Skipped the Lady to the Master's Gate
Written by A Lady Grinning
Author's note: Finally-a chapter that has at least a PG-13 rating! (The R- rated ones are coming . . .) As always, muchas gracias to my reviewers! ::bows::
Chapter 4
Having brushed aside her distress, Sarah was finally able to relax with her friends, passing the time by playing with Ludo, appeasing Sir Didymus, and chatting with Hoggle. Less than an hour into their reunion, Sarah realized that she was extremely hungry. Thrilled by finding an opportunity to serve his lady, Sir Didymus quickly leapt towards the Castle. He returned a little while later followed by a goblin bearing a great picnic basket containing enough meats, cheese, and bread to last the five for an entire day.
After quite a few hours of leisure in the gardens, Sarah recalled the King's parting words: that he would meet her for dinner at seven.
"Do you guys have any idea about what time it is?" Sarah asked as she walked with her friends through the miniature hedge maze for the fifth time that afternoon.
"Well, my lady," Sir Didymus said, trotting up to her on Ambrosius. "I do believe that, by the sun, 'tis between five and six in the evening."
Sarah looked thoughtfully back towards the castle. "Maybe I should go back, then, to get ready. I have to meet Jareth for dinner."
"Maybe you do," Hoggle said, and scowled. "Jareth don't like it when people're late."
"All right, then," Sarah said. "See you all later!"
Her friends bid her farewell, and she started back towards the stairway that led to the dining room.
When she arrived there, she noticed that there was a large clock mounted on the wall to her left that announced the time of 5:16.
That left just the right amount of time to get ready, Sarah nervously thought.
As Sarah approached her room, the idea that she had been in the same clothing for almost two days struck her mind. And she was absolutely filthy. How on earth would she find a bathroom in such a grand place as this?
As if to answer her question, Sarah heard a door open somewhere behind her. She stepped back into the hallway perpendicular to her own, discovering an open door to her left. Inside the room, she found a beautiful marble bathtub sunk into the floor filled with steaming water.
Sarah was thrilled. She rapidly undressed and immersed herself in the blessed purity of the water. Sarah leaned back in the tub and closed her eyes, feeling the grime of the junkyard, the mud of the Bog, and the dust of the Labyrinth floating away. She could stay like this forever, enveloped in the warmth.
But she couldn't. Jareth would be waiting.
A shiver coursed through Sarah.
Sarah was relieved to find a robe hanging from a hook on the back of the door. After slipping into it and gathering up her clothes, Sarah opened the door, stepped out of the bathroom--
--And collided with the King himself.
Jareth looked stunned but instantly regained his composure.
Sarah was at a loss for words.
Jareth smirked, his eyes drifting downward. Then he quickly turned and continued on his way down the hall.
Sarah stood frozen at the doorway for several seconds, then rushed off to her room, feeling violated, though hardly knowing what to think.
It was exactly a minute-and-a half till seven o'clock. Sarah, standing before the giant doors leading to the dining room, smoothed out her black muslin skirt, which she had found in its place in her closet. (Truthfully, Sarah had been disappointed to leave the extravagant hallway of the Castle at the Center of the Labyrinth and return to the dull room of a wistful girl. Why couldn't Jareth give her a room worthy of the rest of the Castle? He knew what her material desires were--why not make her a new one? She nearly drove herself mad, thinking of the possibilities of imaginary rooms which might have been hers.) To match the skirt, Sarah wore a white silk blouse much like the one she'd worn previously that day.
She took a deep breath and pushed open the doors.
The dining room was empty. Candles on the table were lit, the curtains over the glass wall were drawn, but no one was there.
Sarah sighed, closed the doors behind her, and stepped into the room. She noted that the clock had not yet struck the hour of seven, and rolled her eyes; was Jareth really that obsessed with time?
Sarah looked hopelessly around the room for something to tell her what to do. One thing did catch her attention: the painting on the wall was no longer of Jareth in the form of an owl, but of Jareth as a man. It was a full body portrait, and it portrayed him perfectly, from his graceful posture to his arrogant grin.
A chill went through Sarah. She did not need him watching her at every moment.
Sarah suddenly felt a presence directly behind her.
A velvety voice from beside her right ear said, "You look simply ravishing tonight, my dear, though I did enjoy the way you looked in your robe far more."
The slender body of the King swept around Sarah then faced her.
"Sarah," he said, the slightest trace of a smile playing at the edges of his mouth.
Sarah curtsied, head bent to obscure her blush. "Jareth."
Jareth gave her a genuine smile, then crossed to the nearest end of the table to pull a chair out for her.
"Please," he said, motioning to it.
Sarah stiffly crossed to her seat and sat in it. Jareth pushed her chair in, his gloved fingers lightly brushing her shoulder blades. As he strode to his own seat, Sarah noticed that Jareth was wearing yet another outfit, this one consisting of a black, low-necked blouse, black gloves and boots, and tight gray pants. He looked quite nice himself, though Sarah would hardly allow herself this speculation.
After sitting down, the King said, "I do hope you're hungry," and clapped his hands for service.
Two slender goblins nearly as tall as Ludo walked almost gracefully into the dining room with covered silver platters in their hands. They set them lightly down in front of the King and his guest, then departed.
Sarah was apprehensive about uncovering what her waiter had set down in front of her. She glanced across the table at Jareth, and saw him delicately eating from an elegant vegetable platter, with, unfortunately, no vegetables that Sarah recognized.
Jareth noticed his dining partner's hesitation, and ceased eating.
With a small smile on his face, he said, "Sarah, you've eaten naught but a bite of peach within the past day. Surely you must hunger?"
Sarah retorted, "I actually did have a rather large lunch today in the garden."
"Really," Jareth replied. "Then you must already be aware of the cooking ability that my chef possesses. Sarah, do you really believe that I would create a chef lacking in that area, goblin or no?"
Sarah paused, recalling the succulent meat that she and her friends had feasted on previously that day. Then, with out a word, she uncovered the vegetables and began to eat.
Jareth chuckled.
After a moment of silence while the two ate, Sarah asked, "Where were you today?"
The King smiled and said, "Seeing to my other duties as the King of Dreams. There are many worlds other than this one that need seeing after. You can't expect me to stay with you every minute of the day, Sarah."
Sarah looked at him coldly, then, as curiosity got the best of her, asked, "Where do you usually stay?"
"Wherever suits me at the time. Unfortunately, once I create a world it cannot be deleted, so there are more in existence than I like to admit to." He brightly added, "The gratifying part about it is that I have homes in many of them, each very satisfying in their own way, which gives me many options of where to operate from."
He signaled for the tall goblins to remove their plates.
"You don't live in all of them?"
"I don't even exist in most of them, much less live there."
Sarah was puzzled. "Then . . . why do you exist in this one?"
Jareth smiled and softly replied, "And miss the possibility of meeting my eldest client in centuries? That would be a sorry misfortune."
Sarah felt a little odd, being singled out as she was, and looked down at the table.
The main course was roasted lamb, marinated in an unrecognizable sauce that, although Sarah thought of claiming to be a vegetarian simply to spite her host, had a scent so tantalizing that she couldn't help but eat more than half of the great portion she was served.
After she finished, Sarah slowly said, "Jareth?"
Jareth's eyes met hers, and he replied, "Sarah?"
A bit uncomfortably, Sarah continued, "How . . . how did you become the King of Dreams?"
Jareth looked startled for a moment, but the look soon vanished, and was replaced with the usual, cool smugness. "I was bestowed the title when the King before me was deemed unable to properly carry out his duties."
Sarah wasn't satisfied. "But what were you before that?"
Jareth calmly sipped his wine. "It's of little consequence. This is my life now, and there is no turning back."
Sarah opened her mouth to request an elaboration, but Jareth gave her a look that dared her to cross him, and she shut it.
Dessert--a warm pastry filled with assorted berries--was served. Sarah found it to be just as delicious as the rest of the meal, and quickly devoured it. Jareth watched her with amusement, taking small bites of his own dessert. When Sarah was finished, Jareth pressed his napkin lightly to his mouth, then spoke. "You will re-attempt to solve the Labyrinth tomorrow, Sarah."
Sarah glared at him and said, "Oh, I will, will I?"
"Yes," the King replied. "And, as I've told you, the Labyrinth will not be tangible. You can only go through it . . ." A crystal bubble floated into his hand from nowhere, and as he caught it, it turned into a peach. " . . . by using this."
Sarah's stomach churned. "Ohhh no! I am not going through that again."
A smirk. "Was the masquerade really so painful, Sarah?"
Sarah stopped. She hadn't been thinking about that aspect of it.
Deciding that avoiding the notion was the best route to take, Sarah carefully said, "I just--don't want to forget everything again."
Jareth looked amused. "Don't worry yourself with that thought, Sarah; this peach will only perform the function of placing you in a Labyrinth in a dream. You will suffer no memory loss."
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief.
The King rose from his seat, and continued, "But I warn you, Sarah: this Labyrinth will be brutal and raw in comparison to the last. All hidden lessons inside the Labyrinth last time, which you completely overlooked, will be blatant, perhaps painful to behold. And there will be no escape from them this time, Sarah. No friends to help you. And you will remain there until you have learned everything you must in order to truly solve it."
As he described the new, vague horrors that Sarah would have to face, the King slowly moved towards the victim, until he was hovering over her.
Sarah felt trapped in her chair.
She swallowed her apprehensions, then looked into her opponent's eyes and quietly said, albeit dangerously, "If you're the one who created it, it should be a piece of cake."
Jareth arched an eyebrow, cocked his head, and smiled grimly. In stealth equal to Sarah's, he uttered, "A piece of cake, Sarah?"
Without warning, his arms were grasping hers. Looking at him, Sarah could never have believed that he possessed such physical strength as he was exerting upon her arms right now.
Still smiling his horrible grin, Jareth lowered his head until he was eye level with the girl. "Well, Sarah . . . I would almost believe your beloved phrase, were you not as frightened of me as you are now."
Sarah trembled, trying to push herself as far back from him in her chair as possible.
The King continued, "And I would not believe that you were so frightened, had you sincerely told me that I hadn't any power over you--you do know that I wrote that line myself, don't you?"
Sarah felt no lurch in her stomach in response to this utterly startling confession, as she might have had this conversation taken place in another time, for all the feeling in her had been sucked away by this unfathomably powerful man.
Jareth lowered his voice till it was barely more than a whisper. "Even now, Sarah, you are thinking . . ." The King rapidly released Sarah's right arm and grabbed her just behind her neck, crushing her head towards his own until his mouth was buried in her neck just below her right ear. "That it was I who had the power all along, Sarah. And that is the way it will always be."
Sarah was beyond rational thought now. She pushed the King of Dreams away with her free arm, causing him to stumble backwards, then pulled out of her chair, and fled from the dining hall, as if she could flee from it all.
When she arrived at her room, she slammed the door and locked it behind her, then sunk to the ground sobbing, hardly even knowing why. Despair and utter helplessness had engulfed her; the thought of walking into any labyrinth ever again was impossibly far away, for she had no hope of solving her own. She was nothing but a little girl desperate for a fairy tale life, and now that she had gotten her wish, she couldn't want anything more than to have it all reversed.
Written by A Lady Grinning
Author's note: Finally-a chapter that has at least a PG-13 rating! (The R- rated ones are coming . . .) As always, muchas gracias to my reviewers! ::bows::
Chapter 4
Having brushed aside her distress, Sarah was finally able to relax with her friends, passing the time by playing with Ludo, appeasing Sir Didymus, and chatting with Hoggle. Less than an hour into their reunion, Sarah realized that she was extremely hungry. Thrilled by finding an opportunity to serve his lady, Sir Didymus quickly leapt towards the Castle. He returned a little while later followed by a goblin bearing a great picnic basket containing enough meats, cheese, and bread to last the five for an entire day.
After quite a few hours of leisure in the gardens, Sarah recalled the King's parting words: that he would meet her for dinner at seven.
"Do you guys have any idea about what time it is?" Sarah asked as she walked with her friends through the miniature hedge maze for the fifth time that afternoon.
"Well, my lady," Sir Didymus said, trotting up to her on Ambrosius. "I do believe that, by the sun, 'tis between five and six in the evening."
Sarah looked thoughtfully back towards the castle. "Maybe I should go back, then, to get ready. I have to meet Jareth for dinner."
"Maybe you do," Hoggle said, and scowled. "Jareth don't like it when people're late."
"All right, then," Sarah said. "See you all later!"
Her friends bid her farewell, and she started back towards the stairway that led to the dining room.
When she arrived there, she noticed that there was a large clock mounted on the wall to her left that announced the time of 5:16.
That left just the right amount of time to get ready, Sarah nervously thought.
As Sarah approached her room, the idea that she had been in the same clothing for almost two days struck her mind. And she was absolutely filthy. How on earth would she find a bathroom in such a grand place as this?
As if to answer her question, Sarah heard a door open somewhere behind her. She stepped back into the hallway perpendicular to her own, discovering an open door to her left. Inside the room, she found a beautiful marble bathtub sunk into the floor filled with steaming water.
Sarah was thrilled. She rapidly undressed and immersed herself in the blessed purity of the water. Sarah leaned back in the tub and closed her eyes, feeling the grime of the junkyard, the mud of the Bog, and the dust of the Labyrinth floating away. She could stay like this forever, enveloped in the warmth.
But she couldn't. Jareth would be waiting.
A shiver coursed through Sarah.
Sarah was relieved to find a robe hanging from a hook on the back of the door. After slipping into it and gathering up her clothes, Sarah opened the door, stepped out of the bathroom--
--And collided with the King himself.
Jareth looked stunned but instantly regained his composure.
Sarah was at a loss for words.
Jareth smirked, his eyes drifting downward. Then he quickly turned and continued on his way down the hall.
Sarah stood frozen at the doorway for several seconds, then rushed off to her room, feeling violated, though hardly knowing what to think.
It was exactly a minute-and-a half till seven o'clock. Sarah, standing before the giant doors leading to the dining room, smoothed out her black muslin skirt, which she had found in its place in her closet. (Truthfully, Sarah had been disappointed to leave the extravagant hallway of the Castle at the Center of the Labyrinth and return to the dull room of a wistful girl. Why couldn't Jareth give her a room worthy of the rest of the Castle? He knew what her material desires were--why not make her a new one? She nearly drove herself mad, thinking of the possibilities of imaginary rooms which might have been hers.) To match the skirt, Sarah wore a white silk blouse much like the one she'd worn previously that day.
She took a deep breath and pushed open the doors.
The dining room was empty. Candles on the table were lit, the curtains over the glass wall were drawn, but no one was there.
Sarah sighed, closed the doors behind her, and stepped into the room. She noted that the clock had not yet struck the hour of seven, and rolled her eyes; was Jareth really that obsessed with time?
Sarah looked hopelessly around the room for something to tell her what to do. One thing did catch her attention: the painting on the wall was no longer of Jareth in the form of an owl, but of Jareth as a man. It was a full body portrait, and it portrayed him perfectly, from his graceful posture to his arrogant grin.
A chill went through Sarah. She did not need him watching her at every moment.
Sarah suddenly felt a presence directly behind her.
A velvety voice from beside her right ear said, "You look simply ravishing tonight, my dear, though I did enjoy the way you looked in your robe far more."
The slender body of the King swept around Sarah then faced her.
"Sarah," he said, the slightest trace of a smile playing at the edges of his mouth.
Sarah curtsied, head bent to obscure her blush. "Jareth."
Jareth gave her a genuine smile, then crossed to the nearest end of the table to pull a chair out for her.
"Please," he said, motioning to it.
Sarah stiffly crossed to her seat and sat in it. Jareth pushed her chair in, his gloved fingers lightly brushing her shoulder blades. As he strode to his own seat, Sarah noticed that Jareth was wearing yet another outfit, this one consisting of a black, low-necked blouse, black gloves and boots, and tight gray pants. He looked quite nice himself, though Sarah would hardly allow herself this speculation.
After sitting down, the King said, "I do hope you're hungry," and clapped his hands for service.
Two slender goblins nearly as tall as Ludo walked almost gracefully into the dining room with covered silver platters in their hands. They set them lightly down in front of the King and his guest, then departed.
Sarah was apprehensive about uncovering what her waiter had set down in front of her. She glanced across the table at Jareth, and saw him delicately eating from an elegant vegetable platter, with, unfortunately, no vegetables that Sarah recognized.
Jareth noticed his dining partner's hesitation, and ceased eating.
With a small smile on his face, he said, "Sarah, you've eaten naught but a bite of peach within the past day. Surely you must hunger?"
Sarah retorted, "I actually did have a rather large lunch today in the garden."
"Really," Jareth replied. "Then you must already be aware of the cooking ability that my chef possesses. Sarah, do you really believe that I would create a chef lacking in that area, goblin or no?"
Sarah paused, recalling the succulent meat that she and her friends had feasted on previously that day. Then, with out a word, she uncovered the vegetables and began to eat.
Jareth chuckled.
After a moment of silence while the two ate, Sarah asked, "Where were you today?"
The King smiled and said, "Seeing to my other duties as the King of Dreams. There are many worlds other than this one that need seeing after. You can't expect me to stay with you every minute of the day, Sarah."
Sarah looked at him coldly, then, as curiosity got the best of her, asked, "Where do you usually stay?"
"Wherever suits me at the time. Unfortunately, once I create a world it cannot be deleted, so there are more in existence than I like to admit to." He brightly added, "The gratifying part about it is that I have homes in many of them, each very satisfying in their own way, which gives me many options of where to operate from."
He signaled for the tall goblins to remove their plates.
"You don't live in all of them?"
"I don't even exist in most of them, much less live there."
Sarah was puzzled. "Then . . . why do you exist in this one?"
Jareth smiled and softly replied, "And miss the possibility of meeting my eldest client in centuries? That would be a sorry misfortune."
Sarah felt a little odd, being singled out as she was, and looked down at the table.
The main course was roasted lamb, marinated in an unrecognizable sauce that, although Sarah thought of claiming to be a vegetarian simply to spite her host, had a scent so tantalizing that she couldn't help but eat more than half of the great portion she was served.
After she finished, Sarah slowly said, "Jareth?"
Jareth's eyes met hers, and he replied, "Sarah?"
A bit uncomfortably, Sarah continued, "How . . . how did you become the King of Dreams?"
Jareth looked startled for a moment, but the look soon vanished, and was replaced with the usual, cool smugness. "I was bestowed the title when the King before me was deemed unable to properly carry out his duties."
Sarah wasn't satisfied. "But what were you before that?"
Jareth calmly sipped his wine. "It's of little consequence. This is my life now, and there is no turning back."
Sarah opened her mouth to request an elaboration, but Jareth gave her a look that dared her to cross him, and she shut it.
Dessert--a warm pastry filled with assorted berries--was served. Sarah found it to be just as delicious as the rest of the meal, and quickly devoured it. Jareth watched her with amusement, taking small bites of his own dessert. When Sarah was finished, Jareth pressed his napkin lightly to his mouth, then spoke. "You will re-attempt to solve the Labyrinth tomorrow, Sarah."
Sarah glared at him and said, "Oh, I will, will I?"
"Yes," the King replied. "And, as I've told you, the Labyrinth will not be tangible. You can only go through it . . ." A crystal bubble floated into his hand from nowhere, and as he caught it, it turned into a peach. " . . . by using this."
Sarah's stomach churned. "Ohhh no! I am not going through that again."
A smirk. "Was the masquerade really so painful, Sarah?"
Sarah stopped. She hadn't been thinking about that aspect of it.
Deciding that avoiding the notion was the best route to take, Sarah carefully said, "I just--don't want to forget everything again."
Jareth looked amused. "Don't worry yourself with that thought, Sarah; this peach will only perform the function of placing you in a Labyrinth in a dream. You will suffer no memory loss."
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief.
The King rose from his seat, and continued, "But I warn you, Sarah: this Labyrinth will be brutal and raw in comparison to the last. All hidden lessons inside the Labyrinth last time, which you completely overlooked, will be blatant, perhaps painful to behold. And there will be no escape from them this time, Sarah. No friends to help you. And you will remain there until you have learned everything you must in order to truly solve it."
As he described the new, vague horrors that Sarah would have to face, the King slowly moved towards the victim, until he was hovering over her.
Sarah felt trapped in her chair.
She swallowed her apprehensions, then looked into her opponent's eyes and quietly said, albeit dangerously, "If you're the one who created it, it should be a piece of cake."
Jareth arched an eyebrow, cocked his head, and smiled grimly. In stealth equal to Sarah's, he uttered, "A piece of cake, Sarah?"
Without warning, his arms were grasping hers. Looking at him, Sarah could never have believed that he possessed such physical strength as he was exerting upon her arms right now.
Still smiling his horrible grin, Jareth lowered his head until he was eye level with the girl. "Well, Sarah . . . I would almost believe your beloved phrase, were you not as frightened of me as you are now."
Sarah trembled, trying to push herself as far back from him in her chair as possible.
The King continued, "And I would not believe that you were so frightened, had you sincerely told me that I hadn't any power over you--you do know that I wrote that line myself, don't you?"
Sarah felt no lurch in her stomach in response to this utterly startling confession, as she might have had this conversation taken place in another time, for all the feeling in her had been sucked away by this unfathomably powerful man.
Jareth lowered his voice till it was barely more than a whisper. "Even now, Sarah, you are thinking . . ." The King rapidly released Sarah's right arm and grabbed her just behind her neck, crushing her head towards his own until his mouth was buried in her neck just below her right ear. "That it was I who had the power all along, Sarah. And that is the way it will always be."
Sarah was beyond rational thought now. She pushed the King of Dreams away with her free arm, causing him to stumble backwards, then pulled out of her chair, and fled from the dining hall, as if she could flee from it all.
When she arrived at her room, she slammed the door and locked it behind her, then sunk to the ground sobbing, hardly even knowing why. Despair and utter helplessness had engulfed her; the thought of walking into any labyrinth ever again was impossibly far away, for she had no hope of solving her own. She was nothing but a little girl desperate for a fairy tale life, and now that she had gotten her wish, she couldn't want anything more than to have it all reversed.