AN: Sorry for the long wait, ya'll. Thanks for being patient while my
little Harry Potter fascination ran its course. Hope you enjoy this
chapter... Next chapter should have a bit more, well stuff, as well
as, ohhh, the beginning of the real plot. What is the real plot? I
haven't the foggiest, but then I never do. The trick is to dig
yourself into a writer's pit and somehow manage to pull yourself out
after a sufficient number of chapters. But shhhh, I didn't tell you. ;)
Standard disclaimers apply, as always.
PS: If you're curious, I've been working on a small Labyrinth site,
along with several others. Hoping to finish them all soon, as well as
the dozen stories I have going/ planned out. =)
http://www.geocities.com/keimain
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Sacrifices: Chapter 3~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sarah woke slowly, with a luxurious stretch, as sunlight bathed her
face and closed eyes with warmth. A worrying thought nagged at her
still fumbling mind and she pushed it away. Her nose wrinkled though.
She hadn't slept long enough for the sun to wake her in years. Ever
since Devon and Melanie had become a part of her life she had gotten
used to early mornings. Devon was an early riser by nature and Mel
never slept past sunrise unless she was sick. That child was much too
full of energy. Sarah considered herself a young thirty-five but even
she had trouble keeping up with the toddler.
She rolled over, disturbed by the unearthly silence in the bedroom.
Devon may be an early riser but he was a deep sleeper. Mountains
bowed before the power of his snores. Her still foggy mind panicked
enough at the cool empty place beside her that she woke fully, woke
and realized the error of her sleep filled memory.
And for some reason the pain seemed so much worse than it would have
been without the feeling of loosing them all over again. Tears welled
up against her will and Sarah viscously repressed them. Tears and
sorrow could come later. She needed answers now.
The room she was in was larger than the master bedroom she and Devon
shared but it had an empty, unused feeling to it. It was clean
enough, if almost bare of decoration, and Sarah shivered as bare feet
touched the cold stone floor. She drew her robe closer around her for
warmth and sighed. It was just her luck. She had allowed Jareth to
kidnap her in a bathrobe. A pink, fuzzy bathrobe. Devon had gotten
it for her for her birthday after a mischevious Toby had 'innocently'
informed his future brother in law of his sister's 'favorite' color.
Her throat constricted with the thought of Devon and Toby. With the
thought of them both forgetting her. At least she had pajamas on
underneath.
She ignored the balcony door for the moment after leaving the large
queen sized bed, complete with rumpled cream colored sheets that
Martha Stewart would have killed to get. The last time she had been
here the Castle hadn't seemed like the cheeriest place but apparently
gothic and ornate everything was the current fashion. If the Goblin
Kingdom had fashion trends...
Instead she padded softly over to a vanity where she sat on the
stool. A tired, frightened looking woman looked back from the
silvered mirror. Sarah sighed at the dark circles under her eyes and
the image copied her actions. She bit one full lip and reached out,
letting fingertips rest against the cool mirror with a sneaking
wonder.
Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus and his trusty stead Ambrosious... She had
called on them often enough in the time following her first encounter
with Jareth. Or she had, until they no longer answered; though not
from any action or unaction of their own, of that Sarah was quite
sure... Jareth was many things, including spiteful. She wouldn't be
at all surprised if he had blocked their visits when he learned of
them. But now? Now she wasn't Aboveground; now she was here, where
they were. Surely they could answer her now, couldn't they?
"Hoggle?" she whispered, called, prayed. There was a moment of
stillness before, before a much missed, much beloved form appeared in
her mirror. She didn't turn to try to find him, not yet. She knew
how it worked. First she called, then he answered, then he came in
truth.
Hoggle stared at her hungrily, surprised, and then radiant. "Sarah!"
he gasped as tears ran down creased cheeks. "Sarah, how? Jareth
closed the portals, all of them except his. Damn man had to keep ye
all ta himself." She smiled through suddenly present tears as her
whole palm rested against the mirror. Sarah laughed through her
tears, though her words quaked.
"Look around Hoggle. Jareth didn't reopen the portals... he brought
me here, to the Labyrinth, where you don't need a portal to step
between worlds and stand by my side." Hoggle gaped as his eyes
widened. Sarah closed her own tortured gaze and when she opened them
again she turned. Hoggle was before her, arms held awkwardly at his
sides. Sarah flung herself at her friend and he held her, the best
she could, as she wept, made uncomfortable by her foreign tears yet
willing to do whatever it took to calm her.
"Sarah," he finally asked when she calmed enough to be led back to the
bed where they sat, facing each other, "what happened?" Several more
tears fell from her dark, pained gaze, before she managed to answer.
She had never told him, any of them, of her final deal with Jareth,
after all- what need had she then? She had sworn, as she had put Toby
back in his crib that fateful night twenty years ago that she would
never, never bear a child. Her promise would go unfulfilled, or so she
had thought.
Hoggle sat through it all, intent, listening, his face clouding with
anger as she spoke. At the end of the tale, when Sarah was out of
tears, her friend stood and paced, furious, muttering. She watched
him; drained but comforted by his much missed gruff presence.
"How the hell could Jareth do that ta ye? Damn him Sarah... I never
knew, I never guessed. He always was a peculiar one- who would have
thought he would have been stupid enough to fall in love with you. He
ain't sensitive enough for a mortal. I thought he was bright enough
ta realize that.
"All those rumors and none of us have ever guessed the truth. 'Oh the
mighty Jareth is plotting the downfall of the girl who bested him...'
The Sidhe Court has laughed at the Goblin Kingdom for twenty years
because Jareth's been mooning over you and we've all thought he was
plotting yer downfall..." Sarah tried to concentrate on Hoggle's
words but she couldn't focus. It was as if even the small effort she
had made was too much. His rant flowed around her like a river. She
yawned hugely and, bereft entirely of further energy, curled up and
went to sleep.
Hoggle's tirade stopped abruptly. He glared, first at the sleeping
form on the bed, and then at the surrounding room. "Come out Jareth,
I know yer here." There was a moment of silence and then gentle
chiding from the Goblin King.
"Higgle, Higgle... I thought I taught you better than that. The Bog
of Eternal Stench still awaits you, oh valiant knight." Hoggle rose
to the mockery in Jareth's tone.
"The name is Hoggle, which ye know very well Jareth." Jareth knelt
and Hoggle swallowed heavily as he met his master's mismatched gaze.
"Careful, careful," Jareth admonished with one wagging finger. "Such
lack of disrespect could have serious effect on your future plans."
Hoggle wavered before his resolve hardened, and his rage returned.
"Fine," he ranted, "throw me in the Bog of Eternal Stench, see how
much Sarah will love you then! Because that's what yer after, isn't
it 'King' Jareth? She's famous both for beatin the Labyrinth and for
yer obsession with her but we never figured out why ye never stopped
caring, why her memory ate away at you so! The entire Sidhe realm
never learned why ye couldn't just let 'Her' go- not because 'She'
beat ye, but because she refused you... because you couldn't have
her." Jareth's fury matched, and surpassed Hoggle's indignation.
"You tread on dangerous ground Hoggle." The small man swallowed
nervously before replying.
"And ye aren't? Are ye mad Jareth? Ta bring a babe Underground- all
High Sidhe do. They enjoy toying with mortals. Ta bring the child
she was- that was riskier- but ta bring a woman? What foolishry was
running through yer thick skull? You should have taken her before
now if ye meant to bring her at all... Ta bring her here now- that is
cruel Jareth, even for ye." Jareth's anger simmered, cooled as he
attempted to control himself.
"I did not take anyone Hoggle. I went to claim what I was owed... a
part of Sarah. She wouldn't give me even that. I could have forced
her, and that would have been cruel. She offered herself, all of
herself, as a sacrifice, and I accepted.
"Her choice Hoggle, not mine." Hoggle snorted.
"But ye didn't say no, did ye? Ye know Sarah better than me, of that
I won't argue but even I knew of the depth of love she was capable of
for others. Did ye never think that it wouldn't turn out this way
Jareth? That she wouldn't do anything ta save her child in the
end?"
"I am your King," Jareth hissed, " and hers too. I do not have to
answer to my subjects." Hoggle stared at him, defeated, tired.
"Ye offered yer self to her once before and she rejected you. What
makes ye think she'll accept now?" Jareth rose, towered over the
small man, rage blazing forth from his terrifying eyes. He raised his
hand to banish his meddlesome underling when Hoggle's next words
stopped him cold.
"What will ye do when she angers ye Goblin King? Banish her too?"
Jareth snarled and with a flick of his finely boned wrist sent the
misshapen being to the beginning of the Labyrinth, where the too
astute creature belonged, instead of the darkest parts of the
Oubliette or the Bog of Eternal Stench where he longed to throw him.
His words had cut too close to the painful truth.
He brooded for a moment over Sarah's sleeping form before turning to
the mirror. One violently flung glittering crystal shattered the
mirror into a thousand sharp edged pieces. Jareth glared at them for
a moment before reordering them with a word. The mirror, cracked but
now whole, showed him his furious reflection. With another harshly
spoken word the King of the Goblins made any possibility of further
portals impossible.
He whirled, mouth tight, as he stared at the slumbering woman. He
took one step forward, hand outstretched, before wrenching himself
away with a cry. He was Her King and She would come to him. She
would love him and then, and only then, would he allow himself to love
Her back. He would not offer himself again. He would not be rejected
again.
little Harry Potter fascination ran its course. Hope you enjoy this
chapter... Next chapter should have a bit more, well stuff, as well
as, ohhh, the beginning of the real plot. What is the real plot? I
haven't the foggiest, but then I never do. The trick is to dig
yourself into a writer's pit and somehow manage to pull yourself out
after a sufficient number of chapters. But shhhh, I didn't tell you. ;)
Standard disclaimers apply, as always.
PS: If you're curious, I've been working on a small Labyrinth site,
along with several others. Hoping to finish them all soon, as well as
the dozen stories I have going/ planned out. =)
http://www.geocities.com/keimain
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Sacrifices: Chapter 3~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sarah woke slowly, with a luxurious stretch, as sunlight bathed her
face and closed eyes with warmth. A worrying thought nagged at her
still fumbling mind and she pushed it away. Her nose wrinkled though.
She hadn't slept long enough for the sun to wake her in years. Ever
since Devon and Melanie had become a part of her life she had gotten
used to early mornings. Devon was an early riser by nature and Mel
never slept past sunrise unless she was sick. That child was much too
full of energy. Sarah considered herself a young thirty-five but even
she had trouble keeping up with the toddler.
She rolled over, disturbed by the unearthly silence in the bedroom.
Devon may be an early riser but he was a deep sleeper. Mountains
bowed before the power of his snores. Her still foggy mind panicked
enough at the cool empty place beside her that she woke fully, woke
and realized the error of her sleep filled memory.
And for some reason the pain seemed so much worse than it would have
been without the feeling of loosing them all over again. Tears welled
up against her will and Sarah viscously repressed them. Tears and
sorrow could come later. She needed answers now.
The room she was in was larger than the master bedroom she and Devon
shared but it had an empty, unused feeling to it. It was clean
enough, if almost bare of decoration, and Sarah shivered as bare feet
touched the cold stone floor. She drew her robe closer around her for
warmth and sighed. It was just her luck. She had allowed Jareth to
kidnap her in a bathrobe. A pink, fuzzy bathrobe. Devon had gotten
it for her for her birthday after a mischevious Toby had 'innocently'
informed his future brother in law of his sister's 'favorite' color.
Her throat constricted with the thought of Devon and Toby. With the
thought of them both forgetting her. At least she had pajamas on
underneath.
She ignored the balcony door for the moment after leaving the large
queen sized bed, complete with rumpled cream colored sheets that
Martha Stewart would have killed to get. The last time she had been
here the Castle hadn't seemed like the cheeriest place but apparently
gothic and ornate everything was the current fashion. If the Goblin
Kingdom had fashion trends...
Instead she padded softly over to a vanity where she sat on the
stool. A tired, frightened looking woman looked back from the
silvered mirror. Sarah sighed at the dark circles under her eyes and
the image copied her actions. She bit one full lip and reached out,
letting fingertips rest against the cool mirror with a sneaking
wonder.
Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus and his trusty stead Ambrosious... She had
called on them often enough in the time following her first encounter
with Jareth. Or she had, until they no longer answered; though not
from any action or unaction of their own, of that Sarah was quite
sure... Jareth was many things, including spiteful. She wouldn't be
at all surprised if he had blocked their visits when he learned of
them. But now? Now she wasn't Aboveground; now she was here, where
they were. Surely they could answer her now, couldn't they?
"Hoggle?" she whispered, called, prayed. There was a moment of
stillness before, before a much missed, much beloved form appeared in
her mirror. She didn't turn to try to find him, not yet. She knew
how it worked. First she called, then he answered, then he came in
truth.
Hoggle stared at her hungrily, surprised, and then radiant. "Sarah!"
he gasped as tears ran down creased cheeks. "Sarah, how? Jareth
closed the portals, all of them except his. Damn man had to keep ye
all ta himself." She smiled through suddenly present tears as her
whole palm rested against the mirror. Sarah laughed through her
tears, though her words quaked.
"Look around Hoggle. Jareth didn't reopen the portals... he brought
me here, to the Labyrinth, where you don't need a portal to step
between worlds and stand by my side." Hoggle gaped as his eyes
widened. Sarah closed her own tortured gaze and when she opened them
again she turned. Hoggle was before her, arms held awkwardly at his
sides. Sarah flung herself at her friend and he held her, the best
she could, as she wept, made uncomfortable by her foreign tears yet
willing to do whatever it took to calm her.
"Sarah," he finally asked when she calmed enough to be led back to the
bed where they sat, facing each other, "what happened?" Several more
tears fell from her dark, pained gaze, before she managed to answer.
She had never told him, any of them, of her final deal with Jareth,
after all- what need had she then? She had sworn, as she had put Toby
back in his crib that fateful night twenty years ago that she would
never, never bear a child. Her promise would go unfulfilled, or so she
had thought.
Hoggle sat through it all, intent, listening, his face clouding with
anger as she spoke. At the end of the tale, when Sarah was out of
tears, her friend stood and paced, furious, muttering. She watched
him; drained but comforted by his much missed gruff presence.
"How the hell could Jareth do that ta ye? Damn him Sarah... I never
knew, I never guessed. He always was a peculiar one- who would have
thought he would have been stupid enough to fall in love with you. He
ain't sensitive enough for a mortal. I thought he was bright enough
ta realize that.
"All those rumors and none of us have ever guessed the truth. 'Oh the
mighty Jareth is plotting the downfall of the girl who bested him...'
The Sidhe Court has laughed at the Goblin Kingdom for twenty years
because Jareth's been mooning over you and we've all thought he was
plotting yer downfall..." Sarah tried to concentrate on Hoggle's
words but she couldn't focus. It was as if even the small effort she
had made was too much. His rant flowed around her like a river. She
yawned hugely and, bereft entirely of further energy, curled up and
went to sleep.
Hoggle's tirade stopped abruptly. He glared, first at the sleeping
form on the bed, and then at the surrounding room. "Come out Jareth,
I know yer here." There was a moment of silence and then gentle
chiding from the Goblin King.
"Higgle, Higgle... I thought I taught you better than that. The Bog
of Eternal Stench still awaits you, oh valiant knight." Hoggle rose
to the mockery in Jareth's tone.
"The name is Hoggle, which ye know very well Jareth." Jareth knelt
and Hoggle swallowed heavily as he met his master's mismatched gaze.
"Careful, careful," Jareth admonished with one wagging finger. "Such
lack of disrespect could have serious effect on your future plans."
Hoggle wavered before his resolve hardened, and his rage returned.
"Fine," he ranted, "throw me in the Bog of Eternal Stench, see how
much Sarah will love you then! Because that's what yer after, isn't
it 'King' Jareth? She's famous both for beatin the Labyrinth and for
yer obsession with her but we never figured out why ye never stopped
caring, why her memory ate away at you so! The entire Sidhe realm
never learned why ye couldn't just let 'Her' go- not because 'She'
beat ye, but because she refused you... because you couldn't have
her." Jareth's fury matched, and surpassed Hoggle's indignation.
"You tread on dangerous ground Hoggle." The small man swallowed
nervously before replying.
"And ye aren't? Are ye mad Jareth? Ta bring a babe Underground- all
High Sidhe do. They enjoy toying with mortals. Ta bring the child
she was- that was riskier- but ta bring a woman? What foolishry was
running through yer thick skull? You should have taken her before
now if ye meant to bring her at all... Ta bring her here now- that is
cruel Jareth, even for ye." Jareth's anger simmered, cooled as he
attempted to control himself.
"I did not take anyone Hoggle. I went to claim what I was owed... a
part of Sarah. She wouldn't give me even that. I could have forced
her, and that would have been cruel. She offered herself, all of
herself, as a sacrifice, and I accepted.
"Her choice Hoggle, not mine." Hoggle snorted.
"But ye didn't say no, did ye? Ye know Sarah better than me, of that
I won't argue but even I knew of the depth of love she was capable of
for others. Did ye never think that it wouldn't turn out this way
Jareth? That she wouldn't do anything ta save her child in the
end?"
"I am your King," Jareth hissed, " and hers too. I do not have to
answer to my subjects." Hoggle stared at him, defeated, tired.
"Ye offered yer self to her once before and she rejected you. What
makes ye think she'll accept now?" Jareth rose, towered over the
small man, rage blazing forth from his terrifying eyes. He raised his
hand to banish his meddlesome underling when Hoggle's next words
stopped him cold.
"What will ye do when she angers ye Goblin King? Banish her too?"
Jareth snarled and with a flick of his finely boned wrist sent the
misshapen being to the beginning of the Labyrinth, where the too
astute creature belonged, instead of the darkest parts of the
Oubliette or the Bog of Eternal Stench where he longed to throw him.
His words had cut too close to the painful truth.
He brooded for a moment over Sarah's sleeping form before turning to
the mirror. One violently flung glittering crystal shattered the
mirror into a thousand sharp edged pieces. Jareth glared at them for
a moment before reordering them with a word. The mirror, cracked but
now whole, showed him his furious reflection. With another harshly
spoken word the King of the Goblins made any possibility of further
portals impossible.
He whirled, mouth tight, as he stared at the slumbering woman. He
took one step forward, hand outstretched, before wrenching himself
away with a cry. He was Her King and She would come to him. She
would love him and then, and only then, would he allow himself to love
Her back. He would not offer himself again. He would not be rejected
again.