Hola! ^_^ Lol, sup guys. Thanks so much for your reviews!!! I am SO GLAD PEOPLE LIKE THIS STORY!! ^_________^
Sorry it took so long, but this chapter is where the plot thickens even more! *Dun dun dun* But don't be fooled, the ending of this chapter isn't what you think. I'll probably post the next one on Feb. 2nd cuz I'm going up to Erie for the weekend. Leave me lotsa love! Also, any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I try to add as many as possible if they go along with the storyline. So send 'em in!
Ok, I'll shut up and let you read now. R&R!!
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Time seemed to stand still for the three occupants of the room. Sarah was shocked into silence, and, well, Jareth had reasons of his own for speechlessness. Lindsay seemed to be the only one that was truly enjoying the moment.
"Mmmf mm mff," the Goblin King complained. But even he was helpless to do anything in the current situation. His gaze darted nervously from Lindsay to Sarah.
Sarah looked on in astonishment. She clenched her fists, lower lip trembling. "It's rude to talk with your mouth full, Jareth!' She screamed. Then she fled from the room without even a backwards glance.
Only this last seemed to break Jareth from his stupor. He shoved Lindsay violently away from him and ran to the door after Sarah's retreating form.
"Sarah!" He called with growing despair. "Sarah, don't run away again!" He bounded down the steps, the old mahogany wood moaning under his weight. But the girl had already rounded a corner at the end of the street and gone into the night.
He rounded on Lindsay, who had followed him eagerly down the stairs.
"YOU-LITTLE-WRETCH!" He shouted in a rage. "Look what you've done!"
"What I've done?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. "YOU were the one who didn't pull away until she was gone."
To this, the Goblin King had no answer. He could only stare dazedly after the one girl he had sacrificed so much to please. This was going to take a lot longer than he had thought.
*****
The wind whistled around Sarah as she ran into the cool March dusk. Tears of anger and confusion blurred her vision, making the world into a shifting underwater maze. Her feet pounded the pavement, and her breath came ragged and hard. But she didn't stop; she couldn't. She had to get as far away from the mansion at the end of the road as possible. She decided to race the darkness home, just for the pure exhilaration of it. Maybe it would help clear her mind.
She rounded the next bend in the street, and ran smack dab into Bryan.
"Whoa!" He exclaimed. "What's the rush?"
Sarah didn't answer, just flung her arms around his heck and cried into his shoulder. "Oh Bryan, thank God you're here, THANK GOD!"
He looked down at her, confused. "Sarah?" He slowly stroked her hair. "What's wrong?"
She just shook her head violently. "Bryan, please just support me for a while and save questions for later. Please?" After all, explaining the problem to him would mean retelling her adventure to the Labyrinth, and her mixed feelings for Jareth.
I was so sure of myself and my feelings just this morning, she thought angrily. JUST THIS MORNING! DARN YOU JARETH!!!!
Bryan pulled her against his chest and stared concernedly into her eyes. "Alright," he murmured. "I won't ask questions." He buried his face in her hair.
Rocking her back and forth, he settled them both down onto a park bench. A light breeze whipped at their hair. The silence seemed to stretch on forever to Bryan, but he held his tongue, however impatiently. This was not the time for questions.
After a time, Sarah looked up at him. "Bryan," she said softly. "Have you ever met anyone that could shake your feelings no matter what they did? I mean, it's like you don't like them, in fact you pretty much HATE them. But every time your mind gets time to wander, they pop into your head or even into your life." She blushed, trying to imagine how stupid she must sound. "Have you ever met anyone like that?"
Bryan gave her a sidelong look. "Well," he started, "there HAVE been some people like that, I'll have to admit."
"Like who?"
He thought for a moment. "Uh…Well, I don't remember their name. I met them a long time ago."
However suspicious she was, Sarah decided not to push matter. She looked at her watch.
"10:39?!" She yelped. "Karen's gonna have a fit!" She pulled out of Bryan's grasp and turned toward home. "I gotta go, see ya tomorrow!"
"Call me if you need to talk about anything," he called after her. "Wait! Do you want me to walk you home?"
"Nah, I'll go alone. Bye!" And with that, she was off running down the sidewalk.
Bryan shook his head. "You know, sometimes I really don't get her," he mumbled. Then he turned into his own driveway and disappeared into the warmth of his house.
*****
Sarah flung open the front door with a loud bang. It had started raining on the way home, and she was soaked to the skin. Ignoring the greetings of "Where have you been?" and "Do you have any idea what time it is?" from her parents, she took the stairs two by two up to her room. Once there, she collapsed into bed with a heavy sigh
"It's been a long day," she muttered. She flipped over onto her back and pulled Lancelot into her arms. Sarah stared up at the ceiling. Suddenly, she realized how dry her lips were. "Ick." She felt the dry skin with a disgusted look and grabbed her purse. She dug around for a few seconds, then stopped, wide-eyed. Slowly, she removed the crystal Jareth had given her.
Just then her father decided to knock on the door. "Sarah, are you in there? We need to talk."
Excellent timing, dad, she thought irritably. "No, I'm not here. I'm on the moon." The crystal was shoved under her pillow as the doorknob turned.
Her dad opened the door and stood in front of her, arms folded across his chest.
"Young lady, what do you mean by coming home so late? We were worried."
"I'm almost 17 years old, Dad," she muttered. "I'm quite old enough to take care of myself."
"I'm afraid you're wrong, Sarah! Haven't you been watching the news lately?! Girls your age are taken all the time by perverts and kidnappers. What makes you think you'll be any different?!"
"Go away!" Sarah flopped over on her stomach, glaring angrily at her headboard.
Richard was astonished for a moment, then he nodded mechanically and slammed the door behind him.
Sarah waited for his loud footsteps to disappear down the hall before retrieving the orb from its hiding place. She mindlessly tossed it from hand to hand, watching the flecks of light dance around in its depths. Then, out of sudden curiosity, she brought it to within 5 inches of her face.
"I wish I could see what the Goblin King is doing," she whispered. When nothing happened, she laughed at her own audacity and started to put it away. But unexpected movement within the sphere caught her attention. A miniscule Jareth lay draped across his throne, watching something through a crystal ball of his own. A tight grimace of concentration was plastered on his face. Sarah leaned closer to the orb, almost touching her nose to it. Her eyes tried to penetrate what he was looking in on, but it was too small.
"Crystal," she said, a strange impulse taking control of her mouth. "Show me what he's looking at."
Oddly enough, the crystal obeyed, and another vision floated into view.
She gasped.
The image showed Lindsay, staring at the entrance to the Labyrinth.
