Sarah wolfed down her breakfast and hurried to the door. She was
determined to get to school early so that she could pick out the book she
wanted for her report in English class. She had picked a book out a week
before but. well, that book was lying somewhere on her floor and she wasn't
about to pick it up again.
"Anything without a red leather binding." Sarah thought to herself as she peddled her bike to the school library.
Storm clouds were moving in as she set the bike on its kickstand and went inside. Row upon row of books met her gaze as she entered the dimly lit library. Immediately, her feet took her down the well-trodden path to the fantasy section. She caught herself before three steps had been taken and looked at her traitor feet.
"I don't think so. Turn around, feet."
She glanced side to side trying to find the non-fiction. She hadn't been in this part of the library more than two or three times and soon she lost herself among the great tomes of dry, boring literature. She ran her hand down the spines of the books, not actually looking at the titles. Her finger caught on a slim volume that was sandwiched between two old encyclopedias. Not really caring which one of these dusty old books she picked, she pulled it down, not noticing the trace of glitter that lay on the shelf around it, and flipped through it. A book on bird migration. Excellent. Nothing better for settling an over-active imagination and seating one firmly in reality like a good read on bird migration.
Sarah glanced around for some of the moth-eaten armchairs that so populated her much-visited fiction section of the Library, but all she could find over here was a hard, rickety wooden chair that looked like it had been used mainly for standing on to reach top shelves. With a sigh, she sat on it and started reading by one of the windows.
The wind outside had begun to pick up and a tree branch squeaked periodically against the windowpane. Sarah tried to focus her mind on the book in her lap, but it became harder and harder to focus on the page in front of her as time went by. Once she caught herself staring dreamily out the window when her mind had been sure that she was studying the flight patterns of swallows, both African and European, with diligence.
Sarah shook herself. "This will never do, silly. Get a grip on things! Be interested! This is pure, unaltered fact before you, isn't that exciting?" Her imagination failed her here, however, but she delved into the book again with renewed determination. Something was wrong with her eyes though, the page kept getting harder to make out. And then that horrible squeaking of the branch outside was getting worse. She slammed the book closed in irritation and looked up at the branch. The wind outside was now a gale, and storm clouds had covered the sky completely.
"And me without my umbrella. This is exactly the sort of foolish behavior you were supposed to put behind yourself, Sarah." She admonished herself. Sarah sighed and turned her chair so that her back was to the window, trying to get all the light she could to focus on the book in front of her.
"Excuse me, dear." Came an old but sweet voice from in front of her. The librarian from the front desk was standing there with an apologetic look on her wrinkled face. "I'm stepping out for a few minutes for a cup of coffee. Do you mind? I will be back soon if you need anything."
"Oh, not at all, Mrs. Whitesun. I'm just reading and I know my way around pretty well." Replied Sarah cordially. Mrs. Whitesun had helped her many a time with finding books, and she understood completely when Sarah sheepishly turned a favorite book in two days late. Sarah and Mrs. Whitesun were kindred spirits.
"I'll be back in a minute then, dear."
Sarah focused her attention again on the dry tome in front of her and listened as the wind beat the library door shut behind Mrs. Whitesun's retreating back. Suddenly, she couldn't see the page at all. All the light from behind her had disappeared. It took Sarah a minute to release that she could no longer see the page in front of her, proof of her inattention to the reading.
She threw a quick glance behind her at the window to see what had happened to the light, fully expecting to see a full-fledged storm as the cause of the sudden darkness and mentally she was counting the minutes in drenching rain it would take to reach the other school buildings from here. To her relief her mind noted that it wasn't storm clouds blocking the sunlight, it was just someone standing in front of the window throwing their shadow over the book. Sarah turned back with a sigh and was in the process of closing the book and getting up to move when her slow mind caught up with what she had seen.
A person. Tall. Lean. Blond hair. Tights.
"Oh no." she whispered in her mind. She peeked down and a little behind her to check. Yep, boots. Great. Just great. Though she hadn't seen the person's face because his back was to the light, she could just about stake her life on the shape of the features and the slight mocking grin that she was sure was plastered all over it. "Maybe if I don't acknowledge his presence he'll go away." she thought hopefully. "Come on, feet, let's get out of here before he gets any ideas." But her movement was arrested by a low cultured voice.
"Going somewhere, Sarah?"
"ignorehimignorehimignorehim!" Sarah's mind intoned, a litany against the insane panic that was building inside of her. "He doesn't exist. He doesn't exist. He doesn't exist! I'm leaving, right now, and I am NOT turning around." She told her mind fiercely, but her legs weren't listening to her and refused to change from their half-crouch position over the chair. Abruptly, she forced her legs stand and she had almost convinced them that walking was a good idea about now when a slim, elegant hand reached into her line of vision and deftly grabbed the book she was holding out of her lax grip.
"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. This is hardly the book I would think a girl like you would be reading. It doesn't even have pictures." Came the voice, heavy with disapproval, from behind her.
This was too much for Sarah's overwrought nerves and she forgot her pledge to ignore the domineering Fae behind her. Her eyes sparked lightning and without turning she said furiously, "What would you know about what I read and don't read? And I'll have you know that some people enjoy books without pictures because they use their imagination."
"Ah. I see," Jareth intoned, "and I suppose you are the leading authority on imagination?"
"I never said that." Sarah retorted, "And if you don't mind, I would like to be left alone to finish reading up for my book report."
"Book report?"
"Yes, for my English class. Now please put down my book and leave so I can get on with it."
"Really, Sarah, bird migration? What kind of topic is that? Do you really want to know about the flight patterns of birds?"
"Yes I do, I.." A look of horror crossed Sarah's face as she realized what she had said. "No, wait! I don't."
Too late.
Glitter and feathers had surrounded her and her words were cut off as she found herself suddenly swooping through the air in the talons of an enormous, snowy owl.
**********
Cruel, ain't I? Review away! I'll try to post something every day for awhile, though it may slow down eventually. Peaches!
"Anything without a red leather binding." Sarah thought to herself as she peddled her bike to the school library.
Storm clouds were moving in as she set the bike on its kickstand and went inside. Row upon row of books met her gaze as she entered the dimly lit library. Immediately, her feet took her down the well-trodden path to the fantasy section. She caught herself before three steps had been taken and looked at her traitor feet.
"I don't think so. Turn around, feet."
She glanced side to side trying to find the non-fiction. She hadn't been in this part of the library more than two or three times and soon she lost herself among the great tomes of dry, boring literature. She ran her hand down the spines of the books, not actually looking at the titles. Her finger caught on a slim volume that was sandwiched between two old encyclopedias. Not really caring which one of these dusty old books she picked, she pulled it down, not noticing the trace of glitter that lay on the shelf around it, and flipped through it. A book on bird migration. Excellent. Nothing better for settling an over-active imagination and seating one firmly in reality like a good read on bird migration.
Sarah glanced around for some of the moth-eaten armchairs that so populated her much-visited fiction section of the Library, but all she could find over here was a hard, rickety wooden chair that looked like it had been used mainly for standing on to reach top shelves. With a sigh, she sat on it and started reading by one of the windows.
The wind outside had begun to pick up and a tree branch squeaked periodically against the windowpane. Sarah tried to focus her mind on the book in her lap, but it became harder and harder to focus on the page in front of her as time went by. Once she caught herself staring dreamily out the window when her mind had been sure that she was studying the flight patterns of swallows, both African and European, with diligence.
Sarah shook herself. "This will never do, silly. Get a grip on things! Be interested! This is pure, unaltered fact before you, isn't that exciting?" Her imagination failed her here, however, but she delved into the book again with renewed determination. Something was wrong with her eyes though, the page kept getting harder to make out. And then that horrible squeaking of the branch outside was getting worse. She slammed the book closed in irritation and looked up at the branch. The wind outside was now a gale, and storm clouds had covered the sky completely.
"And me without my umbrella. This is exactly the sort of foolish behavior you were supposed to put behind yourself, Sarah." She admonished herself. Sarah sighed and turned her chair so that her back was to the window, trying to get all the light she could to focus on the book in front of her.
"Excuse me, dear." Came an old but sweet voice from in front of her. The librarian from the front desk was standing there with an apologetic look on her wrinkled face. "I'm stepping out for a few minutes for a cup of coffee. Do you mind? I will be back soon if you need anything."
"Oh, not at all, Mrs. Whitesun. I'm just reading and I know my way around pretty well." Replied Sarah cordially. Mrs. Whitesun had helped her many a time with finding books, and she understood completely when Sarah sheepishly turned a favorite book in two days late. Sarah and Mrs. Whitesun were kindred spirits.
"I'll be back in a minute then, dear."
Sarah focused her attention again on the dry tome in front of her and listened as the wind beat the library door shut behind Mrs. Whitesun's retreating back. Suddenly, she couldn't see the page at all. All the light from behind her had disappeared. It took Sarah a minute to release that she could no longer see the page in front of her, proof of her inattention to the reading.
She threw a quick glance behind her at the window to see what had happened to the light, fully expecting to see a full-fledged storm as the cause of the sudden darkness and mentally she was counting the minutes in drenching rain it would take to reach the other school buildings from here. To her relief her mind noted that it wasn't storm clouds blocking the sunlight, it was just someone standing in front of the window throwing their shadow over the book. Sarah turned back with a sigh and was in the process of closing the book and getting up to move when her slow mind caught up with what she had seen.
A person. Tall. Lean. Blond hair. Tights.
"Oh no." she whispered in her mind. She peeked down and a little behind her to check. Yep, boots. Great. Just great. Though she hadn't seen the person's face because his back was to the light, she could just about stake her life on the shape of the features and the slight mocking grin that she was sure was plastered all over it. "Maybe if I don't acknowledge his presence he'll go away." she thought hopefully. "Come on, feet, let's get out of here before he gets any ideas." But her movement was arrested by a low cultured voice.
"Going somewhere, Sarah?"
"ignorehimignorehimignorehim!" Sarah's mind intoned, a litany against the insane panic that was building inside of her. "He doesn't exist. He doesn't exist. He doesn't exist! I'm leaving, right now, and I am NOT turning around." She told her mind fiercely, but her legs weren't listening to her and refused to change from their half-crouch position over the chair. Abruptly, she forced her legs stand and she had almost convinced them that walking was a good idea about now when a slim, elegant hand reached into her line of vision and deftly grabbed the book she was holding out of her lax grip.
"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. This is hardly the book I would think a girl like you would be reading. It doesn't even have pictures." Came the voice, heavy with disapproval, from behind her.
This was too much for Sarah's overwrought nerves and she forgot her pledge to ignore the domineering Fae behind her. Her eyes sparked lightning and without turning she said furiously, "What would you know about what I read and don't read? And I'll have you know that some people enjoy books without pictures because they use their imagination."
"Ah. I see," Jareth intoned, "and I suppose you are the leading authority on imagination?"
"I never said that." Sarah retorted, "And if you don't mind, I would like to be left alone to finish reading up for my book report."
"Book report?"
"Yes, for my English class. Now please put down my book and leave so I can get on with it."
"Really, Sarah, bird migration? What kind of topic is that? Do you really want to know about the flight patterns of birds?"
"Yes I do, I.." A look of horror crossed Sarah's face as she realized what she had said. "No, wait! I don't."
Too late.
Glitter and feathers had surrounded her and her words were cut off as she found herself suddenly swooping through the air in the talons of an enormous, snowy owl.
**********
Cruel, ain't I? Review away! I'll try to post something every day for awhile, though it may slow down eventually. Peaches!