AN: My deepest thanks to everyone who has continued to review and send me e-mails about this story! I can't thank you all enough! Sorry about the delay with the posting of this chapter. Hope you enjoy it.
AN2: OK I've gotten a few e-mails and reviews about people concerning my knowledge of American history and the Revolutionary war. Let me make this clear right here and now. THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. This story is loosely based on American History and is NOT by any means a piece that you could use to get information for a report, paper, etc. If you want to know what really happened, please go to the library and find your information there. This is fiction for pity's sake. Some people might not believe it, but I do know my American history very well, especially the Revolutionary war. I live in Massachusetts. The reminders are all around me every single day. If I have done something you feel is not correct, such as accents (yes I am aware that we "Americans" had accents back then), the clothing, a particular battle doesn't seem quite right, I've done it for plot reasons. This story is loosely based on history. I just wanted to get this straight for everyone. I understand people's concerns about my portrayal of history and I appreciate those concerns. But I would have thought that by putting Jareth and Sarah (fictional characters) into this story that people might have realized that this is not a history paper, it's a fictional story. My disclaimer does read "this story contains some facts of history as well as a lot of fiction." So people were warned.
As always, special thanks to my beta, Scattered Logic, for her time, patience and inspiration. Also thanks to The Hooded Crow, Lady Jamie and Scattered Logic for their continued comments and support! Hooray for the "Hermetic Order of the Magic Wand"! (HOMW)
Chapter 7: From the frying pan, into the fire…
The first thing that Sarah noticed upon awakening was the temperature. She felt considerably warmer than she had the previous nights. Opening her eyes, she saw a wool blanket wrapped tightly around her as well as the unsaddled horse just a few yards away. Grasping the blanket in her hands, she realized that last night had not been a dream. She stood and stretched and the blanket fell to her feet in a forgotten heap. Sarah walked to the canvas and leather bags and began to rummage through them.
Sarah tried to create a soup of beans, dried meat and broth from the supplies they had taken.
Jareth was lying casually across a nearby rock as if it was his throne and he owned the woods. He watched Sarah curiously as she heated the water and added herbs, salt, the dried meat and beans. He noticed that she was trying her best to ignore him. A fact that bothered him, yet one that he refused to acknowledge to Sarah. He had thrown the girl for a loop with his kindness last night and, truth be told, he had done the same to himself.
Sarah sat down and poured herself and Jareth each a cup of soup. It wasn't the most tastiest meal she'd ever eaten but she drained the bowl rather quickly. A testament to her hunger.
"Have some soup and then we should pack and go."
Jareth was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Sarah's voice. "Was that an order?" he snapped. He was slightly surprised by the tone of his own voice, but the girl infuriated him sometimes. She had yet to thank him for his kindness last night and now she was ordering him around?
"It can be whatever you want it to be," Sarah told him narrowing her eyes.
Jareth rolled his eyes.
"Look, I don't care if you eat or not," Sarah replied, putting her hands on her hips. "You've made it clear that you don't need me to find your meals. I'm sure as hell not staying put with those men out there. I want to get as far away from them as possible. We're traveling today."
Jareth stood and paced in front of her with the grace of a lethal panther. "And where would we go, Sarah? You've made it clear that this is a time and world of danger. We have barely any supplies and you don't know how to navigate through this place. Traveling could bring us to even more danger."
"You jerk! It wasn't my fault that we ended up here!" Sarah was on her feet now.
"It was your fault. If you had not destroyed my kingdom-" (
"If you hadn't taken my baby brother-"
"If you had not wished him away to me-"
"If the words weren't real, NONE of this would have happened!" Sarah cried out. "I would be in my bed right now, in my own house, in my time." She ran her fingers through her hair and was disgusted by how tangled and dirty it had become. "I would be clean and showered if I were home. I wouldn't be hungry and tired and cold! I wouldn't be here with you! I'd rather be anywhere than here with you!" Sarah cried back loudly.
A look of hurt flashed briefly through Jareth's eyes followed by intense anger. A mask of deception to hide his pain.
Sarah narrowed her eyes at him and appeared angry on the outside, but some part of her regretted saying those last words. She had not missed the hurt flickering in the Goblin King's mismatched eyes. Even if it was only there for a moment. She was so damn impulsive sometimes. But as quickly as the regret came, it was gone and anger flooded her.
Good, she had hurt him. Let him see what it was like. He had never had to deal with a wicked stepmother who constantly bickered with her, a spoiled baby brother, an uncaring father, a mother who had believed her career was more important than her family. Her first real boyfriend had dumped her, he was even claiming the things that he had bought her, everyone knew that he was seeing Ellen behind her back…
A look of hurt and agony washed over Sarah's face at her thoughts. Tears threatened to cloud her eyes. She bit down hard and tried to force them away. She refused to appear weak in front of the Goblin King.
Sarah lowered her head as she heard Jareth move closer to her. She risked a glance at him and noticed that he was only two feet away.
His anger had faded and he almost looked concerned. "Sarah…?"
Sarah pulled away from him viciously, as if he had bitten her. "Just saddle the horse so we can leave." She leaned over, picked up the wool horse blanket and tossed it at Jareth. She moved away, refusing to glance at him.
The blanket fell in a crumpled heap at Jareth's feet. He glanced at it briefly, but his eyes returned to Sarah's form. He watched her out of concern for a moment and then walked over to the horse. He glanced at the saddle lying where he had left it the previous night and let out a sigh.
Sarah was shoving anything that she had taken out of the bags back in.
"I don't know how, Sarah." Jareth told her quietly.
She jerked her head up, her eyes red from trying to fight her tears. "You don't know how to do what?" she snapped.
"Re-saddle the horse." At Sarah's upset expression, he continued. "I don't even know how to ride a horse and you expect that I would know how to saddle one? You knew how to control the beast. Perhaps you should saddle it."
"I don't know how to saddle a horse! Why the hell did you take the saddle off if you didn't know how to put it back on?" Sarah stomped her foot on the ground.
Jareth's brows lowered over his eyes. "I didn't see you complaining about the saddle last night when I took it off so that you could have the blanket to keep warm."
"I didn't need the blanket. I would have been fine without it!"
Jareth's eyes widened. What an ungrateful woman she was! "That's nonsense and you know it. It was freezing last night. You might have caught your death trying to survive in that shirt."
Sarah threw her arms up and then down in desperation. "Why should you care!?"
Jareth turned away from her, untied the bay, put the saddle over his arm and then turned to face Sarah.
"You're right, I shouldn't care. It won't happen again." He tugged the horse after him and moved away without a backward glance.
Sarah watched him leave and after a moment of glaring angrily at his retreating back, she gathered the bags, the blanket he had left on the ground and followed after him.
By the charred remains of last night's firewood, a small cup of soup sat cold and forgotten.
* * *
Jareth walked on for hours without stopping. He had not bothered to acknowledge that Sarah was following him. He just kept walking, the horse just behind him and tried desperately to ignore the pain that shot up his legs from walking in heeled boots.
The sky grew dark and menacing by late afternoon. Sarah prayed that the New England weather she knew would not strike. Moments later, the rain poured from the sky.
April showers bring May flowers. Sarah thought bitterly. She shivered as the wind picked up and the rain pelted her.
She gave a deep sigh as she watched Jareth continue to walk in the rain as if he had not even noticed it. "Jareth," she called out. Her voice was sucked up by the howling wind and heavy rain. She tried again. "Jareth, please! We should stop."
"Not just yet."
She barely missed his reply as thunder rumbled in the distance. "Jareth, it's pouring."
Jareth turned to face her. His usually spiky hair was dripping in his eyes. With one gloved hand he brushed it away. His clothes clung to him like a second skin. "I had not noticed, Sarah." He told her sarcastically. "There are some rocks ahead. Perhaps we can find shelter there."
Sarah braved the stinging rain to look ahead to see what Jareth spoke of. Sure enough, a large hill of rocks lay in the path ahead. Sarah picked up the pace, pulling the bags more securely over her shoulders. The canvas bag felt as if it were filled with lead from the water that had soaked through it.
They were soaked to the bone by the time they reached the hill. The hill was a pile of large boulders with trees growing out of them. Many of the rocks formed caverns but they were only large enough for a small animal to crawl into.
Frustrated that the caverns were too small, Jareth kicked a tree with the toe of his boot. He swore in Goblin and then threw the horse saddle down on the ground like a child having a temper tantrum. Where would they sleep tonight? Out in the open with no fire in the pouring rain? Breathing heavily from his little rampage, Jareth glanced around for Sarah. She was nowhere to be seen.
"Wonderful. Now my only companion has gone missing." He let out miserably. The horse nickered and then shook its head sending water in all directions. Jareth sighed. "All right, one of my companions is missing."
"Jareth, over here!"
Jareth glanced around the rocks and nearby woods and still did not see Sarah. "Where are you?"
"To your left."
As he looked to his left, Jareth saw Sarah's head and arms poking out of one of the sections of rocks. He tied the horse to a nearby tree and walked quickly to Sarah.
"I found a small underground cavern. It's not very large, but I think we'd both be able to stay dry and maybe build a small fire. There's some dry leaves and sticks in here."
"Oh, thank the ancients." Jareth watched as Sarah squeezed back into the narrow hole. He lowered himself to his knees and followed her in headfirst. He realized what she meant about the cavern not being very large. They could not stand and were forced to sit or kneel and they had just enough room to move to the left or right a few inches without bumping into each other. The cavern tapered down to the floor on the other side. There was room for a very small fire.
Sarah was already rubbing the sticks together and she swore as the first two snapped and she was unable to start the fire. After two more attempts with different sticks, she managed to create a small fire. It wouldn't provide much heat, but it would allow them to see and cook.
Dinner was composed of dried meat, boiled beans and a cup of tea. Sarah collected rainwater for the beans and tea as Jareth tended the fire and set plates for them. It wasn't a hardy meal and Jareth found himself still very hungry when he was finished. He crawled on his hands and knees past Sarah to the entrance to the cavern.
"Where are you going?" She asked him.
"I'm still hungry."
"But there's nothing to eat out there and it's still pouring."
Jareth raised his brows. "I wouldn't say nothing. Just nothing that you would be interested in." He grinned wickedly at Sarah who made a face at him.
"Ugh. Just don't come back here with any half-eaten rodents."
Jareth chuckled and turned to leave.
"Jareth, wait," Sarah began softly.
Jareth stopped and slowly turned to face her. Sarah wasn't looking at him; she was nervously twirling her damp hair around her fingers. "Thank you for helping me with dinner," she let out softly.
Jareth's brows rose. "You're welcome."
"And I'm sorry for the way that I acted earlier…about the blanket." Her eyes slowly rose to meet his. "You were right. I probably would have gotten sick or worse without it."
Jareth tilted his head and gazed at her for a few moments. Well, this was certainly a surprise. "You are forgiven." He told her simply then left the cavern. The moment that he returned to the rain, he transformed into his owl form and flew into the sky.
* * *
Sarah didn't know how much time had passed, but she was beginning to run low on dry kindling. She had gone out into the rain a few times to snatch dried leaves and small twigs from other small caverns but it would only be a matter of time until there was nothing dry left to burn.
Jareth still had not returned and the woods had been quiet except for the howling wind and the rain that refused to let up. Still soaked, Sarah wrapped the wool blanket around herself in hopes of keeping warm. The cavern had warmed slightly with the fire, but not enough to keep her from shivering. The rain had not soaked through the wool blanket completely and Sarah lay down, wrapping it around her. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.
She didn't know how much time had passed while she slept but when Sarah awakened, it was still dark, the fire was nearly out and Jareth was in the cavern. His head was tucked to his chest, his arms were wrapped around him, his knees were drawn to his chin and he was shivering uncontrollably. His blond hair was damp and hanging in his face and he looked like the perfect picture of misery.
Sarah bit her lip as she watched him, and made a decision. She crawled to Jareth's side and gently draped half of the blanket around him. He lifted his head and gazed at her curiously. She refused eye contact with him and sat stiffly by his side so that they could share the blanket without touching.
The wind entered the entrance to the cavern just a few moments later and that was all it took for the fire to go out. Jareth felt Sarah inch closer to him and with a soft sigh, he leaned back against the cavern wall.
* * *
A soft sound filled Jareth's ears and slowly the dream world faded away as he began to awaken. Something felt missing and instantly he realized that Sarah was no longer leaning against him. Groggily, he moved the heavy wool from his shoulders. The cave was pitch black but his eyes adjusted to the dark much better than a mortal's could.
Sarah was lying on her side near the entrance and she was sobbing.
"Sarah, are you all right?" Concern filled Jareth. Maybe she was sick or hurt. He moved closer to her. "Sarah?"
She tossed and began to turn and it was then that Jareth noticed that her eyes were closed. She was sleeping.
"Please…please don't go…Don't leave me." She reached forward into the air with one hand as if reaching out to someone. She squirmed and began to cry more. "Mommy, please!"
Jareth's heart began to pound in his chest as he realized what was happening. Sarah was having a nightmare. She curled into a ball like a scared child and continued to cry and call out softly for her mother. Hesitantly, Jareth reached out a shaking hand. It hovered over her for a moment and then slowly he let it drop to touch her face. Using the back of his fingers, he gently caressed her cheek and Sarah seemed to calm slightly.
Jareth noticed that she was shivering and that her clothes were still damp. Without the fire and the blanket she might grow ill. He put his hands beneath Sarah's body and pulled her into his arms. As she rested her head on his shoulder, he wondered if he had done the right thing. He was often impulsive at times. What if she didn't want his comfort? But his fears were pushed aside as she stopped crying and moved herself closer to him.
Slowly, he pulled the blanket around them both. He let out a deep breath that he didn't realize that he had been holding. Sarah made no sound as she moved and buried her face into his shoulder. He sighed and watched her sleep peacefully for a few moments. His own eyes felt heavy and he gave into the temptation to sleep.
* * *
Sarah felt something cool pressed against her cheek. She ignored it and settled more firmly into the warmth that surrounded her elsewhere. Her fingers twitched and something that felt like leather brushed her fingertips. Leather. Who did she know that wore leather?
She gasped when she remembered that she had been with the Goblin King. Pulling back slowly, she realized that her cheek had been resting against the large flap of Jareth's leather jacket, mere inches from the bare skin of his chest exposed by his low collared shirt. Jareth was looking down at her with an odd expression on his face and all Sarah could think about was to get away. She lost her balance and fell onto her back on the hard dirt floor of the cavern as she tried to pull away from him.
"Easy, you're going to hurt yourself," Jareth whispered softly.
Sarah moved as far away from him as she could and she shivered, her clothing still damp as she pulled her knees to her chest. She appeared frightened and confused.
Jareth licked his lips, they were suddenly very dry. "Sarah…" He started, but what could he say to her?
"How…?" She shivered.
"How what?" He gave her a confused glance.
"How did I end up," she swallowed. "Sleeping against you like that?"
Jareth gave her a sympathetic look. "You had been crying…I…" He stopped talking when he saw her brows lower over her eyes.
"I didn't cry." She told him firmly.
"Yes, you did. I awakened to find you tossing and turning on the floor and you were most definitely crying. You had a nightmare, Sarah."
"I don't remember having a nightmare." She gave him a suspicious look.
Jareth sighed. "Well, you had one."
Sarah lowered her head. Did she really have a nightmare? Confusion seeped into her features. "So what did you do?"
Jareth sighed. "I tried to comfort you."
"Why?" There was no anger in her tone and she gazed steadily at Jareth. He looked confused and unsure of himself and his actions.
"I…I.." He shook his head and then gazed at Sarah with concern gracing his sculptured features. "You were in pain…" He admitted and then looked away for a moment. When he looked back at Sarah, he had a look of understanding. He had spent a good part of the morning trying to figure out Sarah's nightmare. "She left you, didn't she?"
Sarah gave him a puzzled expression.
"Your mother…" He replied softly.
Sarah drew away as if burned. "How did you know that?"
"You kept calling for her. You kept pleading for her not to go. You even tried to reach out to her."
Sarah's eyes widened as she realized what had happened. She'd had that horrible nightmare again. The one where her mother stood far away at the end of a busy New York street and each time Sarah tried to walk to her mother, the distance increased or doubled. She'd had that nightmare many times since she was a child. She'd had it all through high school, often when she was upset or stressed out. It appeared that Jareth had witnessed her go through it again.
She began to shake at the thought of him watching her cry and beg for her mother to return. That dream always left her feeling vulnerable. She didn't even remember having it last night, yet remembering the images of her mother so far away, remembering the sound of her own pleas for her mother to return, made her feel extremely vulnerable.
She suddenly had to leave the cavern. She had to get away from Jareth. She got to her feet and started to climb up the hole to escape.
"Sarah, wait." Jareth started toward her.
"Just leave me alone!" Her voice sounded upset and Jareth could only watch as she rushed out the entrance and into the woods. He pounded his fist angrily into the earth.
Sarah rushed blindly through the woods. Tears stung her eyes and the misty, foggy morning made her feel even worse. She finally stopped running, fell to her knees and buried her face into her hands. She shook as the sobs racked her body.
Slowly, her sobs subsided and the snapping of a twig made her take a deep breath. "I thought that I told you to leave me alone." She gritted her teeth and sounded angry.
"Oh, did ye now?"
Sarah jumped at the voice and stood to be greeted by a smile that was missing many teeth. Her eyes fell upon dark hair that was pulled back into a pony tale and beady, cruel eyes. She made a move to run and two growling dogs snapped their jaws at her.
The man laughed. "I don't think it would be wise to upset my friends here. Do you?" He patted the dogs who didn't break eye contact with Sarah and continued to growl. "I'd stay put if I were you."
Sarah shrank back against a tree. She hated to it admit it, but she was trapped and possibly only one person could save her. She drew a deep breath.
* * *
Jareth paced just outside the cavern. With the mist and fog it would be nearly impossible to track Sarah. The horse watched Jareth continue to pace and it snorted and shifted its weight.
"JARETH!!!!"
Jareth stopped pacing and stood completely still.
"JARETH!!!"
Jareth's eyes widened. Sarah sounded as if she was in trouble. He rushed through the woods at break neck speed, pushing past branches. He heard dogs barking and growling and the voice of a man. He ran faster.
"I told you to shut yer mouth, you miserable bitch!" The sound of a hand contacting with skin filled the air and Sarah fell onto the ground cupping her face. The two dogs moved closer and growled viciously.
"It isn't very good manners to hit a lady."
"Jareth!" Sarah cried out in relief. The Goblin King was leaning against a nearby tree rather casually. His head was raised in challenge and his eyes were narrowed with anger.
"YOU! I knew that you'd be around here somewhere!" The man practically growled.
"James, I do believe that you are a long way from your companions." Jareth said in an even tone.
James laughed. "I've come to bring ye both back to the Colonel. You're going to make me a very well respected man."
Jareth laughed wickedly. "I'm sorry that you have gotten your hopes up and I'm afraid that the Colonel will be very disappointed when you return empty handed."
James laughed and then pulled his hunting musket from the saddle of his horse that stood nearby. He shoved a musket ball down the barrel and then pointed it at Sarah. "Dead or alive. The Colonel don't mind much. I think I'll start with her first!"
Fear filled Jareth at the sight of Sarah at the other end of the barrel of the gun.
With the speed of a bird of prey, Jareth rushed at James and knocked the man to the ground. The musket fired and the ball sped inches past Sarah. The dogs barked and jumped around as the two men rolled in the mud and fought to be in control. Despite Jareth's best attempts, he was no match for James. Jareth was thrown to his back and James drew a knife as he towered over the fallen Goblin King.
"Any last words, you filthy Brit?" James made the move to kill but stopped and looked beyond Jareth with a look of horror on his face.
Jareth didn't understand what had frightened him, but he soon found out when the sound of a gunshot filled the air. James gripped his chest and fell back onto the ground as blood soaked his shirt. He took two final breaths and his head rolled back as life left his body. His dogs yelped and tore off into the mist. Jareth glanced over at Sarah. She was still leaning against the tree and her eyes were wide.
"You, sir. Turn around slowly. If you cooperate peacefully, no harm will come to you."
"What do you want with us?" Sarah cried out. Her voice was strong and clear.
"You should do well to curb your tongue, woman. You are prisoners of war."
Jareth rose slowly, his back still facing whoever it was who had killed James and saved his life as well as Sarah's. His eyes widened.
A new fear filled him as his eyes settled on four redcoats on horseback. Three of them pointed sabers in his direction. And the fourth held a musket that still had smoke rising from the barrel.