Chapter Seven
Sarah rested her head against Jareth's chest and sighed happily. This was wonderful. Her arms were around his neck, and her fingers were playing in his long tangled blond hair. Jareth had his hands resting low on her waist. Sarah hadn't even noticed that the music had stopped playing. Then Jareth stopped moving. He looked down at Sarah.
"Care to go for a stroll?"
"Yes. Anything." Jareth took Sarah's hand, and they left the ballroom behind in a swirl of color. They walked along until the came to a wooden bench that was surrounded by so many potted plants that they seemed to be in a real forest. The floor was covered in green carpeting, and vines hung from the ceiling. Green and yellow light filtered down around them. They sat on the bench with their arms around each other. Jareth leaned over and kissed her ear, then followed the curve of her jaw until he found her lips. He drank deeply of their sweet wine. Sarah shivered under his touch. Jareth treaded carefully. It was so close he could almost taste it, his victory. Jonathan's ring lay hidden on a chain under his shirt. He could feel the cold metal against his chest. She had forgotten about Jonathan, he knew. He was so close to conquering her completely, one false step...
"Jareth?"
"Yes, darling?"
"How much time is left? How many more dreams?" Sarah sighed. Jareth looked at her. Then, slowly he pulled out a pocket watch. Its hands stood at 12 o'clock.
"One more hour. But think how blissful an hour it can be. There is still one more important dream to pursue...." Jareth took her in his arms and laid her down on the forest floor....
* * * *
Jonathan had the ends of his fingers curled in Sarah's hair. He had awoken a short time ago from another dream he couldn't remember. It frustrated him. It was like trying to hold water in his hand, the memories drained away from him. He felt like they were important...but they were only dreams! What real power could they have? Jonathan breathed a sigh of frustration.
"Sarah...I miss you so bad. I miss seeing the way your eyes light up when you see me. I miss talking to you about what we'll name our kids. Come on Sarah, Beatrix? What kind of a name is Beatrix for a baby? Do you remember the time we were going to the Renaissance Faire, and we were all dressed up in our costumes, and you got carsick on the way there and threw up all over yourself? You were so disappointed. Or the time we went skiing and I hit that icy patch and broke my leg? You brought me chicken soup every day for a month! Boy, did I get sick of it.I guess I never told you that, you enjoyed doing it so much. I loved having you take care of me, anyway. Oh Sarah, you've got to come back to me.Sarah, don't leave me here alone."
* * * *
Jareth tenderly kissed Sarah. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. He slowly started to slip one side of her gown off her shoulder. Sarah smiled and reached down and started to unbutton his shirt. Jareth too late slapped her hands away, but not before Jonathan's ring swung out on its chain and hit her in the nose.
"Jareth, what's that?" Sarah reached out to touch it, and Jareth grabbed it out of her reach. Sarah stared at him oddly and sat up.
"Jareth...let me see that ring." Jareth said nothing, cursing himself inwardly for being so stupid. Sarah reached for it again, and Jareth caught hold of her hand.
"Sarah. We must finish the dream. There is not much time left."
"Jareth, I want to see that ring." Jareth grabbed the chain and broke it, flinging the ring and chain away, but not before Sarah caught a flash of bright blue against silver. Then she knew.
"My ring! Jonathan's ring. Why were you wearing it?" Jareth remained silent.
"Jareth. Did you take it from me? Why?" Sarah stared at Jareth, still not quite believing.
"I had to. Sarah, understand. You do not have to return to the harsh reality. You can stay here with me, you know. All you have to do is wish, and we can spend the rest of time living out our fantasies. Think of it!" Jareth looked hard at Sarah. Sarah sat in dawning understanding.
"You wanted me to stay here forever? Jareth, I can't. I have a life. I'm going to be married!" Jareth smirked.
"You seemed to forget all that easily enough just a few moments ago." Sarah flushed in embarrassment. It was true, for she had been ready to yield completely to the Goblin King all that she had. Sarah was ashamed, deeply ashamed. Was she really that shallow, to be swept up in the heat of the moment and to totally disregard all promises she had made? Sarah withdrew her hands from Jareth's and stood up.
"Jareth, I appreciate all your time and effort. These past hours have been a beautiful dream I will always remember. But I think it is best I leave now before I do anything I'll regret." Jareth stood, all his efforts in ruins. He glared at Sarah with unabashed hatred. His hands clenched into fists.
"Damn you. Damn you, Sarah Williams. I offered you everything, and you would rather return to a bleak world to live with some doodler than to reign with a Goblin King!" Jareth spat. Sarah took an unconscious step backwards.
"Do you know what you did to me? No, I don't suppose you do. You solved the unsolvable puzzle, destroyed the Labyrinth, and after that, what chance did anything else in my kingdom have? Everything fed off the Labyrinth, and once it was gone, so was the rest of my kingdom. Now my only power is over dreams. DREAMS! Dreams are flimsy, false. My Labyrinth was brick, stone, solidarity! If only I could have won you, everything would be all right again. Everything would go back to the way it was. Damn you to hell."
Sarah stood in shock. This raving Jareth was not the one who had tenderly kissed her, held her close, sung to her. And yet it was, in some twisted way. Sarah was horrified. How could she have been so wrong? She sank to her knees. Jonathan, forgive me, she thought, as a tear ran down her face. Jareth advanced on her, breathing hard after his tirade. Sarah scrambled to her feet, tripping over the long hem of her dress, and Jareth grabbed her arm above the elbow. He smiled evilly at her.
"Had plenty of surprises today, haven't we? I suppose one more wouldn't hurt, would it?" Jareth pulled a crystal ball out of the air, and spinning it on his fingers, showed it to Sarah. Sarah gasped at what she saw. Inside the ball, she saw herself lying in a hospital bed, asleep. Jonathan sat by her side, holding her hand. Sarah looked at the ball, then at Jareth, then back at the ball. Jareth threw the ball at the wall where it shattered. Sarah tried to pull her arm away, Jareth's grip was painful.
"Let go of me!" Instead, Jareth pulled her closer. His breath was hot on her face.
"Oh, no, my dear. If I can't win you, then I will conquer you. Either way will suffice." He pulled her close and kissed her hard on the lips. Sarah twisted her mouth away and screamed. Jareth laughed.
"Go ahead and scream! Who will hear you?" He tried to pull her closer again, but Sarah, struggling, brought her knee up hard. Jareth let go immediately, and Sarah was off and running, thinking crazily how she had always wanted to do that! while Jareth collapsed against the wall, trying to ignore the fire that licked between his legs.
Sarah ran, not knowing where she was going, not caring, as long as it was away from Jareth. She picked up her skirt and wrapped it over one arm, bolting down a flight of stairs. At the bottom, she saw the "Valentine Evenings" store. That was the last place she wanted to go! She turned and ran back up. At the top, she saw...a Valentine Evenings...Sarah turned and tried to run away from it but found her feet wouldn't move. She was rooted to the spot. She heard boot heels clicking behind her on the polished linoleum floor. Sarah twisted, tried to somehow get away. Jareth came up behind her and swept her up in his arms, laughing, holding tightly against her struggles.
"Ever had one of those dreams where you couldn't run?" Jareth laughed at her. Sarah went white with fear when she realized nightmares were dreams too. Jareth carried her into the store, to the back and into the room she had occupied earlier. He threw her down on the bed, where her dress morphed into a red velvet short-sleeved one. She tried to get up, but her waist was anchored to the bed by her sash, which seemed to be part of the spread. She couldn't move. Jareth stood at the foot of the bed, smiling at her struggles. At last, at long last, he would have her. If he couldn't conquer her one way, he could have victory in another. All that he needed was one triumph over her to gain back the power he had lost to her. He would own her body, and as her virginity fell away, so would his power return. He ripped off his shirt; then he slowly moved across the bed toward her. Sarah screamed and screamed....
Jonathan came into the room and stopped. Sarah was moving! She was moaning, actually, and flailing around in the bed. He moved quickly to her side, and tried to quiet her.
"Sarah, honey, ssshhhh, it'll be ok."
"No....No! Oh God, no! Oh help, please..." Sarah screamed then, an unearthly shriek.
Sarah tried to think of something, anything, to pull some piece of information from her brain that would help...in desperation she screamed,
"You have no power over me!" At this, Jareth stopped for a moment, surprised, then started to laugh.
"Sarah, darling, don't you know that by wishing, you gave me power over you? Oh, I'm sorry, but that's not going to work this time. Now, where were we?"
Jareth grabbed the shoulders of Sarah's dress and began to pull the gown off her shoulders. Sarah beat at Jareth with her hands, but it caused him no more concern than a butterfly's wings. He was going to win, finally. He deserved this. He grasped Sarah's hands and pinned them above her head. With a gesture, they remained there. Sarah twisted and writhed against the invisible bonds. He gazed at the fear and desperation, and yes, the guilt, too, in her eyes. He knew she saw this as all her fault, which was just as he had planned from the beginning. But he would stretch it out awhile longer, just to torture her. Because Jareth adored torture. Sarah wept openly. How could she have been so blind? She should never have trusted this man, no, this monster. How could she have forgotten her Jonathan?
"Oh Jonathan, I wish you could help me..."
Jonathan was trying to hold Sarah down, she was screaming like a mad woman, and tears were running down her face, and then suddenly she grew quiet. Then she spoke. Jonathan thought he heard his name. He leaned closer, put his ear to her lips.
"Help me," she breathed. Darkness overcame Jonathan.
Jareth pressing his hungry lips to hers, feeling her tears on his face, when he suddenly felt a rush of cold air, as if someone had left a door open. He turned and saw Jonathan enter, dressed in khaki pants and a cream-colored button down shirt, opened a little at the neck. He was barefoot.
"Jonathan!" Sarah screamed in relief when she saw him. "Please help me!" Oh God, she could see him! Jonathan almost wept in relief. But the feeling turned quickly to fury when he saw Jareth poised over Sarah's prostrate body.
"What are you doing with my wife?" he asked coldly.
"Not quite wife, you mean, boy." Jareth sneered.
"Get away from her. Now."
"What will you do if I don't?" Jonathan suddenly felt weight at his side. A light sword hung there. He drew it without thinking twice. Jareth laughed at this new twist. It had been awhile since he'd had such a challenge. He whirled his own sword out of the air, and stood up. Sarah watched from the bed, tears still streaming down her face. Jareth upped his sword, and they two faced off.
Swords leapt, cut and sliced the air with swift strokes. Jonathan was surprised, not only was he managing to block everything Jareth threw at him; he was actually getting a cut or two in. Jareth became angrier and angrier as he realized he wasn't making much progress. Suddenly, he whirled and jumping onto the bed, held his sword at Sarah's throat. Jonathan froze.
"That's a very wise decision. I wouldn't move at all if I were you. Sarah will die, but not until I have finished with her first." He smiled down at Sarah, who looked at Jonathan with her eyes full of tears.
"Oh Jonathan, I'm so sorry...This is all my fault...." Jonathan looked at Sarah with love in his eyes.
"Don't worry, my love."
"How touching," Jareth sneered. Sarah suddenly twisted, dragging the spread that Jareth was standing on with her. Jareth flailed, lost his balance and fell off the bed. In less than a second, Jonathan was on top of him, banging his head against the floor, effectively knocking him out. Jonathan watched Jareth's body transform to that of an owl and fly out the door. Darkness slowly descended.
Sarah rested her head against Jareth's chest and sighed happily. This was wonderful. Her arms were around his neck, and her fingers were playing in his long tangled blond hair. Jareth had his hands resting low on her waist. Sarah hadn't even noticed that the music had stopped playing. Then Jareth stopped moving. He looked down at Sarah.
"Care to go for a stroll?"
"Yes. Anything." Jareth took Sarah's hand, and they left the ballroom behind in a swirl of color. They walked along until the came to a wooden bench that was surrounded by so many potted plants that they seemed to be in a real forest. The floor was covered in green carpeting, and vines hung from the ceiling. Green and yellow light filtered down around them. They sat on the bench with their arms around each other. Jareth leaned over and kissed her ear, then followed the curve of her jaw until he found her lips. He drank deeply of their sweet wine. Sarah shivered under his touch. Jareth treaded carefully. It was so close he could almost taste it, his victory. Jonathan's ring lay hidden on a chain under his shirt. He could feel the cold metal against his chest. She had forgotten about Jonathan, he knew. He was so close to conquering her completely, one false step...
"Jareth?"
"Yes, darling?"
"How much time is left? How many more dreams?" Sarah sighed. Jareth looked at her. Then, slowly he pulled out a pocket watch. Its hands stood at 12 o'clock.
"One more hour. But think how blissful an hour it can be. There is still one more important dream to pursue...." Jareth took her in his arms and laid her down on the forest floor....
* * * *
Jonathan had the ends of his fingers curled in Sarah's hair. He had awoken a short time ago from another dream he couldn't remember. It frustrated him. It was like trying to hold water in his hand, the memories drained away from him. He felt like they were important...but they were only dreams! What real power could they have? Jonathan breathed a sigh of frustration.
"Sarah...I miss you so bad. I miss seeing the way your eyes light up when you see me. I miss talking to you about what we'll name our kids. Come on Sarah, Beatrix? What kind of a name is Beatrix for a baby? Do you remember the time we were going to the Renaissance Faire, and we were all dressed up in our costumes, and you got carsick on the way there and threw up all over yourself? You were so disappointed. Or the time we went skiing and I hit that icy patch and broke my leg? You brought me chicken soup every day for a month! Boy, did I get sick of it.I guess I never told you that, you enjoyed doing it so much. I loved having you take care of me, anyway. Oh Sarah, you've got to come back to me.Sarah, don't leave me here alone."
* * * *
Jareth tenderly kissed Sarah. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. He slowly started to slip one side of her gown off her shoulder. Sarah smiled and reached down and started to unbutton his shirt. Jareth too late slapped her hands away, but not before Jonathan's ring swung out on its chain and hit her in the nose.
"Jareth, what's that?" Sarah reached out to touch it, and Jareth grabbed it out of her reach. Sarah stared at him oddly and sat up.
"Jareth...let me see that ring." Jareth said nothing, cursing himself inwardly for being so stupid. Sarah reached for it again, and Jareth caught hold of her hand.
"Sarah. We must finish the dream. There is not much time left."
"Jareth, I want to see that ring." Jareth grabbed the chain and broke it, flinging the ring and chain away, but not before Sarah caught a flash of bright blue against silver. Then she knew.
"My ring! Jonathan's ring. Why were you wearing it?" Jareth remained silent.
"Jareth. Did you take it from me? Why?" Sarah stared at Jareth, still not quite believing.
"I had to. Sarah, understand. You do not have to return to the harsh reality. You can stay here with me, you know. All you have to do is wish, and we can spend the rest of time living out our fantasies. Think of it!" Jareth looked hard at Sarah. Sarah sat in dawning understanding.
"You wanted me to stay here forever? Jareth, I can't. I have a life. I'm going to be married!" Jareth smirked.
"You seemed to forget all that easily enough just a few moments ago." Sarah flushed in embarrassment. It was true, for she had been ready to yield completely to the Goblin King all that she had. Sarah was ashamed, deeply ashamed. Was she really that shallow, to be swept up in the heat of the moment and to totally disregard all promises she had made? Sarah withdrew her hands from Jareth's and stood up.
"Jareth, I appreciate all your time and effort. These past hours have been a beautiful dream I will always remember. But I think it is best I leave now before I do anything I'll regret." Jareth stood, all his efforts in ruins. He glared at Sarah with unabashed hatred. His hands clenched into fists.
"Damn you. Damn you, Sarah Williams. I offered you everything, and you would rather return to a bleak world to live with some doodler than to reign with a Goblin King!" Jareth spat. Sarah took an unconscious step backwards.
"Do you know what you did to me? No, I don't suppose you do. You solved the unsolvable puzzle, destroyed the Labyrinth, and after that, what chance did anything else in my kingdom have? Everything fed off the Labyrinth, and once it was gone, so was the rest of my kingdom. Now my only power is over dreams. DREAMS! Dreams are flimsy, false. My Labyrinth was brick, stone, solidarity! If only I could have won you, everything would be all right again. Everything would go back to the way it was. Damn you to hell."
Sarah stood in shock. This raving Jareth was not the one who had tenderly kissed her, held her close, sung to her. And yet it was, in some twisted way. Sarah was horrified. How could she have been so wrong? She sank to her knees. Jonathan, forgive me, she thought, as a tear ran down her face. Jareth advanced on her, breathing hard after his tirade. Sarah scrambled to her feet, tripping over the long hem of her dress, and Jareth grabbed her arm above the elbow. He smiled evilly at her.
"Had plenty of surprises today, haven't we? I suppose one more wouldn't hurt, would it?" Jareth pulled a crystal ball out of the air, and spinning it on his fingers, showed it to Sarah. Sarah gasped at what she saw. Inside the ball, she saw herself lying in a hospital bed, asleep. Jonathan sat by her side, holding her hand. Sarah looked at the ball, then at Jareth, then back at the ball. Jareth threw the ball at the wall where it shattered. Sarah tried to pull her arm away, Jareth's grip was painful.
"Let go of me!" Instead, Jareth pulled her closer. His breath was hot on her face.
"Oh, no, my dear. If I can't win you, then I will conquer you. Either way will suffice." He pulled her close and kissed her hard on the lips. Sarah twisted her mouth away and screamed. Jareth laughed.
"Go ahead and scream! Who will hear you?" He tried to pull her closer again, but Sarah, struggling, brought her knee up hard. Jareth let go immediately, and Sarah was off and running, thinking crazily how she had always wanted to do that! while Jareth collapsed against the wall, trying to ignore the fire that licked between his legs.
Sarah ran, not knowing where she was going, not caring, as long as it was away from Jareth. She picked up her skirt and wrapped it over one arm, bolting down a flight of stairs. At the bottom, she saw the "Valentine Evenings" store. That was the last place she wanted to go! She turned and ran back up. At the top, she saw...a Valentine Evenings...Sarah turned and tried to run away from it but found her feet wouldn't move. She was rooted to the spot. She heard boot heels clicking behind her on the polished linoleum floor. Sarah twisted, tried to somehow get away. Jareth came up behind her and swept her up in his arms, laughing, holding tightly against her struggles.
"Ever had one of those dreams where you couldn't run?" Jareth laughed at her. Sarah went white with fear when she realized nightmares were dreams too. Jareth carried her into the store, to the back and into the room she had occupied earlier. He threw her down on the bed, where her dress morphed into a red velvet short-sleeved one. She tried to get up, but her waist was anchored to the bed by her sash, which seemed to be part of the spread. She couldn't move. Jareth stood at the foot of the bed, smiling at her struggles. At last, at long last, he would have her. If he couldn't conquer her one way, he could have victory in another. All that he needed was one triumph over her to gain back the power he had lost to her. He would own her body, and as her virginity fell away, so would his power return. He ripped off his shirt; then he slowly moved across the bed toward her. Sarah screamed and screamed....
Jonathan came into the room and stopped. Sarah was moving! She was moaning, actually, and flailing around in the bed. He moved quickly to her side, and tried to quiet her.
"Sarah, honey, ssshhhh, it'll be ok."
"No....No! Oh God, no! Oh help, please..." Sarah screamed then, an unearthly shriek.
Sarah tried to think of something, anything, to pull some piece of information from her brain that would help...in desperation she screamed,
"You have no power over me!" At this, Jareth stopped for a moment, surprised, then started to laugh.
"Sarah, darling, don't you know that by wishing, you gave me power over you? Oh, I'm sorry, but that's not going to work this time. Now, where were we?"
Jareth grabbed the shoulders of Sarah's dress and began to pull the gown off her shoulders. Sarah beat at Jareth with her hands, but it caused him no more concern than a butterfly's wings. He was going to win, finally. He deserved this. He grasped Sarah's hands and pinned them above her head. With a gesture, they remained there. Sarah twisted and writhed against the invisible bonds. He gazed at the fear and desperation, and yes, the guilt, too, in her eyes. He knew she saw this as all her fault, which was just as he had planned from the beginning. But he would stretch it out awhile longer, just to torture her. Because Jareth adored torture. Sarah wept openly. How could she have been so blind? She should never have trusted this man, no, this monster. How could she have forgotten her Jonathan?
"Oh Jonathan, I wish you could help me..."
Jonathan was trying to hold Sarah down, she was screaming like a mad woman, and tears were running down her face, and then suddenly she grew quiet. Then she spoke. Jonathan thought he heard his name. He leaned closer, put his ear to her lips.
"Help me," she breathed. Darkness overcame Jonathan.
Jareth pressing his hungry lips to hers, feeling her tears on his face, when he suddenly felt a rush of cold air, as if someone had left a door open. He turned and saw Jonathan enter, dressed in khaki pants and a cream-colored button down shirt, opened a little at the neck. He was barefoot.
"Jonathan!" Sarah screamed in relief when she saw him. "Please help me!" Oh God, she could see him! Jonathan almost wept in relief. But the feeling turned quickly to fury when he saw Jareth poised over Sarah's prostrate body.
"What are you doing with my wife?" he asked coldly.
"Not quite wife, you mean, boy." Jareth sneered.
"Get away from her. Now."
"What will you do if I don't?" Jonathan suddenly felt weight at his side. A light sword hung there. He drew it without thinking twice. Jareth laughed at this new twist. It had been awhile since he'd had such a challenge. He whirled his own sword out of the air, and stood up. Sarah watched from the bed, tears still streaming down her face. Jareth upped his sword, and they two faced off.
Swords leapt, cut and sliced the air with swift strokes. Jonathan was surprised, not only was he managing to block everything Jareth threw at him; he was actually getting a cut or two in. Jareth became angrier and angrier as he realized he wasn't making much progress. Suddenly, he whirled and jumping onto the bed, held his sword at Sarah's throat. Jonathan froze.
"That's a very wise decision. I wouldn't move at all if I were you. Sarah will die, but not until I have finished with her first." He smiled down at Sarah, who looked at Jonathan with her eyes full of tears.
"Oh Jonathan, I'm so sorry...This is all my fault...." Jonathan looked at Sarah with love in his eyes.
"Don't worry, my love."
"How touching," Jareth sneered. Sarah suddenly twisted, dragging the spread that Jareth was standing on with her. Jareth flailed, lost his balance and fell off the bed. In less than a second, Jonathan was on top of him, banging his head against the floor, effectively knocking him out. Jonathan watched Jareth's body transform to that of an owl and fly out the door. Darkness slowly descended.