Allo again! *wavles* Here's chapter three, in all it's.. umm...
chapterness. Not sure why, but my chapters keep getting shorter. Not much
I can do about it, I'm afraid. n.n() It wants to be a certain length, and
there's nothing I can do to control it. Ah well.
Disclaimer: Not mine. I own nothing. Nothing!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As it turned out, Jareth ended up following Sarah to the animal hospital after all. He still didn't know what was triggering it, but the strange yearning to be near Sarah (and his powers, he added firmly) sprang back up again about five minutes after she had left with her parents for the vet's. Knowing about it didn't make it any easier to ignore. Try as he might, it overpowered him in the end. Which was why he now found himself sitting on another sign outside of the animal clinic, waiting for that troublesome girl to come back out. He didn't particularly like it here. The clinic was located in one of the more relaxed business areas of town; nevertheless, it was still too industrialized for Jareth's tastes. There were far too many cars, far too many people going about their business, and most of them felt the need to stop and stare. They had quite obviously never seen a barn owl up close before, if at all. Jareth sniffed disdainfully and ruffled his feathers. It was no wonder, with the way they were making such a fuss over such a little thing.
The girl was certainly taking her time in there, Jareth noted with a yawn. It had been almost 45 minutes now, and he was getting rather bored. He was in the process of nodding off when she finally emerged, and judging by the expression on her face, things didn't look good for the dog, Merlin.
Her father draped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed reassuringly. "Cheer up, pumpkin. The vet said that if he makes it through the night, he'll be okay." Sarah's eyes shone with unshed tears, and she wiped them dry with the edge of her sleeve.
"He didn't sound very optimistic..." She sniffed and looked almost angry, and for one moment, Jareth was certain she would launch into one of her childish tantrums. Instead, her bottom lip trembled, and she didn't say another word as she climbed into the back seat of her father's car. Jareth blinked in surprise. His Sarah, speechless? Not even an 'it's not fair'? Her animal's condition must have really upset her if she wasn't even bothering to vent through her usual theatrics. It was a pity he could do nothing to help her. Then again, it was her own fault that he was so powerless, he reminded himself. It was foolish of her to place such sentimental value in such a short-lived creature, just as it had been foolish of him to place his hopes in a mere mortal girl. Although he certainly knew better than to form an attachment with a dog.
He waited until Sarah's car was well out of sight before he made any move to leave. Once again, she had been far too preoccupied to notice his presence. Still, it wouldn't do to draw attention to himself until he could be certain that she wouldn't see him accidentally. He waited as long as he dared before the need to follow her returned. Bloody inconvenient, that. It was almost like being kept on an invisible tether. Straying too far resulted in far more discomfort than he was willing to tolerate. That would have to be one of the first things to go, he decided as he headed after her. He wasn't about to just sit back and let himself be so easily led around.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sarah felt numb as they pulled into the driveway. As soon as she could, she was out of the car and back in her room, where she stubbornly refused to come out. Fortunately, Karen had told her on the way home that she didn't have to finish the fence, so that was out of the way. Sarah doubted she could have done it anyway.
She sat at her vanity, staring listlessly at her reflectiong. "I need you," she whispered after a moment.
Nothing. Sarah blinked and tried again. "Hoggle? Ludo? Didymus? I need you..."
Still no response. The mirror simply reflected her own image back at her. There was no sign that anyone had heard her. Sarah tried one last time, her voice cracking as more tears fell. Why? Why wouldn't they come when she needed them the most? She turned from the vanity and threw herself onto the bed, letting her tears flow freely.
"Damn you, Jareth," she cursed bitterly as she sobbed into her pillow. "Why won't they come?"
Outside, Jareth winced. Honestly, did she really feel the need to damn him further? Hadn't she learned that her words held power? If he didn't feel so tired, he probably would have panicked. As it was, there was little he could do but sit back and hope that the little fool hadn't meant it. Really, she acted as though it was his fault that she had tried to summon her friends in broad daylight. That sort of thing only worked at night in this realm; they wouldn't have even heard her.
He stretched his wings and suppressed a yawn. He hadn't spent nearly enough time in this form over the last century, and it was taking him a while to fall into a normal sleeping pattern. Mind you, requiring Sarah to stay in one place so that he could catch a decent nap certainly wasn't helping much. He may very well end up becoming the world's first diurnal barn owl, at this rate. Not that he planned to stay in this form for very much longer, but it was difficult to go unnoticed when he wasn't even behaving like the rest of the species. Besides, he still needed a plan. How to go about getting the girl to voluntarily give him his power back, that was the problem. He already knew he couldn't take it back by force. He needed something foolproof, something that would have him out of this role as wandering vagabond and back in his castle where he belonged. Then he could decide how to extract his revenge.
He became so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice when Sarah got up and went to stand at the open window. Her sharp intake of breath caught him completely off-guard.
"Jareth..."
Jareth jerked his head up in surprise, looking very much like the proverbial deer in the headlights. He felt rooted to the spot. She was staring at him with a sort of shocked accusation, and all he could do was stare back guiltily like a child caught raiding the cookie jar. How in all the realms had she figured it out?
Sarah's mind was racing. It was too much of a coincidence. Here she'd just been cursing the Goblin King, her friends wouldn't answer her summons, this owl kept showing up everywhere, and now he was here again, right outside her window, watching her. She could have sworn she'd caught glimpses of him on the way to and from the vet's office. And he had jumped at the sound of his name just now. It couldn't all be chance. He was spying on her, he was here to ruin her life! She blindly groped around for the nearest item and flung it at him.
Jareth blinked as a spoon went whizzing past, followed by a ceramic mug and Sarah's alarm clock, which barely missed his head. He shook off his surprise and dodged the shoe that came flying next, letting out a screech of protest. What was she doing!? A heavy book smacked him right in the face, spine first. Jareth staggered, stunned and blinking, before he shook himself and decided that he'd had enough. With an injured squalk and an icy glare which quite clearly stated 'all right, I'm leaving!', he dove from his perch just in time to avoid being hit by a familiar music box. It hit the branch instead, shattering into several pieces.
Sarah watched the pieces fall to the ground below, her fury replaced by shock at seeing what she'd just done. She looked up at the owl as it flew away, and a wave of guilt swept over her. What had come over her? There was absolutely no evidence to support her conviction that it had been Jareth, nothing except for her own paranoia. She didn't even know that the owl she'd seen by the vet's was the same owl. The one that hung around her house had been around for years... Sarah sank to the floor, feeling horrible for what she'd just done. She had let her frustration over Merlin and her friends take over, and now it would probably never come back. Tears stung at her eyes again, and she wept bitterly, stress taking it's toll on her frayed nerves. Just what kind of person was she turning into?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jareth sat in the copse of trees across from Sarah's house, nursing his sore forehead. It was a good thing he had feathers in this form. Had he been in his other form, he would have a very unsightly bruise forming along the bridge of his nose and his forehead. At least this way, it was hidden. That girl could sure throw hard when she was angry. He thought of the clock or the music box hitting him and winced.
He listened as the soft sound of her weeping drifted over. That was another advantage of being trapped in his owl form, although there were few. He could hear her quite clearly from his spot among the trees, despite being a good quarter of a mile away. Although, admittedly, it helped that the evening was unusually quiet. He ignored the nagging sense of guilt that came with the sounds of her grief, reminding himself that it was her own doing.
Jareth sighed as he shook his head to clear it. This certainly changed things. The first thing he needed to do now was find out if she really knew it was him. If she did, then he would have to re-think everything. And he had absolutely no idea where to start.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Like it? Hate it? Want to beat me with a spoon? o.o Tell me! n.n
Disclaimer: Not mine. I own nothing. Nothing!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As it turned out, Jareth ended up following Sarah to the animal hospital after all. He still didn't know what was triggering it, but the strange yearning to be near Sarah (and his powers, he added firmly) sprang back up again about five minutes after she had left with her parents for the vet's. Knowing about it didn't make it any easier to ignore. Try as he might, it overpowered him in the end. Which was why he now found himself sitting on another sign outside of the animal clinic, waiting for that troublesome girl to come back out. He didn't particularly like it here. The clinic was located in one of the more relaxed business areas of town; nevertheless, it was still too industrialized for Jareth's tastes. There were far too many cars, far too many people going about their business, and most of them felt the need to stop and stare. They had quite obviously never seen a barn owl up close before, if at all. Jareth sniffed disdainfully and ruffled his feathers. It was no wonder, with the way they were making such a fuss over such a little thing.
The girl was certainly taking her time in there, Jareth noted with a yawn. It had been almost 45 minutes now, and he was getting rather bored. He was in the process of nodding off when she finally emerged, and judging by the expression on her face, things didn't look good for the dog, Merlin.
Her father draped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed reassuringly. "Cheer up, pumpkin. The vet said that if he makes it through the night, he'll be okay." Sarah's eyes shone with unshed tears, and she wiped them dry with the edge of her sleeve.
"He didn't sound very optimistic..." She sniffed and looked almost angry, and for one moment, Jareth was certain she would launch into one of her childish tantrums. Instead, her bottom lip trembled, and she didn't say another word as she climbed into the back seat of her father's car. Jareth blinked in surprise. His Sarah, speechless? Not even an 'it's not fair'? Her animal's condition must have really upset her if she wasn't even bothering to vent through her usual theatrics. It was a pity he could do nothing to help her. Then again, it was her own fault that he was so powerless, he reminded himself. It was foolish of her to place such sentimental value in such a short-lived creature, just as it had been foolish of him to place his hopes in a mere mortal girl. Although he certainly knew better than to form an attachment with a dog.
He waited until Sarah's car was well out of sight before he made any move to leave. Once again, she had been far too preoccupied to notice his presence. Still, it wouldn't do to draw attention to himself until he could be certain that she wouldn't see him accidentally. He waited as long as he dared before the need to follow her returned. Bloody inconvenient, that. It was almost like being kept on an invisible tether. Straying too far resulted in far more discomfort than he was willing to tolerate. That would have to be one of the first things to go, he decided as he headed after her. He wasn't about to just sit back and let himself be so easily led around.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sarah felt numb as they pulled into the driveway. As soon as she could, she was out of the car and back in her room, where she stubbornly refused to come out. Fortunately, Karen had told her on the way home that she didn't have to finish the fence, so that was out of the way. Sarah doubted she could have done it anyway.
She sat at her vanity, staring listlessly at her reflectiong. "I need you," she whispered after a moment.
Nothing. Sarah blinked and tried again. "Hoggle? Ludo? Didymus? I need you..."
Still no response. The mirror simply reflected her own image back at her. There was no sign that anyone had heard her. Sarah tried one last time, her voice cracking as more tears fell. Why? Why wouldn't they come when she needed them the most? She turned from the vanity and threw herself onto the bed, letting her tears flow freely.
"Damn you, Jareth," she cursed bitterly as she sobbed into her pillow. "Why won't they come?"
Outside, Jareth winced. Honestly, did she really feel the need to damn him further? Hadn't she learned that her words held power? If he didn't feel so tired, he probably would have panicked. As it was, there was little he could do but sit back and hope that the little fool hadn't meant it. Really, she acted as though it was his fault that she had tried to summon her friends in broad daylight. That sort of thing only worked at night in this realm; they wouldn't have even heard her.
He stretched his wings and suppressed a yawn. He hadn't spent nearly enough time in this form over the last century, and it was taking him a while to fall into a normal sleeping pattern. Mind you, requiring Sarah to stay in one place so that he could catch a decent nap certainly wasn't helping much. He may very well end up becoming the world's first diurnal barn owl, at this rate. Not that he planned to stay in this form for very much longer, but it was difficult to go unnoticed when he wasn't even behaving like the rest of the species. Besides, he still needed a plan. How to go about getting the girl to voluntarily give him his power back, that was the problem. He already knew he couldn't take it back by force. He needed something foolproof, something that would have him out of this role as wandering vagabond and back in his castle where he belonged. Then he could decide how to extract his revenge.
He became so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice when Sarah got up and went to stand at the open window. Her sharp intake of breath caught him completely off-guard.
"Jareth..."
Jareth jerked his head up in surprise, looking very much like the proverbial deer in the headlights. He felt rooted to the spot. She was staring at him with a sort of shocked accusation, and all he could do was stare back guiltily like a child caught raiding the cookie jar. How in all the realms had she figured it out?
Sarah's mind was racing. It was too much of a coincidence. Here she'd just been cursing the Goblin King, her friends wouldn't answer her summons, this owl kept showing up everywhere, and now he was here again, right outside her window, watching her. She could have sworn she'd caught glimpses of him on the way to and from the vet's office. And he had jumped at the sound of his name just now. It couldn't all be chance. He was spying on her, he was here to ruin her life! She blindly groped around for the nearest item and flung it at him.
Jareth blinked as a spoon went whizzing past, followed by a ceramic mug and Sarah's alarm clock, which barely missed his head. He shook off his surprise and dodged the shoe that came flying next, letting out a screech of protest. What was she doing!? A heavy book smacked him right in the face, spine first. Jareth staggered, stunned and blinking, before he shook himself and decided that he'd had enough. With an injured squalk and an icy glare which quite clearly stated 'all right, I'm leaving!', he dove from his perch just in time to avoid being hit by a familiar music box. It hit the branch instead, shattering into several pieces.
Sarah watched the pieces fall to the ground below, her fury replaced by shock at seeing what she'd just done. She looked up at the owl as it flew away, and a wave of guilt swept over her. What had come over her? There was absolutely no evidence to support her conviction that it had been Jareth, nothing except for her own paranoia. She didn't even know that the owl she'd seen by the vet's was the same owl. The one that hung around her house had been around for years... Sarah sank to the floor, feeling horrible for what she'd just done. She had let her frustration over Merlin and her friends take over, and now it would probably never come back. Tears stung at her eyes again, and she wept bitterly, stress taking it's toll on her frayed nerves. Just what kind of person was she turning into?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jareth sat in the copse of trees across from Sarah's house, nursing his sore forehead. It was a good thing he had feathers in this form. Had he been in his other form, he would have a very unsightly bruise forming along the bridge of his nose and his forehead. At least this way, it was hidden. That girl could sure throw hard when she was angry. He thought of the clock or the music box hitting him and winced.
He listened as the soft sound of her weeping drifted over. That was another advantage of being trapped in his owl form, although there were few. He could hear her quite clearly from his spot among the trees, despite being a good quarter of a mile away. Although, admittedly, it helped that the evening was unusually quiet. He ignored the nagging sense of guilt that came with the sounds of her grief, reminding himself that it was her own doing.
Jareth sighed as he shook his head to clear it. This certainly changed things. The first thing he needed to do now was find out if she really knew it was him. If she did, then he would have to re-think everything. And he had absolutely no idea where to start.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Like it? Hate it? Want to beat me with a spoon? o.o Tell me! n.n