"Toby? Toby!"
Although admittedly, there weren't too many rooms in Sarah's flat, right at that moment, she felt as though there must be more than had been in her father's house when she'd been a child. Even the thought of that house was enough to bring back thoughts of the Goblin King, strong enough that Sarah swayed on her feet, reaching out for the corner of a wall and closing her eyes to regain her balance.
When she was sure she had it again, she kept on after her little brother.
"Oh god, if he's been taken again." she murmured to herself, only half aware that she was even speaking aloud.
Then she noticed that the door to her work room was open a crack. Sure that she had closed it when she had left it, she hastened her step to reach it and opened it the full way.
Standing right in front of her, or rather, right in front of her newly finished painting, was Toby, his head tilted sideways as though he were trying to take in every perspective of the painting all at once. Sensing that he was no longer the only person in the room, Toby turned around with a highly guilty smile on his face.
"Hey I, er, thought that you didn't have anything new in the works at the moment," he spoke up.
Sarah was hard pressed to hide exactly how high her relief was at that moment, knowing that she could never possibly explain to him why she almost felt like fainting at the sight of him proving that he was indeed okay.
"You know, this place that you've drawn seems almost. familiar." Toby muttered, taking her silence for permission to be there after all. Either that, or he was trying to fill in the silence to avoid having her tell him off for being in here.
Then his eyes narrowed, and from the edges of her consciousness, Sarah became aware that he was regarding the painting and his own words a little more seriously.
"Actually. really, really familiar." he said softly, as though no longer to her.
Feeling a sudden new strength infusing her legs, Sarah jumped up from the corner of the room and rushed over to him.
"I'm sorry, Toby, I don't want anyone to see this one. It's. private. Please. Could you just, leave it?"
Toby looked at his older sister strangely a moment, although he didn't hesitate to go along with her wishes.
"Sure, sis. Say, is anything wrong?"
"No, nothing. Why don't you go into the kitchen? I put something on the bench that I thought we could have for dinner together." Sarah ran a harried hand through her hair as Toby left her alone in the room.
She closed her eyes and breathed out before opening them again and staring numbly at the painting. No comfort could be found there anymore. None at all.
*
"That's what I said. This painting. if you could see it! It's nothing like her other works, but not only that; it's everything like here!"
Jareth only lifted his chin almost imperceptively, seeming to gaze off to a distance that only he could see. A silence settled between he and his informant for a moment, before in one sudden, lithe movement, he spun around, his cape flowing out behind him, and began striding off.
Left in his wake were the words, "It is time then."
*
"No Caroline, you don't understand. I want to give it away to you. Not sell it. It's yours. As in, when do you think you can pick it up from my place?"
"Sarah?" Toby stood behind her, hair rumpled from sleep as he wiped his eyes and stared up at her.
Sarah tried to offer him what she hoped was a comforting smile, before going back to her conversation on the phone.
"I do understand. Look, if you want to give me that money, you can give it to me for the next piece you buy off me. Think of this one as a birthday present. okay then, an early birthday present. Very early. Christmas then!" Sarah sighed heavily.
Toby paused in the middle of pouring himself milk for his cereal. He mimed for her to hang up on whoever it was on the phone, then put both thumbs up as encouragement.
"Look, I would have thought you'd be more than happy to add this to your collection, and at no charge! Of course there's nothing wrong with it. Would I give you something that's faulty?"
At those words, Sarah paused. There wasn't any way that she could ensure that there was nothing wrong with it though, just not in the way that Caroline meant. What if it ended up as a portal and Caroline got sucked into the hell world of the Labyrinth? Suddenly her haste to get rid of the painting left her. She felt deflated and beaten.
"Fine. I'll bring it into the comp as arranged. No, no, that's okay. My fault anyway. It'll teach me not to try to change plans after they're made. Okay then, meet you there just like we planned. Okay then. Okay. Bye."
Sarah hung up.
"Bad deal?" Toby asked, mouth full of Corn Flakes.
"Something like that," Sarah said, rolling her eyes and fixing herself a sharp caffeine jolt.
Toby swallowed his current mouthful and looked at his sister considering.
"You know, you've been acting really weird the whole time that I've been here," he said. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said, not looking at him. Then, knowing that there was no way he'd believe her if she told him like that, she told him again as she turned to face him, "Nothing."
At least, that's what would have come out, if it hadn't been Toby at age 3 kicking his legs over the edge of the bench that faced her.
Before she could open her mouth to scream, a dark bedroom surrounded her. Tempted to scream anyway, her eyes widened and fear suddenly paralyzed her when she looked up towards the end of her bed and saw a blonde white haired man standing there staring at her with a strange expression in his eyes.
"Shh," he said, lifting one gloved finger up to his full lips, before the world that she had known and made for herself in 8 years fell down.
*
Although admittedly, there weren't too many rooms in Sarah's flat, right at that moment, she felt as though there must be more than had been in her father's house when she'd been a child. Even the thought of that house was enough to bring back thoughts of the Goblin King, strong enough that Sarah swayed on her feet, reaching out for the corner of a wall and closing her eyes to regain her balance.
When she was sure she had it again, she kept on after her little brother.
"Oh god, if he's been taken again." she murmured to herself, only half aware that she was even speaking aloud.
Then she noticed that the door to her work room was open a crack. Sure that she had closed it when she had left it, she hastened her step to reach it and opened it the full way.
Standing right in front of her, or rather, right in front of her newly finished painting, was Toby, his head tilted sideways as though he were trying to take in every perspective of the painting all at once. Sensing that he was no longer the only person in the room, Toby turned around with a highly guilty smile on his face.
"Hey I, er, thought that you didn't have anything new in the works at the moment," he spoke up.
Sarah was hard pressed to hide exactly how high her relief was at that moment, knowing that she could never possibly explain to him why she almost felt like fainting at the sight of him proving that he was indeed okay.
"You know, this place that you've drawn seems almost. familiar." Toby muttered, taking her silence for permission to be there after all. Either that, or he was trying to fill in the silence to avoid having her tell him off for being in here.
Then his eyes narrowed, and from the edges of her consciousness, Sarah became aware that he was regarding the painting and his own words a little more seriously.
"Actually. really, really familiar." he said softly, as though no longer to her.
Feeling a sudden new strength infusing her legs, Sarah jumped up from the corner of the room and rushed over to him.
"I'm sorry, Toby, I don't want anyone to see this one. It's. private. Please. Could you just, leave it?"
Toby looked at his older sister strangely a moment, although he didn't hesitate to go along with her wishes.
"Sure, sis. Say, is anything wrong?"
"No, nothing. Why don't you go into the kitchen? I put something on the bench that I thought we could have for dinner together." Sarah ran a harried hand through her hair as Toby left her alone in the room.
She closed her eyes and breathed out before opening them again and staring numbly at the painting. No comfort could be found there anymore. None at all.
*
"That's what I said. This painting. if you could see it! It's nothing like her other works, but not only that; it's everything like here!"
Jareth only lifted his chin almost imperceptively, seeming to gaze off to a distance that only he could see. A silence settled between he and his informant for a moment, before in one sudden, lithe movement, he spun around, his cape flowing out behind him, and began striding off.
Left in his wake were the words, "It is time then."
*
"No Caroline, you don't understand. I want to give it away to you. Not sell it. It's yours. As in, when do you think you can pick it up from my place?"
"Sarah?" Toby stood behind her, hair rumpled from sleep as he wiped his eyes and stared up at her.
Sarah tried to offer him what she hoped was a comforting smile, before going back to her conversation on the phone.
"I do understand. Look, if you want to give me that money, you can give it to me for the next piece you buy off me. Think of this one as a birthday present. okay then, an early birthday present. Very early. Christmas then!" Sarah sighed heavily.
Toby paused in the middle of pouring himself milk for his cereal. He mimed for her to hang up on whoever it was on the phone, then put both thumbs up as encouragement.
"Look, I would have thought you'd be more than happy to add this to your collection, and at no charge! Of course there's nothing wrong with it. Would I give you something that's faulty?"
At those words, Sarah paused. There wasn't any way that she could ensure that there was nothing wrong with it though, just not in the way that Caroline meant. What if it ended up as a portal and Caroline got sucked into the hell world of the Labyrinth? Suddenly her haste to get rid of the painting left her. She felt deflated and beaten.
"Fine. I'll bring it into the comp as arranged. No, no, that's okay. My fault anyway. It'll teach me not to try to change plans after they're made. Okay then, meet you there just like we planned. Okay then. Okay. Bye."
Sarah hung up.
"Bad deal?" Toby asked, mouth full of Corn Flakes.
"Something like that," Sarah said, rolling her eyes and fixing herself a sharp caffeine jolt.
Toby swallowed his current mouthful and looked at his sister considering.
"You know, you've been acting really weird the whole time that I've been here," he said. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said, not looking at him. Then, knowing that there was no way he'd believe her if she told him like that, she told him again as she turned to face him, "Nothing."
At least, that's what would have come out, if it hadn't been Toby at age 3 kicking his legs over the edge of the bench that faced her.
Before she could open her mouth to scream, a dark bedroom surrounded her. Tempted to scream anyway, her eyes widened and fear suddenly paralyzed her when she looked up towards the end of her bed and saw a blonde white haired man standing there staring at her with a strange expression in his eyes.
"Shh," he said, lifting one gloved finger up to his full lips, before the world that she had known and made for herself in 8 years fell down.
*