beautiful woman. Part of me will always love Sarah, but a greater part of me will always love Audrey."
"Are you sure it's wise to marry someone when part of you will always belong to someone else? If I was Audrey, I would want to be assured that his heart belonged fully to me."
"What does it matter?" Jareth said, absent-mindedly rolling a crystal ball between his hands. "Audrey has no reason whatsoever to worry."
"I believe you," Beth said. "For some strange reason, I believe you. But the question is, do you believe yourself?"
Beth turned and walked out of the room, leaving Jareth to ponder what she had just said. Beth was back in her room before she remembered that she hadn't talked to Jareth about the conversation she had overheard.
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Sarah slowly made her way to the ballroom where the engagement party was being held. Even with the information Beth had given her earlier, Sarah knew she was powerless to do anything to stop the wedding. She had hurt Jareth once before and she would die before she hurt him again.
Sarah slowed as she reached the ballroom. She heard all the merriment coming from inside and heard a waltz being played by the orchestra that was there. It was almost amusing to see the orchestra playing a waltz with a stereo system from Aboveground sitting right beside them, ready for the next song. It had been agreed that they would alternate the songs, first playing one from the Underground followed by one from Aboveground.
Sarah saw Jareth standing across the room talking to some of the other men in attendance. He looked towards the doorway as she came in and gave a slight nod of his head. Sarah turned so she wouldn't have to meet his gaze, knowing it would be too painful. A voice from behind her caught her attention and she turned as she recognized Beth's voice.
"Sarah! There you are!" Beth said. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming. What took so long? You were ready long before I was! By the way, you look stunning. Have you noticed how many heads have turned since you walked in here?"
Sarah smiled at Beth. It wasn't unusual for Beth to change topics so quickly. It was one of things Sarah liked the most about her. She did have to agree with Beth that she did look amazing. She hadn't even looked this nice for her senior prom and she figured it had something to do with the magic that was all around them. Sarah was dressed in form fitting hunter green dress. It had no straps and Sarah was positive that magic was only thing keeping it from falling off of her. Her hair was piled on top of her head and she had ringlets framing her face. She wore elbow length gloves that were the same shade of her gown, and a diamond choker was fastened around her neck.
"I was thinking," Sarah said, informing Beth why it had taken her so long. "Look Beth, I know you told me about what Audrey said earlier, but I just can't do it. I can't tell him. I know Jareth. He'll find out soon enough. But I refuse to be the one to hurt him."
"I understand," Beth said. "I shouldn't have put the pressure on you to tell him anyway. But what are you going to do? I know you can't stay and here and watch all this take place."
"That's where you come in," Sarah said. She leaned over and whispered her idea into Beth's ear. Beth headed towards the stereo system to start a song the second the orchestra finished playing. She wasn't sure how effective Sarah's idea would be until she saw Jareth approaching Sarah. The orchestra started up and Beth hit play on the CD player. She watched as Sarah took Jareth's hand and he led her out to the center of the floor.
Sarah couldn't look at Jareth as she walked onto the dance floor with him. She saw Audrey glaring at her from across the room. Sarah wanted so badly to inform Jareth of what Beth had overheard, but she wouldn't. Jareth put his free hand on Sarah's waist as the music began. Sarah slowly lifted her head to look at him and spoke a quick sentence before the words started.
"Jareth, I can't stay here," Sarah said. "I want you to send Beth and I back home as soon as this song is over."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," Sarah said. They were both silent as the words to the song began.
If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I'll go, but I know
I'll think of you each step of the way
And I will always love you
Oh I will always love you
You my darling you mmmm
Bittersweet memories
That's all I'm taking with me
So goodbye
Please don't cry
We both know I'm not what you need
But I will always love you
I will always love you
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you dream of
And I wish you joy and happiness
But above all this, I wish you love
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I, I will always love you.
You, darling I love you.
I'll always, I'll always love you
Sarah pulled away as the song ending, not wanting Jareth to see the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes.
"Sarah," Jareth said softly.
"Please, send me home," Sarah said, turning her back towards Jareth.
Hesitantly, Jareth formed a crystal in his hand. He knew now why Sarah had come back, but it was too late. He also knew why Beth had been questioning him earlier. However, he also knew that there was no way he could call off the engagement. It just was not done in the Underground. Beth walked over to where Sarah was standing. She grasped Sarah's hand, as Jareth placed the crystal in Sarah's other hand.
"Use it as before," Jareth said quietly. "Simply picture the place you wish to be, and you'll be taken there."
Sarah looked into the crystal and pictured the dormroom that her and Beth shared. In a matter of seconds, they were back in their dormroom. Sarah dropped Beth's hand and collapsed on the floor, tears streaming down her face. Beth sat down next to her and wrapped her arms around Sarah, knowing that no words were needed.