Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, although the pervier part of me wishes she owned Jareth and his white spandex pants.
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He still called to her.
He came at night through time and dreams.
He tried wooing her with his empty vows.
There were times when she would wake to a darkened room still muttering the words "you have no power over me."
"You have no power over me, You have no power..." If she said it often enough part of her believed it.
During the day it wasn't so hard to pretend she accepted the statement as truth. At night, in the dark, she remembered the short time she had spent defying and loving him. 'You have no power over me" she sighed, and knew the lie of it.
Sometimes she wouldn't sleep, and like tonight, she would lie awake and will herself to keep her mind closed to him. It was during those times when she felt him the strongest. She could sense him hovering close to her, waiting for her defenses to come down.
"Sleep, sleep...sleep." He caressed her mind with the words. She knew he wanted to slip into her consciousness and tell her his prettily couched lies. She couldn't, wouldn't allow it. Some nights she was weaker than others. Some nights she was tired and wanted to give in, and those were the nights she fought the hardest.
"If only you will serve me, I will be your slave. Give me everything you are and I will set you free. Free to love me." His lips would whisper those impossible promises.
She knew it was wrong.
It had to be wrong, a person couldn't be captive and free, a slave yet master. Could they? She would lie in bed and ponder those thoughts until her head ached. And still there were no answers. Even after all this time there were no answers that she was willing to hear.
She caught a flash of light in the corner of her eye and sat up. Clutching the covers to her chest she peered into the shadows. Then slowly and carefully she got from her bed and moved toward a small light. There in the corner was one of 'His' crystals. She stopped moving and took a step back. The round ball rolled forward to her. Stopping when she did and inching forward as she moved back, they continued to move across the room. In a parody of 'the' dance.
She started as she felt the bed behind her. Laughing at her silliness she lifted herself onto its warm comfort and watched his message come ever closer. Her eyes never left the smooth contours. That round shape a symbol of all her girlhood hopes and fears. It rolled itself up to the side of the bed and sat glowing softly.
If he thought she was going to touch it, he was very mistaken. She was not going to be a party to another of his petty games. They sat for long moment. Neither doing a thing. She breathing shallowly as it pulsed with light.
It appeared they were at an impasse.
She should have known better. He never lost, even when she won, she had still lost. The crystal started rolling again, up the side of the bed and to the top. She sat as still as she could, like a rabbit afraid to attract the attention of a hunter.
She squeezed her eyes shut willing the strength to come. Ohhh...why did all his choices feel like commands? And why did all his commands feel like rewards?
Before she could stop herself her hand reached out and took the crystal.
The living warmth of his magic felt so right in her grasp.
Her mind was flooded with memories. The memories of her time before she knew of him, and a time when she hated him. The times she played his game, and fought him, all the while longing to love him. But most of all there were the memories of that dance. The swirling madness, the leering faces, the masks, the solidness of him. His scent on her tongue. His hands through the silk of her dress. That dress. The smile on his face for her alone. His voice whispering her name, making her shudder.
The crystal pulsed harder and its glamourie soaked into her. She lay down in bed and smiled. Clutching the crystal to her chest, she closed her eyes and drifted away. His lies stole over her and carefully smoothed away any lasting resistance.
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Later when the night orderly came to do his rounds he saw something clutched in the old woman's hands. Her family must have given it to her when they visited today. She wouldn't want her pretty new thing to be destroyed. Gently he removed it from her and placed it on the table next to the bed.
He turned and pulled the covers up around her chin and chuckled at the soft snoring breaths issuing from her. She always was a fanciful one. He left the room silently shutting the door behind him.
On the table a small crystal dancer dipped and swirled in constant motion, the soft colors lighting the walls of the room in rainbow pinks and blue.
And in bed, Sarah slept.