AN: Sorry about the delay (even if it only was about two weeks or so). I hope you all like the newest chapter!
Disclaimer: *sigh* Nope, still own nothing...
Chapter Five: Stay With Me
Sarah was in the ballroom again, in her same dress, and looking for the same person: Jareth.
All those people were there, wearing their odd masks, laughing which turned mocking as she passed, and watching her through those goblin-like eyes.
Haunting music drifted through the air. It was all the same, the same melody.
/There's such a sad love
Deep in your eyes
A kind of pale jewel
Open and closed
Within your eyes
I'll place the sky
Within your eyes/
She caught glimpses of Jareth here and there, but he always disappeared. She knew this was going to happen, she knew which way to turn to see him, but she couldn't stop. Part of her wanted to turn left, not right, but her body still turned right, weaving through the people. She had no control over her movements, but was forced to watch herself move through the crowd, searching for him.
/There's such a fooled heart
Beating so fast
In search of new dreams
A love that will last
Within your heart
I'll place the moon
Within your heart/
There he was! And gone again. It was the same thing, over and over again. Still, she searched relentlessly and people pointed and bumped into her. None showed their faces.
/As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill is gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you-oo-oo
As the world falls down/
Then he was right there again, taking her into his arms and spinning them around the dance floor. This is what she wanted, wasn't it? She wasn't sure anymore. She wasn't sure she had wanted that five years ago.
/I'll paint you mornings of gold
I'll spin you Valentine evenings
Though we're strangers 'til now
We're choosing the path
Between the stars
I'll lay my love
Between the stars/
They whirled around until she started to feel dizzy. Everyone was crowding in and laughing, laughing. Laughing at her, laughing because she was naive, innocent, and pure, laughing because she didn't belong in such a tainted world. She had no mask, they could all see her and she couldn't hide as they did.
/As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill is gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you-oo-oo
As the world falls down.../
And then she was falling. Everyone disappeared, except Jareth, and she reached out to him. He reached out as well, a scared look on his face, and he vanished before she fell into the blackness and the last haunting strains of music died.
And it was silent, and cold. She could hear Xavier laughing at her, laughing at her pain. She curled up, wishing for it to go away. She wanted to find Jareth, and that was all.
A flash of white and the raging unicorn flashed before her. She was hungry, tired, cold, and frightened. She reached out, but the unicorn vanished.
Xavier finally appeared, walking towards her. She cowered into a corner as he kept laughing.
"That beast will remain here for all of time. As will you!" his voice echoed. "You will die here, and even Jareth cannot save you. Why would he? He does not care. You are foolish. You are cursed to live here forever..." and it faded, "forever" echoing through her mind.
"JARETH!"
Sarah screamed and shot up in her bed. Frantically she looked around. She was in her room, of course, but what if Xavier came back? What if Jareth didn't come for her? What about the unicorn?
She started shaking, trying to think of what to do when Jareth appeared beside her. He sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around her.
"It was only a dream, Sarah. It's alright, you're safe. I won't let anything happen," he whispered reassuringly into her ear until she relaxed. He pulled away so he could see her face.
She looked at him with wide eyes. "What time is it?" she whispered.
"It's the middle of the night."
"Oh," was all she said and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"You woke a fair amount of people, you know," he said with a small smile on his face as he brushed sweat-soaked strands of hair from her face. "You don't need to open your mind so much to call me. I would hear if you only used a whisper of magic." She blushed and started to apologize, but Jareth cut her off with a whispered, "Would you like to tell me about it?"
"About what?"
"Anything. Your nightmare for instance."
She nodded slowly. "We were back in the ball room. Remember? After the peach?" He nodded. "And I was looking for you, just like the first time. Everything was the same. I knew what was going to happen, but I couldn't stop myself."
She paused a moment. "And you were singing. That same song..." she hummed some of it. It was a beautiful song, and Jareth was a wonderful singer. He just nodded again and she continued. "And then I was falling. I reached out to you. You were- you looked scared and you tried to grab me, but then you disappeared."
Sarah swallowed, glancing quickly at his face. It seemed softer now then it usually did, and that made her feel better. She went on.
"I kept falling until I was in the cell, and Xavier was there, laughing at me and telling me that I'd be there forever, and that you couldn't or wouldn't come for me. He said you didn't care." She stopped again and took a deep breath.
"Did you believe him?" Jareth asked quietly. Sarah looked at him for a minute and shook her head. "What else?"
"Then he said that I was doomed to die there, and the unicorn, too. Oh, Jareth! The unicorn! She's still trapped there! I wanted to help her, and I couldn't! She will die if she stays there!"
Jareth stroked her back. "Shh, it's alright. Calm down. Xavier had a unicorn in your dream?"
"No! For real! He has a real unicorn locked up! I saw her!" Sarah quieted down. "She was so sad..."
Jareth looked surprised. "He has a unicorn in his keeping? And you saw it?"
"'It' was a 'her'" Sarah corrected softly.
Jareth nodded. "That is dangerous, to approach a caged unicorn. I hope you did not go near her."
Sarah nodded. "She, she saw me and quieted down. There was intelligence there, though she was half mad. We connected, we were" she searched for the words. "We were... the same, somehow. Oh, Jareth! Please, help me set her free. Please? She can't be caged, she needs to be free. Xavier will ruin her spirit if she stays there! She will perish!"
"I know Sarah, I know. We will do something about it. I am not sure what, but we will figure it out, do not worry. It is illegal throughout the Underground to capture such creatures."
Sarah sighed and leaned forward in his arms. "Thank you, Jareth."
"Whatever for?"
"For everything. You rescued me, and here you are now." She sighed. "I don't know." She didn't want to admit how safe she felt in his arms, but it seemed to make everything right again.
He held her for a while before pulling away slightly. "It is late; you should try to get some sleep." Her eyes widened. What if Xavier came back? He must know that she was missing by now.
What should I do? I cannot just leave her here. She's frightened.
"Would you feel better if I stayed?"
Sarah blushed, but nodded. At the moment she didn't care for her pride, she wanted him here.
He walked around to the other side of the bed and lay down next to her.
That was when Sarah noticed that he wore only a pair of loose trousers to sleep in, and that his hands had no gloves on them.
He stroked her cheek. His hands are so soft and warm! Sarah thought and smiled a little. She reached up to cover his hand with her own, which coaxed a small smile out of him.
Sarah dropped her hand back down as she started to drift off. She felt him shift on the bed before bare, strong arms wrapped around her. She put her arms around his neck and rested against him.
Jareth kissed the top of her head. "I am not going anywhere. Go to sleep."
She nodded and drifted into an easy and peaceful sleep.
Alright, what do ya think? I have to apologize, I have almost no idea what will happen in the next chapter. Writer's block... Anyway, it will be up sooner or later. Right now I do not have enough time to even think much about it, I'm so busy with school work. After all my big projects are over with, I'll get started.
Thank you to those who R&R!
Lady Death: Don't worry, it'll be alright ^_^
Joanne Greenleaf: Thank you! I plan to keep writing
draegon-fire: I agree, Xavier is a bad person, er, elf... Revenge is a complicated thing. *laughing* I just hope I can explain everything well enough for people other than me to understand.
mystdawn: Yeah, I hope so too. Last Unicorn is a good movie ^_^ Thank you.
Thank you all so much! I hope I don't let you down or anything.
(If you have suggestions to get me through my writers block, please tell me!)
