Hey guys. Long time no read. Thank you to all that have reviewed and emailed me. You guys are the best. The reason for my absence from updating for so long is that I'm trying to concentrate on my originals. Hopefully I'll finish a novel soon and some publisher will like it enough to publish it. I had an urge to work on this story today and came up with this chapter. I hope that you guys enjoy it and like what I've done. Hugs to you all.
Faded Memories
Chapter Five
Lightness filled her heart, it was as if she were never alive until that day when Jareth, the handsome and charming Goblin King, first asked for the right to court her. She had accepted and they had shared their first kiss, a first kiss in a line of many.
Sarah grinned to herself as she sat within the gardens. This had become her haven, the place to come and reflect and think about her life, herself. The memories still did not return but with having Jareth as a constant companion she found that it seemed not as important to her anymore as it did before. What is there to miss when you have not the memory of it to know to miss it?
Hand lightly caressing a nearby flower, Sarah turned as she thought she had heard something. Usually the goblins and Jareth left her alone when she was in this part of the gardens, all knowing that this was her place to be alone to think and ponder about things. Standing she made her way towards where she thought she heard something.
A hedge of green shook violently causing her to gasp out in startled surprise. What came out from the hedge caused her to step back and she found herself falling as her feet caught the edge of her skirts. A yelp of surprise escaped her throat as she stared wide-eyed at the man before her.
He was tall with short brown hair that was matted with dirt and blood, his pale skin marred by multiple bloodied cuts. He staggered out from the hedge, panting as if he had been running for days. Dressed in dirtied brown trousers and torn dark blue shirt he came towards her.
Sarah pushed herself back and away from this stranger, having no idea if he was friend or foe. "JARETH!" she finally managed to yell out.
The man collapsed before her, almost on top of her, "I've found you. We've been searching all over the Underground for you."
She was bewildered. What was this man talking about? He acted as if he knew her. Who had been looking for her? Was this man delirious?
Jareth appeared from thin air and pulled the man away from her. "GAURDS!" he called out as he harshly pushed the man away from Sarah. Placing himself between her and the man, Jareth glared down at him in anger.
The man returned Jareth's glare, "You think that you can get away with this! What have you done to her?"
A look of confusion crossed Jareth's features for an instant and then his stoic mask of indifference was set in place. "I know not what you speak. You are a trespasser and have been refused entry and here you are. I see that you have encountered my wards."
The man narrowed his eyes, "You have no idea do you? You know nothing of what you have done." He laughed a laugh that was filled with malice before starting to cough and flinch slightly in pain.
Before the stranger could say more the goblin guard arrived and started to drag him away. The man continued to yell, but to Sarah and not Jareth, "He has deceived you your highness! Do not trust him!" and then he was gone.
Sarah looked on with confusion crossing her brow. "Jareth?" she asked with shaky voice.
Jareth turned towards her and was immediately at her side helping her to stand. "Are you all right? He did not hurt you did he?"
"I'm all right. He startled me but did nothing to harm me. What was he talking about and why did he call me your highness?" Could he have lied to her after all of this time? No, the man had to be mad.
Caressing her cheek with his hand, Jareth answered, "I do not know what he was raving about. Do not worry, he will not bother you again."
She believed him, truly and totally believed him. The man had to have been mad, some enemy of Jareth's kingdom that wanted to taint his name. A bit shaken by the experience, Sarah buried her head in his chest reassuring her with the closeness of his body against hers. He always made her feel so safe.
Pulling away from her slightly he tilted her head up to his and then bent down towards her lips. Gently his lips touched hers, feather light and filled with love. Soon though the kiss grew in intensity as Jareth deepened their kiss. When she had yelled out his name in such fear it had terrified him to think that she might have come to harm. If that man had touched her he would slowly torture him before taking him apart limb from bloody limb.
Breaking the kiss, his eyes searched hers as his hands cupped her cheeks. "I want you to be in the presence of someone at all times until I find out what is going on. Do not venture anywhere without an escort from me or one of the guards."
She tried to open her mouth to argue but he pressed his fingers to her lips to stop her before she could try and protest. "No arguments, this is not up for discussion. That man broke through very powerful wards and I will not take any chances when it comes to your safety."
Knowing that when he says something is not up for discussion there is no arguing with the Fae, she nodded in assent. She was still a little shaken by what had happened and knew that he was probably right in his worry.
After having escorted Sarah back to her rooms Jareth made his way towards the throne room. He was worried. The man had addressed her as if she were royalty and accused him of some treachery. Well, he was guilty in part for deception by denying Sarah her memories but she was his to do with as he deemed fit. She had failed to break his spell and solve the labyrinth in time and now she was a permanent member of his kingdom and future queen. She was rightfully his.
Entering the throne room he ignored the form that was crumbled in the pit before his throne. His goblin guards stood in a semi-circle surrounding him with spears pointed at him. One slobbering guard snickered as he poked the sharp end of the spear into the already injured man's body.
The man was huddled on the floor, his arms held close to his chest as he tried to regain his strength. He ignored the sharp pain that went into his side as one of the Goblin guards poked him with their spear. Seeing the Goblin King entering the room he forced his body to straighten as much as was physically possible for his exhausted and wounded form. Head held high he glared at the Kind now seated arrogantly in his throne.
The crystal was cool against his gloved hand as he studied it as if in contemplation. He knew full well that the invader was glaring daggers at him and cared not. Without looking at the weak and injured man Jareth waved his hand towards the guards and spoke in a bored tone. "Leave us."
The Goblins only glanced to one another before hurrying to do their King's bidding. None wanted to be the subject of his wrath when they did not follow his orders fast enough. He had not been as harsh since the Lady Sarah's moving in but they knew better. He'd get them when she wasn't looking.
The room was silent, save to the scuffling of feet and clang of armor as the Goblins scurried out of the room.
Jareth floated the crystal just above his hand, his finger slowly caressing the smoothness of its shape as if fascinated by it. It looked as if he completely ignored the intruder but in truth he was aware of his every movement and stance. With a sigh he grasped the crystal and it quickly shrunk down in size until it was no longer there.
Standing with a smooth grace that would put a panther to shame, Jareth stood from his throne and approached the man before him. The man was now standing; his body slightly slouched over as he struggled to keep to his feet. On closer inspection he could sense magic from the man and knew from the way he had broken through his wards that he was hiding greater magic that had now weakened from his breaking of the wards.
Hands clasped behind his back, Jareth regarded the man with a bored arrogance that only pure royals could pull off so well. "Well? Do you plan on stating your business or would you rather just stand there and bleed?"
The man sneered at the King's arrogance. Furry burned behind his eyes and that furry was focused wholly on the Goblin King. A harsh laugh broke from his broken and dry lips. "You are the one at folly here Your Majesty," the last was said with a mocking sneer. "Your banishment here will pale in comparison to what they will do once they find out what you have done."
A light eyebrow arched over an amused gaze. "And what is this thing that I have done? I have done nothing that has not been within my rights as Goblin King and as Fae."
The intruder grimaced in pain as his lips corked up slightly in amusement. The cut in the corner of his mouth had yet to heal fully. The magic he had used in order to force entry had drained him and he was yet to be at his full strength. "You have taken the Undergrounds air. She knows herself as Sarah but we had to keep her in hiding in the mortal realm for her own protection. Sarah is the lost Princess Aliana, daughter of King Odarious and air to the throne of the Underground."
The silence that followed the man's words in the room was deafening. Jareth stood frozen in his place. In his long life never had he felt so surprised and such dread at hearing his words. Without another word, his hand waved in an arch before him as he sent his magic towards the stranger. The stranger had no time to react or understand what has happening before he was flung magically from the room and sent into an enchanted and heavily warded oubliette.
Slowly Jareth turned towards his throne and moved towards it. Heavily he collapsed onto the throne, his normal pale complexion gone even paler. It slowly made sense somehow. The natural grace and the unconscious way that she acted as if she were royalty. The hint of magic that was hidden from his perception save for recently.
Closing his eyes, Jareth buried his face into his hands and for the first time in centuries lost his cool continence as fear burned into his soul. His heart literally felt as if it would shatter into a million pieces. He would lose her. If one had found her here others would surely follow. The spell that erased her memories would most probably be shattered and she would remember, remember it all. The magics help him. She would truly loathed and despise him once his deception was revealed.
Jareth, the Goblin King, feared not the wrath of the Fae courts but of losing his Sarah. By Fae law and the law of the Labyrinth and the Underground he was well within his rights to having taken Sarah. After all she had summoned him, accepted his challenge of running his Labyrinth and failed to solve it within the allotted time. By their ways she was well and truly his by right of their agreement. For once you agree to something with the Fae that agreement is permanently binding.
The only way to break such a binding agreement would be his death. He had to come to a decision and quickly. If she were to find out from strangers of his deception then he knew that she would or could never forgive him. Hands closing into fists at his sides, Jareth leaned back his head with eyes closed and a loud roar of anguish and anger escaped from deep within his throat.
Lying in bed, Sarah's thoughts were haunted by the vision of that man suddenly appearing before her all bloodied. His words, though she thought them to be nothing more than some kind of mad ravings, echoed within her skull. A feeling of dread entered her being and she hugged herself as if to hide away from the sensation.
A loud anguished roar suddenly broke through the silence of the room. Sarah jerked up almost off of the bed with a start, her heart pounding in her throat. Hands shakily held to her throat she attempted to swallow her heart back down from where it had lodged. Who could have made such a grievous roar?
For some reason her heart suddenly felt heavy as if a great sadness rushed through her being. There was also a feeling of fear, anger, dread, and grief. She knew that these were not her own feelings that she was sensing. Eyes blurring with unshed tears she knew that they were Jareth's.
Coming to such a conclusion, she quickly rolled off of her bed and grabbed for her robe. Rushing to the door she quickly slammed it open and rushed towards the throne room. He had to be all right. She needed to go to him, to comfort him as he had done for her on so many occasions since her accident and amnesia.
"Oh please," she whispered a prayer, "let him be all right."