The safe house was what appeared to be a nondescript waterfront warehouse. Yet inside the building was furnished with all the comforts of home; five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a living room, kitchen , and dining room. Each of them had their own rooms on the fourth floor, all were linked by a hallway to the living room. The color scheme was made up of cool, calming colors to soothe whoever had be in the safe house for long periods of time. It had a well lived in feel and Sarah loved it, being so comfortable.
"Now Sarah, don't wig, but I'm going to go grab some of our things." Lee said once they reached the fourth floor, entering the entry code that she didn't know. Sarah knew it was coming so she didn't make a fuss about it, deciding to get it over with.
"You still have the key?" She had given him a key to her apartment when she moved to DC, same as him. They never knew when they would have to up and leave without the other, so this was their safety net.
"Yeah." Lee was backing away. "Blue robe or black?"
"Black!" Sarah replied as the door closed. With a smile she shook her head, turning to find Jareth glaring at her, arms crossed and toe tapping. It was just wrong for that man to be able to look menacing even in a plain suit. And yet she had never seen a man besides Lee be able to pull off wearing a suit and not look stupid. "Don't start."
"Sarah Williams, what the devil is going on between the two of you?" There, he'd asked the question he'd been wanting to ask ever since he had arrived at the Agency.
"Lee! Oh my God, you did not just suggest that!" Sarah cried, waving her arms around. Her theoretic schooling showing through. "I've known him for twelve years. We've been through everything together. I told him about the Underground, he was there for me when you weren't."
Jareth was stunned silent, feeling shock at her last statement. Sarah covered her mouth with her hands, her face a mask of horror and humiliation. His heart broke at the sight of such dark emotions on her lovely face, but he could do nothing about it at the present moment because Sarah wouldn't let him in. Slowly she backed away from him, then dashed to the room she was given. Jareth remained rooted to his spot, mind a whirling tornado of questions and hope. 'Did Sarah really want me there with her? Could she possible return my love and I was just too stubborn to see?' Quickly he followed her to her closed door.
"Sarah?" He asked knocking lightly.
"Go 'way." He could hear her sobbing on the other side of the steel reinforced wood door. He felt as if he were being ripped to shreds slowly but surely. Using his magic Jareth teleported to the other side of the door to see Sarah curled up on her bed, face buried in her pillow. He would give anything to be able to run his hands over her hair, to calm her fears.
"Please," he said instead. "Talk to me."
"Why?" Sarah raged. "You and your stupid rules. I was only 15, I wasn't thinking. And you had to go and play the villain even after I got Toby back." She stood and went toe to toe with the Goblin King. "I said any and everything to get you to come back, but did you? NO!"
"Now you listen to me Sarah." Jareth snapped, grabbing her shoulders roughly. The heat of his hands scalded her even though she was wearing her jacket. "I didn't come back because I had to rebuild my kingdom and fend off any scavengers. Even if I wanted to I couldn't." His green eyes blazed, melting to their true changeling colors.
Sarah didn't understand what he was saying, he couldn't come back? She never really understood the world of magic, only longing to live in that world. Wrenching herself away from his powerful grasp she sat down on her bed. His touch had made her feel weak and frail, something she hadn't felt in years, and it scared her. Ever since coming to the Agency Sarah had felt empowered and confidant, but ten minutes in the presence of her former rival had her back to feeling like a teenage girl.
"How so? Explain it to me." Sarah demanded as she pushed aside her unsettled feelings. Jareth sighed and sat in a nearby chair, reverting back to his true form. His white blonde hair was in a gravity defying style that looked slightly bed headed, and his face returned to it's Fae form with his upswept eyebrows and strong, finely boned facial structure. He wore an emerald silk poets shirt open to the stomach, revealing a pale but powerful chest. On his long fingered hands were his traditional leather gloves, black in color. His shirt was tucked into velvet green tights, so dark they were almost black. His feet were adorned with the usual black knee high riding boots. To finish the look off he wore his golden pendant around his neck, peeping through the ruffles of his shirt.
"You claimed I had no power over you and that banned me from you." He replied casually.
"But I wished myself away." She said quietly, all anger deflated at the fact she hadn't know the right words to say.
"It doesn't work that way my dear." Sarah rolled her eyes at the endearment. "You said 'no power'; I could only come if you said 'you do have power.' See? You take back what you said."
"Oh." Sarah commented. 'Duh, stupid. The only thing I didn't say.' She felt so bad she wanted to cry and a tear did escape. Why hadn't she said that? She had come so close to saying it before, but didn't out of the fear he would treat her like a slave then.
"Sarah." Jareth paused when he saw her tear. Gently he wiped it away, rubbing it's moisture into the leather. "It wasn't your fault, it was mine." He was admitting his weaknesses to her, making himself vulnerable to this mortal woman who had the power to destroy him or save him. Little did she know Sarah had all the power in the Underground over him.
"I-it was?" Sarah asked softly, eyes wide.
'I can't believe I'm saying this!' He thought madly. "I'd never been in love before Sarah, and I was confused. I had to live up to your expectations of the villain you thought I was supposed to be." Jareth replied slowly. "I didn't know how to show my affections back then, but I do now."
Sarah merely looked at him, her expressive brown eyes clouded over. What was she thinking? Jareth watched her watch him, aching to know what was going on behind her chocolate depths. Suddenly Sarah stood, pacing back and forth, reminding Jareth of some caged animal, all wild. She was like a panther, daring someone to enter her lair so she could rip them to shreds. He smirked at the image, wondering if she would be like that if they were alone.
"I don't know what to say to that." Sarah muttered.
"Say what you feel." Jareth urged, dying to know what her pretty little head was full of.
'What do I feel?' Sarah asked herself. But before she could even answer herself the air rippled and her hand flew for her gun. She and Jareth watched as a crystal materialized on her pillows. The crystal was in the shape of a cube, and on one side was a picture of Lee chained to a wall. Anger burned in her veins and Sarah would have pounced on it but Jareth scooped it up before she could.
"Lee!?" Sarah screeched.
"Caleb, what have you done?" Jareth demanded of the glass cube.
"Ah, I see I have your attention." A silky male voice came from another side of the cube, Caleb's Fae face appearing. "You have 36 Earth hours to give me your Queen and your kingdom or this mortal dies and I declare war."
"Let him go." Sarah demanded.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought a future Queen would have more manners than that." The cube then burst with a poof of black glitter. Sarah felt as if part of herself had poofed along with the cube, her head feeling drained.
"Oh my God. What are we going to do?" Sarah holstered her gun and sat on the bed, echoing Jareth's thoughts.
"I don't know yet." Jareth ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to try and dispel his anger and frustration in a way where he didn't lash at Sarah. Why did things always have to go wrong when it came to him and Sarah?
"Did he just say future Queen?" She asked sharply. He groaned. Yes, he knew it was coming, but it didn't make it any easier. He decided to tell her right out and get it over with.
"Damnation." Jareth growled, He didn't want it to happen this way. He had wanted to woo her and then tell her before he asked for her hand in marriage, but the Fates weren't that giving. "Yes Sarah, he did."
"Why?"
"Hell, I didn't mean for it to come out like this." He moved away to look out the fourth story window out over the glittering Potomac. "By defeating my Labyrinth you fulfilled the prophecy. 'A woman-child shall defeat the unbeatable and melt it's ruler into the sacred trust.' You're my betrothed by simply defeating me."
"Oh. My. God." He heard Sarah gasp from behind him and a thump.
"Sarah?" Jareth asked, turning to face her. He saw her sprawled out on the floor in a cold faint. "Great."
Quickly he picked her up and laid her on the bed. He was worried for her, not knowing her to be the type prone to faint. Her face was pale and still. Lightly he tapped her cheek. "SARAH."
"Now Sarah, don't wig, but I'm going to go grab some of our things." Lee said once they reached the fourth floor, entering the entry code that she didn't know. Sarah knew it was coming so she didn't make a fuss about it, deciding to get it over with.
"You still have the key?" She had given him a key to her apartment when she moved to DC, same as him. They never knew when they would have to up and leave without the other, so this was their safety net.
"Yeah." Lee was backing away. "Blue robe or black?"
"Black!" Sarah replied as the door closed. With a smile she shook her head, turning to find Jareth glaring at her, arms crossed and toe tapping. It was just wrong for that man to be able to look menacing even in a plain suit. And yet she had never seen a man besides Lee be able to pull off wearing a suit and not look stupid. "Don't start."
"Sarah Williams, what the devil is going on between the two of you?" There, he'd asked the question he'd been wanting to ask ever since he had arrived at the Agency.
"Lee! Oh my God, you did not just suggest that!" Sarah cried, waving her arms around. Her theoretic schooling showing through. "I've known him for twelve years. We've been through everything together. I told him about the Underground, he was there for me when you weren't."
Jareth was stunned silent, feeling shock at her last statement. Sarah covered her mouth with her hands, her face a mask of horror and humiliation. His heart broke at the sight of such dark emotions on her lovely face, but he could do nothing about it at the present moment because Sarah wouldn't let him in. Slowly she backed away from him, then dashed to the room she was given. Jareth remained rooted to his spot, mind a whirling tornado of questions and hope. 'Did Sarah really want me there with her? Could she possible return my love and I was just too stubborn to see?' Quickly he followed her to her closed door.
"Sarah?" He asked knocking lightly.
"Go 'way." He could hear her sobbing on the other side of the steel reinforced wood door. He felt as if he were being ripped to shreds slowly but surely. Using his magic Jareth teleported to the other side of the door to see Sarah curled up on her bed, face buried in her pillow. He would give anything to be able to run his hands over her hair, to calm her fears.
"Please," he said instead. "Talk to me."
"Why?" Sarah raged. "You and your stupid rules. I was only 15, I wasn't thinking. And you had to go and play the villain even after I got Toby back." She stood and went toe to toe with the Goblin King. "I said any and everything to get you to come back, but did you? NO!"
"Now you listen to me Sarah." Jareth snapped, grabbing her shoulders roughly. The heat of his hands scalded her even though she was wearing her jacket. "I didn't come back because I had to rebuild my kingdom and fend off any scavengers. Even if I wanted to I couldn't." His green eyes blazed, melting to their true changeling colors.
Sarah didn't understand what he was saying, he couldn't come back? She never really understood the world of magic, only longing to live in that world. Wrenching herself away from his powerful grasp she sat down on her bed. His touch had made her feel weak and frail, something she hadn't felt in years, and it scared her. Ever since coming to the Agency Sarah had felt empowered and confidant, but ten minutes in the presence of her former rival had her back to feeling like a teenage girl.
"How so? Explain it to me." Sarah demanded as she pushed aside her unsettled feelings. Jareth sighed and sat in a nearby chair, reverting back to his true form. His white blonde hair was in a gravity defying style that looked slightly bed headed, and his face returned to it's Fae form with his upswept eyebrows and strong, finely boned facial structure. He wore an emerald silk poets shirt open to the stomach, revealing a pale but powerful chest. On his long fingered hands were his traditional leather gloves, black in color. His shirt was tucked into velvet green tights, so dark they were almost black. His feet were adorned with the usual black knee high riding boots. To finish the look off he wore his golden pendant around his neck, peeping through the ruffles of his shirt.
"You claimed I had no power over you and that banned me from you." He replied casually.
"But I wished myself away." She said quietly, all anger deflated at the fact she hadn't know the right words to say.
"It doesn't work that way my dear." Sarah rolled her eyes at the endearment. "You said 'no power'; I could only come if you said 'you do have power.' See? You take back what you said."
"Oh." Sarah commented. 'Duh, stupid. The only thing I didn't say.' She felt so bad she wanted to cry and a tear did escape. Why hadn't she said that? She had come so close to saying it before, but didn't out of the fear he would treat her like a slave then.
"Sarah." Jareth paused when he saw her tear. Gently he wiped it away, rubbing it's moisture into the leather. "It wasn't your fault, it was mine." He was admitting his weaknesses to her, making himself vulnerable to this mortal woman who had the power to destroy him or save him. Little did she know Sarah had all the power in the Underground over him.
"I-it was?" Sarah asked softly, eyes wide.
'I can't believe I'm saying this!' He thought madly. "I'd never been in love before Sarah, and I was confused. I had to live up to your expectations of the villain you thought I was supposed to be." Jareth replied slowly. "I didn't know how to show my affections back then, but I do now."
Sarah merely looked at him, her expressive brown eyes clouded over. What was she thinking? Jareth watched her watch him, aching to know what was going on behind her chocolate depths. Suddenly Sarah stood, pacing back and forth, reminding Jareth of some caged animal, all wild. She was like a panther, daring someone to enter her lair so she could rip them to shreds. He smirked at the image, wondering if she would be like that if they were alone.
"I don't know what to say to that." Sarah muttered.
"Say what you feel." Jareth urged, dying to know what her pretty little head was full of.
'What do I feel?' Sarah asked herself. But before she could even answer herself the air rippled and her hand flew for her gun. She and Jareth watched as a crystal materialized on her pillows. The crystal was in the shape of a cube, and on one side was a picture of Lee chained to a wall. Anger burned in her veins and Sarah would have pounced on it but Jareth scooped it up before she could.
"Lee!?" Sarah screeched.
"Caleb, what have you done?" Jareth demanded of the glass cube.
"Ah, I see I have your attention." A silky male voice came from another side of the cube, Caleb's Fae face appearing. "You have 36 Earth hours to give me your Queen and your kingdom or this mortal dies and I declare war."
"Let him go." Sarah demanded.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought a future Queen would have more manners than that." The cube then burst with a poof of black glitter. Sarah felt as if part of herself had poofed along with the cube, her head feeling drained.
"Oh my God. What are we going to do?" Sarah holstered her gun and sat on the bed, echoing Jareth's thoughts.
"I don't know yet." Jareth ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to try and dispel his anger and frustration in a way where he didn't lash at Sarah. Why did things always have to go wrong when it came to him and Sarah?
"Did he just say future Queen?" She asked sharply. He groaned. Yes, he knew it was coming, but it didn't make it any easier. He decided to tell her right out and get it over with.
"Damnation." Jareth growled, He didn't want it to happen this way. He had wanted to woo her and then tell her before he asked for her hand in marriage, but the Fates weren't that giving. "Yes Sarah, he did."
"Why?"
"Hell, I didn't mean for it to come out like this." He moved away to look out the fourth story window out over the glittering Potomac. "By defeating my Labyrinth you fulfilled the prophecy. 'A woman-child shall defeat the unbeatable and melt it's ruler into the sacred trust.' You're my betrothed by simply defeating me."
"Oh. My. God." He heard Sarah gasp from behind him and a thump.
"Sarah?" Jareth asked, turning to face her. He saw her sprawled out on the floor in a cold faint. "Great."
Quickly he picked her up and laid her on the bed. He was worried for her, not knowing her to be the type prone to faint. Her face was pale and still. Lightly he tapped her cheek. "SARAH."