No Choice At All
Part 3
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Days passed in a continuous system of worry and relief. Sarah went about her life as usual, even if she kept a wayward eye on her son. Jonathon seemed unaware of her particular attention, though Sarah's husband made note of the anxious air.
"What's wrong, Sarah? You seem . . . strange."
"I'm fine. Fine," she answered mindlessly while tucking Jonathon in the bed between them.
She could not say if she had slept, as her dreams were as dark and still as reality. At some time, her hair rustled in a breeze from the open window and she knew, before Jareth's voice was heard.
"I hope you don't mind the intrusion. I took the open window as an invitation." His voice was ever something unreal, sarcastic. Sarah sensed his words always held something hidden, as if by Jareth's very nature.
A sense of cold then hot tinged her skin with the release and realization of expectation before she forced herself to sit upright. The blankets fell to her waist loudly. Her son and husband slept soundly to her side, quietly; it was as if everything but what she and Jareth influenced was put on mute. As she looked to the man across the room, Sarah realized it very well could have been so.
Jareth lounged on the bedroom's window seat, a hand carelessly resting atop a raised knee. His striking gaze settled on her and she felt the heavier with the intensity.
"I wanted you to come," she said; her voice hollow sounding in her ears.
Jareth smiled wolfishly.
"I knew you'd come; just not when," she explained, rising from the bed with a slight creak.
His eyes flickered away from her for several moments before returning with calculating attention. Tilting his fair head as if in some curious thought, he spoke, "Taking control, I see. Sarah, love, always the power-miser. Have you considered your control a cheap façade; some not so grand caper?"
"My control seems real enough. You are the only thing that strikes me as fantasy," she replied, pushing her hair impatiently behind her ears. He raised his brow at this, almost in amusement but Sarah sensed a sharp danger hiding beneath the surface.
"Fantasy. Reality," he played with the words, intensifying each syllable unnaturally while gesturing to and fro. Jareth stopped suddenly, his gesture abruptly turning sharp. "There is no difference."
Sarah smiled. "Oh, there's a difference."
"Shame on you," he said with a pout, "you know better than that."
"I'm not a little girl anymore. I've grown up, and life's taught me the difference of the fantastic and the real."
"People have versed you in the 'real'," he uttered the word with distaste. "Life has obviously taught you nothing."
This caused her pause.
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked suspiciously.
Again, that smile, but only a flicker before he swallowed it unto control, making it all the more devious.
"Perhaps you'll find answer here," he said, opening the palm of his hand to show a crystal. A moment before, his hands had been empty; Sarah was sure of this. The crystal couldn't have possibly been hidden in his hands, no matter how long fingered they were. Sarah tried not to think on this.
She felt her head shaking before even thought of an answer solidified in her mind.
"No," Sarah laughed. "You aren't going to get me so easy. I know what you're trying to do."
"Oh," he asked without looking at her, seemingly taken with his own creation.
"Yeah," she went on. "You want me to give you permission to . . . do something. You're trying to trick me. Not this time, Goblin King."
"Nothing gets past you," Jareth muttered before tossing the crystal into the air and catching it again with ease before standing, staring at her with hard purpose. "You have no idea what I offer you."
Her throat had long turned dry and she swallowed hard before speaking, "I don't want to."
"Are you scared you might be tempted, Sarah?" he asked, with a growing grin. He took a step forward, not breaking gaze. "You have built yourself a pretty prison, against anything of the fantastic, as you say. There is nothing here extraordinary, Sarah; nothing worthy of you."
"How could you--,"she began but he interrupted her before she could finish the thought. He had to say nothing to silence her. With two long strides, he drew near and looked to her almost in pity or some other emotion she could not mark.
"With a thought," he said with much embellishment, somehow twisting the innocent words into something delicious, promising; sexual.
She swallowed again, hard.
"Why are you doing this? I'm happy here. This is all I ever wanted. This is good. This is how it's supposed to be. This is real."
He allowed a breath's pause, and she could hear him draw breath alongside her. There was something too intimate about the sound.
"You have no reason to convince me," Jareth said. "But, I must say, I am very disappointed in you."
Sarah drew a shaky breath.
"You're right, of course," his words cut sharply through the air as he sidestepped Sarah and looked about the room. "This is all any woman could ever want. Crown molding and picket fence to boot. How could you not be happy?"
"You're mocking me," she said, somehow angered.
"Well, I've never been one for picket fences," he said with as much seriousness as he ever had. Sarah could not help but laugh. "This is not the daring young woman who challenged a king."
She worried the inside of her lip and looked around herself. It was obvious to her that it wasn't. There was no attachment to those walls, to the man in her bed, or even to her life. It was something disconnected. She lived it to do just that and little more.
"No, it's not," Sarah murmured. Her eyes fell upon her son where he slept deeply beside his father. "But I love my baby."
Jareth sighed, "Of course you do but you are no mother. Just as Toby should've never been your responsibility, he should not be yours."
"No."
"He will never bring substance to this homely existence. You can never be happy with that. And how can he be happy when you are never happy with him? Is a child born in hope of some meaning in its parent's life in the end ever wanted?" His soft voice was alluring and persuasive. She felt him walk up to stand behind her and felt his heavy hands fall on her shoulders.
"For a moment," Sarah began. "I almost said 'no' and then he would've been yours, wouldn't he?" She turned in his grasp and was forced to look up to him. "I won't give him to you." His face neither fell nor moved in any manner from curious observation. "But I can't ask you to leave, either," she said finally as if it were ripped from within her and in a way it was. It was something thought but decidedly placed aside as to never be uttered in any living presence.
He smiled as if pleased with himself and raised the crystal in an elegant gesture. Jareth looked to it momentarily in consideration before holding it out to her, "Look what I offer you."
"Tell me," she said; looking to him instead. He almost seemed surprised by this but swiftly the flash of a start passed. "You can't lie to me, can you? But the crystal can. That's why you want me to look, not ask."
"It'll show you your dreams," he said, extending it to her.
"I'm sure it would," she muttered looking away. Momentarily, she glanced about herself, as if to mentally steel her resolve. Quickly she looked back to him. "Tell me what you offer."
"A dangerous game," he answered and she knew he hid something. There had to have been something hidden in his words yet they also had to be true or else he never would have uttered them.
"What am I playing for?" Sarah asked, standing where she was but fighting to keep her eyes from straying to the crystal he offered her, afraid of becoming lost there. She focused on his eyes and was unsure if that was much better.
He smiled. "You are playing for yourself, Sarah."
"And you?" She swallowed hard, taking a step towards him without thought.
"I am playing for myself, as well," Jareth answered.
"But can I win?" She stopped a foot before him, unsure of how she had become so close. He still held the crystal out before him; out to her.
Jareth gave the barest of nods.
"I have to know," Sarah said, placing her hand atop the crystal. Her eyes connected with his own and she felt the long fingers of his other hand wrap around her wrist. He laughed as the world melted away.
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To the readers and past reviewers:
Thank you for reading and I'd appreciate a review with feedback.
LabyLvrPhx: I'm glad that you enjoyed it. You'll find out soon what Jareth is up to. Well, kind of. Thank you for reviewing.
rath roiben rye: I like fanfics that portray Jareth like that, as well. Mostly because that's what drew me to his character in the movie. He was threatening but he was erotic too. It's what makes a fae. They like their games, and games does not always mean safe. But they are also alluring and intelligent. I try to write him with that as a couple of his guiding principals. But not all of them. I'm glad you enjoyed the story and I hope you enjoy this new part as well. I look forward to what you think. Thank you for reviewing.
Sheena: J/S? Hmm . . .*Smile*. Yes, there is definite J/S tendencies in the story. It may become more than tendencies. I admit that I am unsure how intense the J/S will be. Read on to find out. Thank you for reviewing.
AshleySAMC: Thank you very much. I don't think I'd be able to survive not having quick internet access whenever I wanted it. I look forward to seeing what you think when you get access again. Thank you for reviewing.
Applekrisp14: If you thought them arguing with her husband in the other room was amusing, I wonder what you think of Jareth and Sarah talking in the same room as her husband. I'm glad you are enjoying the story. Thank you for reviewing.