Author's Notes: In this chapter, we decided to have a bit of fun and split
up the load. Gizzard, Gullet and our illustrious beta, Kelsey, each wrote a
crystal ball scene. (Leave a review and guess which is whose!) Have fun!
Author's Note the Second: We accidentally posted a version of with one
scenario repeated and another left out completely. Sorry! This is the
chapter as it was meant to be.
Bowie Park
by Gizzard and Gullet
CHAPTER 5: TICKING DIAMOND
Sarah was on her feet again as quick as she could jump away from Jareth. She could feel sand in her hair, but as she looked around the small chamber she saw that there was not a trace of sand on the floor. Even the hole she had just fell through had sealed up again quickly and there was no trace of a massive root system leading up to an enormous tree just feet above them.
"I see you are wondering where we are," Jareth commented lightly from beside her. "This is my Antipode Abode. We are not in the Underground any longer. We are beneath it, or, should I say, opposite to it."
"I don't understand. What is the Antipode and why have you brought me here?" Sarah dusted herself off distractedly as she gazed fiercely into his eyes.
"Have I not just explained the Antipode to you? We are in an opposite world to the Underground. As for your second question, you will find out right now. Come." Jareth led Sarah out into a dimly lit corridor made of sparkling silver stone. Shadows filled the air around them and as Sarah turned, the space behind her was completely dark. The light seemed to only stretch in a bubble around them, as if Jareth carried a torch down a pitch- black hallway. Despite her anger with the king, Sarah stayed close to the tips of his billowing cloak, for she did not wish to lose herself in the darkness.
Jareth led her through a huge wooden door with a circular copper doorknob, green around the edges. Suddenly a white light cut into her vision and she blinked quickly to wait for her eyes to adjust. The large chamber they were now standing in was completely opposite from the hall outside: light, glittering, and sterile. The stones embedded in the wall were completely white, glinting silver from time to time. On a ridge running completely around the circular room stood hundreds of white candles, spaced evenly from one another. In the center of the room, Sarah saw a most peculiar structure. It seemed that hundreds of elegant human hands sprouted up from the ground, swerving around each other in a confused pile of limbs. At the top several hands, larger than life and clad in black leather gloves, twisted around to form a circle orbiting constantly at a slow pace. In each hand there lay a crystal ball. Sarah suddenly remembered the balls Jareth had used when she had been the in the Underground before. Her eyes widened in apprehension, for she also remembered the power of the crystal balls, and how the king had used them to control her mind. But suddenly, something began to change. Her senses grew numb and her conscience dimmed as if someone had turned the light knob down from high to low.
Sarah felt the urge to walk slowly around the room towards the mysterious hands. When she had reached one ball, the orbiting slowed to a halt. Her hands moved to rest upon the nearest ball as though pulled by a magnet. A tingling sensation overwhelmed her senses and the white room began to blur together around her. From a distance she heard Jareth's low voice. Now, Sarah, look into the ball and see what you could have had, what you could have been, had you not rejected my offer...
***
After what seemed a few minutes later, Sarah opened her eyes. The brilliant, harsh light had receded, leaving dancing black spots in her vision. Feeling rather dizzy, Sarah glanced around, slightly wary of what would come next.
"Wait a minute..." Sarah whispered. "I know this place."
Bending down to peek over the side of the stairway, Sarah's thoughts were confirmed as she gazed at the upside-down stairs of the Escher Room.
Knowing the one person who could help her in this rather... confusing, yet strangely not unpleasant situation, Sarah called out a name.
"Jareth."
No answer.
She had expected this; after all, he relished the game of cat and mouse didn't he?
"Jareth, where are you?" she said.
No answer.
Starting to become a little frightened and more than just a little angry, Sarah began to march down the stairs, looking for the person who had brought her to this room.
"Jareth, where are you!"
When no answer came yet again, feelings of despair threatened to creep over her body.
'I don't understand, he is supposed to be here, with me....' Her traitorous heart whispered.
Shaking her head clear of such dangerous thoughts, Sarah moved to walk to the ledge when soft tinkling noises echoed around the walls. Looking around, she noticed a small crystal ball rolling towards her at a steady pace.
"What on earth?"
Sarah leaned down to inspect this unexpected surprise, when the crystal burst, showering her with tiny, white feathers and causing her to fall on her back.
Sarah gasped as the feathers magic took a hold of her body...
Almost immediately Sarah began to feel her anger, despair and fear evaporate from her body. All of her inhibitions and doubts vanished and as Sarah sat up she met the dual-colored eyes of the one person who, she now realized with a shock that resounded down her spine to her toes, made her heart sing.
"Feeling...refreshed?" The regal king asked, a wry grin upon his face.
"Quite," Sarah replied, as she struggled to her feet. "So much, in fact, that I think we should play a game."
"Oh?" Jareth questioned.
"Yes, a game of my choice, with no cheating or any of your other little tricks. No breaking the rules," Sarah emphasized, poking him in the chest to show that she meant business.
Grabbing her wrist, Jareth pulled her close, watching and relishing as her eyes widened at his unpredictable actions.
"But Sarah," he purred. "Breaking the rules is ever so much fun."
Struggling to maintain control, Sarah covered her embarrassment and awkward longing by glancing to the side.
"Nevertheless, this time we play by my rules," Sarah retaliated once she had regained her breath. "Got that, Goblin breath?" Sarah retaliated, hoping beyond hope that he would let her go lest she grab His Majesty by the royal neck and kiss him.
"Such a pity...All right, I will acquiesce to your request. No rule breaking-- goblin's honor," Jareth said, loosening his hold on her waist.
"Wonderful," Sarah murmured. "The game is simply this—Hide and Seek."
"Hide and what?"
"Hide and SEEK," Sarah answered. "It's really quite simple, you count to one hundred, and then come and find me. You can do that, right?" Brushing up against him oh-so-seductively, Sarah turned her back on him.
"And remember," she warned, glancing over her shoulder. "No magic. Now close your eyes and count."
She waited until his eyes were covered before she raced to the stairway and made her way up. Closing her eyes, she walked over the edge and waited for the dizziness of being turned upside down to subside. Resuming her search for a hiding spot, Sarah found a shadowy nook around the corner, and made sure that she was well hidden in the darkness.
A minute later, Sarah heard Jareth begin to move around the stairs. Repressing the urgeto giggle, Sarah forced her thoughts on how ironic and yet, so much fun, playing with Jareth was. She recalled Jareth's last words before she had come to this room with a start.
"Maybe I was wrong to have labeled him as such a villain. Maybe he really was serious when he offered me my dreams..."
Her thoughts spiraled out of control as Sarah remembered how she had felt dancing in his arms, seeing him again for the first time in so long, and finding him here, in the Escher Room, playing Hide and Seek of all things with her. "Am I falling in love with Jareth?" Sarah pondered quietly. "Or, a better questions would be, am I already in love with him?"
Becoming so preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't realize that Jareth was near until he pounced on her, evoking a small scream.
"A-ha!" he crowed, triumphant in his discovery.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Sarah cried as she tried in vain to regain her balance. "How did you find me so quickly?"
"You forget, darling, that I have excellent eyesight in the dark." Jareth said.
Sarah was about to reply when she suddenly realized that Jareth was on top of her, pinning her to the floor.
Slightly breathless, Sarah whispered, "I guess you won then, didn't you?"
"Mmmhmm," Jareth murmured, slowly running his hands through her hair. "I guess I did. What's my prize?"
"Your prize?" Sarah asked.
"Mmmmhmm," Jareth said again, this time tracing the features of her face with his leather encased fingers.
"Well, I suppose your prize could be..."
Sarah trailed off as she forgot what she was going to say, and found that her hands had wound their way through the soft, silky strands of Jareth's hair. Desire flamed in the Goblin King's eyes as he momentarily hovered his lips above hers.
"I've been waiting for this for so long," he whispered.
"Me too."
No longer able to wait, Jareth lowered his head to kiss her lips.
Sarah was floating; amazed at how tender the kiss was when she started to feel an immense pressure building inside of her.
Breaking the kiss, Sarah cried out in pain." What's happening to me?"
Sarah watched in horror as Jareth faded in and out as her dream world began to fade.
"No! I don't- -"Suddenly her voice was pulled from her mouth, and the rest of her words went unspoken. Sarah tried to touch Jareth's cheek but her hand had already vanished. Sarah closed her eyes as her fantasy disappeared and darkness consumed her.
***
She had floated away, far away. However, when she looked around, she realized that she was still in Jareth's castle, still back in the Underground. Turning her head slightly she was suddenly in an elegantly clad chamber. A large canopy bed with a glistening gauzy white veil hanging over the sides sat snuggly up on a platform in the corner. A huge wardrobe sat next to the bed, and from its open doors spilled several beautiful dresses. At an ivory vanity across the room lay a hundred pieces of glistening jewelry, all ready for her to try on. Sarah turned her head again and suddenly she was in front of the vanity, gazing into the mirror. She had been dressed already in a gown of silken snow-white. Her long dark hair had been spun up elegantly, a few ornaments peeking from within the dark locks. Her ears and neck were laden with diamonds, which sparkled enticingly from their positions. Her cold stare took all the beauty in and a sense of longing gripped her heart.
Then Jareth appeared in the mirror behind her shoulder. His strikingly handsome features were uplifted in a small, satisfied smile. "You are lovely, my queen. You smell of wintergreen and snow. Yet you melt my heart every time I set my eyes on you." He took hold of one of her gloved hands and turned her to face him. For one instant Sarah gazed into his eyes, and there she saw a raw love, a force that burned deeply down into her own heart. It was an experience she had never had before. He had never gazed on her in that way.
Before Sarah could comprehend anything more, a white light shone behind Jareth and his face was cast into shadow...
***
Sarah stepped through a curtain of cold and felt her clothes fall away. She looked down and saw water, white waves with frosty crests, spreading away from her at neck level. Water fell around her on all sides, though its origin was too high for her to see, and within a few seconds her hair hung damply on her cheeks and neck from the humidity. Light hit the surface and reflected back to the waterfalls so that rays of silver shone and sparkled from all sides.
It was silent. Sarah ran her arm through the water just to hear the sound. It was cool on her skin where she was still, warm when she moved. Steam rose from the path of her arm.
The silence was broken by a sound to her right. She let her arm sink back to her side and turned, slowly. Jareth, eyes closed, stood nearly motionless eight feet away.
He moved his arms through the water, fingers spread, in a gesture that surprised Sarah in its openness and playfulness. Not that she hadn't known he was playful, of course, but his games had always been infused with a streak of maliciousness. His face was peaceful and lit by the diffused light; waves lapped gently against him. The difference in their height was greater than she had supposed; the water only reached to his chest. Droplets hung from his eyelashes and the humidity, instead of adding weight to his hair, froze so that it glimmered icily. He smiled and stopped his hands in front of him.
"Marco."
Sarah grinned—she couldn't help it—answered, "Polo," lowered herself until the water touched her lips.
Jareth listened for her movement and his mouth, still curled slightly in amusement, opened in concentration. Sarah didn't realize she was staring. He took a step forward, and she moved away.
"Marco."
Sarah looked around quickly before responding and ducking under the water. She shot to the side and swam a couple of strokes before stopping and kneeling beneath the surface. When enough time had gone by she popped her head above the water, yelled, "Polo," swam quickly in the other direction, surfaced triumphantly and looked around—
--directly into Jareth's eyes, still closed, two inches away from her own.
Sarah pressed her lips together and stood as still as she could. Seconds passed. More seconds, during which neither of them moved. Sarah stopped breathing when she realized that her breaths were pushing icy strands of his hair back and forth. The water she'd disturbed stilled and the room was silent again. Jareth's lips parted.
"Marco," he said, stretching the word and ending it on a whisper. He opened his eyes. "Polo," he answered at the same volume. "Found you." He moved closer to her and tilted his head.
"Am I going to lose you again?" His voice was low. She swallowed.
"Never," she said, and her voice, though faint, did not tremble. Never, she repeated to herself; never. Never.
The sound of the falling water rushed into her ears and the floor gave out from under her. The water was hot on her feet as she sank...
***
Sarah heard frantic rushing, water rushing past her ears, though she felt nothing. She kept her eyes closed against the water, and moved her head slightly, questing, to hear the regular throb beneath the rushing. It grew louder as soon as she concentrated and she realized, suddenly, that it was more than a distant rhythmic suggestion. It was the origin of sound, and it was ticking.
Sarah opened her eyes and stared into bright, blazing light.
"Step back," said a voice somewhere behind her. She stepped obediently, and gasped.
Thousands of gleaming facets confronted her, shining and flashing and piercing her eyes, moving slowly in an impossibly intricate dance.
"It's a diamond," she said stupidly.
It sat in the right hand corner of her vision, before an infinite, all- encompassing field of bright circus yellow. The ticking she had heard wove itself into the diamond and she soon realized it had been the diamond ticking all along. As she watched, the shape split itself into two, and the new diamond was closer to her than the one before. She felt herself shift around in position and she was suddenly seeing the two diamonds from a different angle. Then they split again and now there were several diamonds all around her. The ticking filled Sarah's ears, poking them and howling violently, so that she winced in pain. The she panicked. She needed to get out of the yellow dimension in which she stood. But she was not standing anymore. Her feet lifted from the floor and she was startled to realize that she was floating. If I could only jerk my head forward, she thought with desperation, and break that yellow barrier. But as she pulled her head back, a pair of gaping jaws swam into her view from afar and grew larger until they were as big as her own head. They began laughing at her maniacally, and she screamed.
Then she jerked back and fell, hitting a barrier that crashed and jingled when it broke beneath her. She landed on the floor of the Antipode Abode. The smell of damp stone and old glass reached her before she blacked out.
Bowie Park
by Gizzard and Gullet
CHAPTER 5: TICKING DIAMOND
Sarah was on her feet again as quick as she could jump away from Jareth. She could feel sand in her hair, but as she looked around the small chamber she saw that there was not a trace of sand on the floor. Even the hole she had just fell through had sealed up again quickly and there was no trace of a massive root system leading up to an enormous tree just feet above them.
"I see you are wondering where we are," Jareth commented lightly from beside her. "This is my Antipode Abode. We are not in the Underground any longer. We are beneath it, or, should I say, opposite to it."
"I don't understand. What is the Antipode and why have you brought me here?" Sarah dusted herself off distractedly as she gazed fiercely into his eyes.
"Have I not just explained the Antipode to you? We are in an opposite world to the Underground. As for your second question, you will find out right now. Come." Jareth led Sarah out into a dimly lit corridor made of sparkling silver stone. Shadows filled the air around them and as Sarah turned, the space behind her was completely dark. The light seemed to only stretch in a bubble around them, as if Jareth carried a torch down a pitch- black hallway. Despite her anger with the king, Sarah stayed close to the tips of his billowing cloak, for she did not wish to lose herself in the darkness.
Jareth led her through a huge wooden door with a circular copper doorknob, green around the edges. Suddenly a white light cut into her vision and she blinked quickly to wait for her eyes to adjust. The large chamber they were now standing in was completely opposite from the hall outside: light, glittering, and sterile. The stones embedded in the wall were completely white, glinting silver from time to time. On a ridge running completely around the circular room stood hundreds of white candles, spaced evenly from one another. In the center of the room, Sarah saw a most peculiar structure. It seemed that hundreds of elegant human hands sprouted up from the ground, swerving around each other in a confused pile of limbs. At the top several hands, larger than life and clad in black leather gloves, twisted around to form a circle orbiting constantly at a slow pace. In each hand there lay a crystal ball. Sarah suddenly remembered the balls Jareth had used when she had been the in the Underground before. Her eyes widened in apprehension, for she also remembered the power of the crystal balls, and how the king had used them to control her mind. But suddenly, something began to change. Her senses grew numb and her conscience dimmed as if someone had turned the light knob down from high to low.
Sarah felt the urge to walk slowly around the room towards the mysterious hands. When she had reached one ball, the orbiting slowed to a halt. Her hands moved to rest upon the nearest ball as though pulled by a magnet. A tingling sensation overwhelmed her senses and the white room began to blur together around her. From a distance she heard Jareth's low voice. Now, Sarah, look into the ball and see what you could have had, what you could have been, had you not rejected my offer...
***
After what seemed a few minutes later, Sarah opened her eyes. The brilliant, harsh light had receded, leaving dancing black spots in her vision. Feeling rather dizzy, Sarah glanced around, slightly wary of what would come next.
"Wait a minute..." Sarah whispered. "I know this place."
Bending down to peek over the side of the stairway, Sarah's thoughts were confirmed as she gazed at the upside-down stairs of the Escher Room.
Knowing the one person who could help her in this rather... confusing, yet strangely not unpleasant situation, Sarah called out a name.
"Jareth."
No answer.
She had expected this; after all, he relished the game of cat and mouse didn't he?
"Jareth, where are you?" she said.
No answer.
Starting to become a little frightened and more than just a little angry, Sarah began to march down the stairs, looking for the person who had brought her to this room.
"Jareth, where are you!"
When no answer came yet again, feelings of despair threatened to creep over her body.
'I don't understand, he is supposed to be here, with me....' Her traitorous heart whispered.
Shaking her head clear of such dangerous thoughts, Sarah moved to walk to the ledge when soft tinkling noises echoed around the walls. Looking around, she noticed a small crystal ball rolling towards her at a steady pace.
"What on earth?"
Sarah leaned down to inspect this unexpected surprise, when the crystal burst, showering her with tiny, white feathers and causing her to fall on her back.
Sarah gasped as the feathers magic took a hold of her body...
Almost immediately Sarah began to feel her anger, despair and fear evaporate from her body. All of her inhibitions and doubts vanished and as Sarah sat up she met the dual-colored eyes of the one person who, she now realized with a shock that resounded down her spine to her toes, made her heart sing.
"Feeling...refreshed?" The regal king asked, a wry grin upon his face.
"Quite," Sarah replied, as she struggled to her feet. "So much, in fact, that I think we should play a game."
"Oh?" Jareth questioned.
"Yes, a game of my choice, with no cheating or any of your other little tricks. No breaking the rules," Sarah emphasized, poking him in the chest to show that she meant business.
Grabbing her wrist, Jareth pulled her close, watching and relishing as her eyes widened at his unpredictable actions.
"But Sarah," he purred. "Breaking the rules is ever so much fun."
Struggling to maintain control, Sarah covered her embarrassment and awkward longing by glancing to the side.
"Nevertheless, this time we play by my rules," Sarah retaliated once she had regained her breath. "Got that, Goblin breath?" Sarah retaliated, hoping beyond hope that he would let her go lest she grab His Majesty by the royal neck and kiss him.
"Such a pity...All right, I will acquiesce to your request. No rule breaking-- goblin's honor," Jareth said, loosening his hold on her waist.
"Wonderful," Sarah murmured. "The game is simply this—Hide and Seek."
"Hide and what?"
"Hide and SEEK," Sarah answered. "It's really quite simple, you count to one hundred, and then come and find me. You can do that, right?" Brushing up against him oh-so-seductively, Sarah turned her back on him.
"And remember," she warned, glancing over her shoulder. "No magic. Now close your eyes and count."
She waited until his eyes were covered before she raced to the stairway and made her way up. Closing her eyes, she walked over the edge and waited for the dizziness of being turned upside down to subside. Resuming her search for a hiding spot, Sarah found a shadowy nook around the corner, and made sure that she was well hidden in the darkness.
A minute later, Sarah heard Jareth begin to move around the stairs. Repressing the urgeto giggle, Sarah forced her thoughts on how ironic and yet, so much fun, playing with Jareth was. She recalled Jareth's last words before she had come to this room with a start.
"Maybe I was wrong to have labeled him as such a villain. Maybe he really was serious when he offered me my dreams..."
Her thoughts spiraled out of control as Sarah remembered how she had felt dancing in his arms, seeing him again for the first time in so long, and finding him here, in the Escher Room, playing Hide and Seek of all things with her. "Am I falling in love with Jareth?" Sarah pondered quietly. "Or, a better questions would be, am I already in love with him?"
Becoming so preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't realize that Jareth was near until he pounced on her, evoking a small scream.
"A-ha!" he crowed, triumphant in his discovery.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Sarah cried as she tried in vain to regain her balance. "How did you find me so quickly?"
"You forget, darling, that I have excellent eyesight in the dark." Jareth said.
Sarah was about to reply when she suddenly realized that Jareth was on top of her, pinning her to the floor.
Slightly breathless, Sarah whispered, "I guess you won then, didn't you?"
"Mmmhmm," Jareth murmured, slowly running his hands through her hair. "I guess I did. What's my prize?"
"Your prize?" Sarah asked.
"Mmmmhmm," Jareth said again, this time tracing the features of her face with his leather encased fingers.
"Well, I suppose your prize could be..."
Sarah trailed off as she forgot what she was going to say, and found that her hands had wound their way through the soft, silky strands of Jareth's hair. Desire flamed in the Goblin King's eyes as he momentarily hovered his lips above hers.
"I've been waiting for this for so long," he whispered.
"Me too."
No longer able to wait, Jareth lowered his head to kiss her lips.
Sarah was floating; amazed at how tender the kiss was when she started to feel an immense pressure building inside of her.
Breaking the kiss, Sarah cried out in pain." What's happening to me?"
Sarah watched in horror as Jareth faded in and out as her dream world began to fade.
"No! I don't- -"Suddenly her voice was pulled from her mouth, and the rest of her words went unspoken. Sarah tried to touch Jareth's cheek but her hand had already vanished. Sarah closed her eyes as her fantasy disappeared and darkness consumed her.
***
She had floated away, far away. However, when she looked around, she realized that she was still in Jareth's castle, still back in the Underground. Turning her head slightly she was suddenly in an elegantly clad chamber. A large canopy bed with a glistening gauzy white veil hanging over the sides sat snuggly up on a platform in the corner. A huge wardrobe sat next to the bed, and from its open doors spilled several beautiful dresses. At an ivory vanity across the room lay a hundred pieces of glistening jewelry, all ready for her to try on. Sarah turned her head again and suddenly she was in front of the vanity, gazing into the mirror. She had been dressed already in a gown of silken snow-white. Her long dark hair had been spun up elegantly, a few ornaments peeking from within the dark locks. Her ears and neck were laden with diamonds, which sparkled enticingly from their positions. Her cold stare took all the beauty in and a sense of longing gripped her heart.
Then Jareth appeared in the mirror behind her shoulder. His strikingly handsome features were uplifted in a small, satisfied smile. "You are lovely, my queen. You smell of wintergreen and snow. Yet you melt my heart every time I set my eyes on you." He took hold of one of her gloved hands and turned her to face him. For one instant Sarah gazed into his eyes, and there she saw a raw love, a force that burned deeply down into her own heart. It was an experience she had never had before. He had never gazed on her in that way.
Before Sarah could comprehend anything more, a white light shone behind Jareth and his face was cast into shadow...
***
Sarah stepped through a curtain of cold and felt her clothes fall away. She looked down and saw water, white waves with frosty crests, spreading away from her at neck level. Water fell around her on all sides, though its origin was too high for her to see, and within a few seconds her hair hung damply on her cheeks and neck from the humidity. Light hit the surface and reflected back to the waterfalls so that rays of silver shone and sparkled from all sides.
It was silent. Sarah ran her arm through the water just to hear the sound. It was cool on her skin where she was still, warm when she moved. Steam rose from the path of her arm.
The silence was broken by a sound to her right. She let her arm sink back to her side and turned, slowly. Jareth, eyes closed, stood nearly motionless eight feet away.
He moved his arms through the water, fingers spread, in a gesture that surprised Sarah in its openness and playfulness. Not that she hadn't known he was playful, of course, but his games had always been infused with a streak of maliciousness. His face was peaceful and lit by the diffused light; waves lapped gently against him. The difference in their height was greater than she had supposed; the water only reached to his chest. Droplets hung from his eyelashes and the humidity, instead of adding weight to his hair, froze so that it glimmered icily. He smiled and stopped his hands in front of him.
"Marco."
Sarah grinned—she couldn't help it—answered, "Polo," lowered herself until the water touched her lips.
Jareth listened for her movement and his mouth, still curled slightly in amusement, opened in concentration. Sarah didn't realize she was staring. He took a step forward, and she moved away.
"Marco."
Sarah looked around quickly before responding and ducking under the water. She shot to the side and swam a couple of strokes before stopping and kneeling beneath the surface. When enough time had gone by she popped her head above the water, yelled, "Polo," swam quickly in the other direction, surfaced triumphantly and looked around—
--directly into Jareth's eyes, still closed, two inches away from her own.
Sarah pressed her lips together and stood as still as she could. Seconds passed. More seconds, during which neither of them moved. Sarah stopped breathing when she realized that her breaths were pushing icy strands of his hair back and forth. The water she'd disturbed stilled and the room was silent again. Jareth's lips parted.
"Marco," he said, stretching the word and ending it on a whisper. He opened his eyes. "Polo," he answered at the same volume. "Found you." He moved closer to her and tilted his head.
"Am I going to lose you again?" His voice was low. She swallowed.
"Never," she said, and her voice, though faint, did not tremble. Never, she repeated to herself; never. Never.
The sound of the falling water rushed into her ears and the floor gave out from under her. The water was hot on her feet as she sank...
***
Sarah heard frantic rushing, water rushing past her ears, though she felt nothing. She kept her eyes closed against the water, and moved her head slightly, questing, to hear the regular throb beneath the rushing. It grew louder as soon as she concentrated and she realized, suddenly, that it was more than a distant rhythmic suggestion. It was the origin of sound, and it was ticking.
Sarah opened her eyes and stared into bright, blazing light.
"Step back," said a voice somewhere behind her. She stepped obediently, and gasped.
Thousands of gleaming facets confronted her, shining and flashing and piercing her eyes, moving slowly in an impossibly intricate dance.
"It's a diamond," she said stupidly.
It sat in the right hand corner of her vision, before an infinite, all- encompassing field of bright circus yellow. The ticking she had heard wove itself into the diamond and she soon realized it had been the diamond ticking all along. As she watched, the shape split itself into two, and the new diamond was closer to her than the one before. She felt herself shift around in position and she was suddenly seeing the two diamonds from a different angle. Then they split again and now there were several diamonds all around her. The ticking filled Sarah's ears, poking them and howling violently, so that she winced in pain. The she panicked. She needed to get out of the yellow dimension in which she stood. But she was not standing anymore. Her feet lifted from the floor and she was startled to realize that she was floating. If I could only jerk my head forward, she thought with desperation, and break that yellow barrier. But as she pulled her head back, a pair of gaping jaws swam into her view from afar and grew larger until they were as big as her own head. They began laughing at her maniacally, and she screamed.
Then she jerked back and fell, hitting a barrier that crashed and jingled when it broke beneath her. She landed on the floor of the Antipode Abode. The smell of damp stone and old glass reached her before she blacked out.
