The peach. Sarah hadn't eaten peaches since her trip to the Labyrinth.
Jareth had given one to Hoggle to give to her that had been....tainted. She
could still remember the fantasy that she had slipped into after eating the
fruit. The crystalline ball gown, the mocking masquerade dancers. And of
course, Jareth himself.
She had sought him out among the revelers at the ball, but he had always managed to stay ahead of her, allowing her only a quick glimpse before he was gone again. Just as she had given up finding him, he was there. His eyes captured hers, and she was unaware of the distance between them disappearing. He was suddenly in front of her, one gloved hand moving to her waist to pull her into the dance. Without thinking about it, she let him guide her around the floor. She had never danced like that before, but in this dream state, she knew the steps as if she had learned to dance before learning to walk.
Then the clock had begun to sound and the dream turned into a nightmare. She didn't want to leave this wonderful place, but knew that she must. She had pushed her way past masked faces that had become hostile, when she came to the side of the bubble she did the only thing she could think of, she shattered it.
She wasn't sure if what happened had been real or just her fantasy. While part of her had hoped that it had been real, another part wanted for it to have been just a design of her mind. She didn't want Jareth to know that side of her, the side that liked the fancy ball, the elaborate hair and intricately styled hair. The way she had gotten caught up in the dance with him.
Then another thought came to her. It couldn't have been Jareth that had left these for her to find. She wouldn't even speak his name out loud. She hadn't called on him, and since she had moved from the house she had grown up in with her father, she didn't think that he could know where she was. It must have been Hoggle. Yes, that was it. Hoggle had been trying to surprise her. After all, he was the one that actually handed the peach to her, and he knew that she had been feeling kind of depressed since she had broken up with her last boyfriend. He was probably just trying to cheer her up. Yes, that was it.
Calming down, having rationalized things to her satisfaction, she got a vase out of the storage cabinet and spent the next few minutes busying herself with arranging the lilies. She didn't touch the peach. She set the vase on the table, then finished making her cup of tea.
Instead of going back to the living room, she took her tea into work room. While she had not planned on doing any actual writing, she thought that taking some time to get the notes in order that she had already taken for her next book would keep her mind occupied.
The work room had a large mahogany desk on which sat her computer, printer and a set of writer's reference books. This is where she would sit, in her large black leather chair, feet tucked up under her, as she let the words roll off her fingers and through the keyboard onto the screen.. This wasn't where she did most of her work though.
In the corner of the room stood a vanity table and mirror. A bench sat in front of it with a brocaded cushion. One side of the table she had a silver tray with her brush, some base cosmetics, and some perfumes on it. On the other side of the table was a notebook and a cup full of her favorite pens.
It was here that she often did most of her work. In front of the mirror where as a teenager she would watch herself as she practiced for the high drama roles she planned on staring in one day. Somehow, looking at things through that mirror made everything seem different, it seemed to make the world around her less real, and she could submerge her mind into the fantasy that she was creating.
Now she sat in front of the mirror and flipped through the notebook looking over her latest notes. She shuffled them around a little bit, not really accomplishing anything, but at least doing a good job of trying to convince herself that she was. After a few minutes, she set the notebook back to the side and looked into the mirror. She focused on her own image and let the reflection of the world around her blur. As well as helping her write, this was an exercise that also helped her to simply clear her mind. She emptied her mind of all thoughts and simply let herself drift.
There was movement behind her in the mirror. This brought her snapping back to focus and spinning around. She automatically reached out to grab something to defend herself. She stood, facing the door, her brush in hand holding it out to ward off the intruder. Her own thoughts laughed at her.
It was Jareth. He stood leaning in the door way, arms folded across his chest silently watching her. He looked just as she remembered him, his white gold hair was a wild mane around his face. High arched eyebrows over mismatched eyes and a complexion that seemed to shimmer in the soft light of the room. His lips were curled up in the barest hint of a mocking smile.
"Sarah, is this any way to treat an old friend?" She swore she saw him fighting not to laugh as she brandished the brush in his direction.
"Friend? The last time I saw you, you had stolen my brother and wanted to turn him into a goblin. Last I checked, that wasn't something friends did."
"You wished for me to take him, and I never said that he would be turned into a goblin."
"Yes you did, you said..."
He interrupted her, standing straight up and stepping further into the room. "What I said was that you had thirteen hours to solve the labyrinth or your brother would become one of us forever. I never said that meant a Goblin."
"But you're the goblin king, wouldn't that make him..."
His laugh was mocking. "Yes, I am the king of the goblins, yet do I look like a goblin to you? And what of those charming little friends of yours. Are they goblins? There are many more types of people in the Underground than just the Goblins."
For a moment, he sounded almost angry and Sarah started to apologize for upsetting him. Then she remembered that he had invited himself into her house without asking, so she should be the one who was upset here.
She put the brush back on the vanity table and reminded herself that she had faced him down before. She stood up straight and pushed a lock of long dark hair over her shoulder. "Look, why don't you just tell me why you're here so that way you can go away?" Arms folded over her chest, she gave him her best look of impatience that she could manage. This was not an easy task as her stomach reminded her of how intimidating he could be.
His eyes narrowed as they met hers. He walked forward slowly as if he were stalking her. He saw the way that she tensed as he approached, the set of her jaw, how she squared her shoulder refusing to back down to him. A thousand ways to answer that question came to mind, but none had to do with the actual reason for him to come looking for this insolent whelp that had once defeated him. A sensation that he was not used to started to eat away at his mind. Doubt. He was no longer certain that he should be here. He thought that if he did tell her why he had come here, that she would once again refuse him. She would deny him once more and he didn't think he could deal with that rejection, not when he had so much to deal with at the moment.
He sighed, taking a step back to give her more space. "I don't think it matters why I'm here. I'll just go ahead and go away as you say."
He turned to head toward the door and Sarah though she heard him muttering something that sounded like, "I should have known better.......a waste of precious time...never get it back." There was a tenseness to him that she hadn't bothered to see before, as if he were walking into the lions pit and expected the lion to win.
Then he was out the door and turned to stride down the hallway. She heard his voice through the apartment. "That's it, we're leaving."
Another answered him, one that was much more familiar. "But...?"
"Now, Hedgewort! Or is that to complicated for you?"
"eh, yes Jareth!"
Sarah blinked and hurried out of the room just in time to see two figures disappearing. Jareth, and a much smaller form. She caught sight of a red lather cap, big bushy eyebrows over large blue eyes, and a well worn face that looked back at her guiltily right before he vanished.
"Hoggle?"
Hoggle had brought Jareth here to her home. He knew that she hadn't wanted to see him again. She knew that he had about as much love for the Goblin king as a mouse had for a cat. So why he would lead Jareth here, she couldn't figure out.
"Hoggle?" She called again, expecting him to answer, only he failed to appear. "Hoggle, I need you." This phrase, the words that she had promised to say if she were ever in need of her friends, had never before failed to summon the dwarf. This time, he stoutly refused to appear.
After several minutes of waiting, sat down on the couch, worry starting to grow in her mind. "Oh, Hoggle, what have you gotten into?"
She had sought him out among the revelers at the ball, but he had always managed to stay ahead of her, allowing her only a quick glimpse before he was gone again. Just as she had given up finding him, he was there. His eyes captured hers, and she was unaware of the distance between them disappearing. He was suddenly in front of her, one gloved hand moving to her waist to pull her into the dance. Without thinking about it, she let him guide her around the floor. She had never danced like that before, but in this dream state, she knew the steps as if she had learned to dance before learning to walk.
Then the clock had begun to sound and the dream turned into a nightmare. She didn't want to leave this wonderful place, but knew that she must. She had pushed her way past masked faces that had become hostile, when she came to the side of the bubble she did the only thing she could think of, she shattered it.
She wasn't sure if what happened had been real or just her fantasy. While part of her had hoped that it had been real, another part wanted for it to have been just a design of her mind. She didn't want Jareth to know that side of her, the side that liked the fancy ball, the elaborate hair and intricately styled hair. The way she had gotten caught up in the dance with him.
Then another thought came to her. It couldn't have been Jareth that had left these for her to find. She wouldn't even speak his name out loud. She hadn't called on him, and since she had moved from the house she had grown up in with her father, she didn't think that he could know where she was. It must have been Hoggle. Yes, that was it. Hoggle had been trying to surprise her. After all, he was the one that actually handed the peach to her, and he knew that she had been feeling kind of depressed since she had broken up with her last boyfriend. He was probably just trying to cheer her up. Yes, that was it.
Calming down, having rationalized things to her satisfaction, she got a vase out of the storage cabinet and spent the next few minutes busying herself with arranging the lilies. She didn't touch the peach. She set the vase on the table, then finished making her cup of tea.
Instead of going back to the living room, she took her tea into work room. While she had not planned on doing any actual writing, she thought that taking some time to get the notes in order that she had already taken for her next book would keep her mind occupied.
The work room had a large mahogany desk on which sat her computer, printer and a set of writer's reference books. This is where she would sit, in her large black leather chair, feet tucked up under her, as she let the words roll off her fingers and through the keyboard onto the screen.. This wasn't where she did most of her work though.
In the corner of the room stood a vanity table and mirror. A bench sat in front of it with a brocaded cushion. One side of the table she had a silver tray with her brush, some base cosmetics, and some perfumes on it. On the other side of the table was a notebook and a cup full of her favorite pens.
It was here that she often did most of her work. In front of the mirror where as a teenager she would watch herself as she practiced for the high drama roles she planned on staring in one day. Somehow, looking at things through that mirror made everything seem different, it seemed to make the world around her less real, and she could submerge her mind into the fantasy that she was creating.
Now she sat in front of the mirror and flipped through the notebook looking over her latest notes. She shuffled them around a little bit, not really accomplishing anything, but at least doing a good job of trying to convince herself that she was. After a few minutes, she set the notebook back to the side and looked into the mirror. She focused on her own image and let the reflection of the world around her blur. As well as helping her write, this was an exercise that also helped her to simply clear her mind. She emptied her mind of all thoughts and simply let herself drift.
There was movement behind her in the mirror. This brought her snapping back to focus and spinning around. She automatically reached out to grab something to defend herself. She stood, facing the door, her brush in hand holding it out to ward off the intruder. Her own thoughts laughed at her.
It was Jareth. He stood leaning in the door way, arms folded across his chest silently watching her. He looked just as she remembered him, his white gold hair was a wild mane around his face. High arched eyebrows over mismatched eyes and a complexion that seemed to shimmer in the soft light of the room. His lips were curled up in the barest hint of a mocking smile.
"Sarah, is this any way to treat an old friend?" She swore she saw him fighting not to laugh as she brandished the brush in his direction.
"Friend? The last time I saw you, you had stolen my brother and wanted to turn him into a goblin. Last I checked, that wasn't something friends did."
"You wished for me to take him, and I never said that he would be turned into a goblin."
"Yes you did, you said..."
He interrupted her, standing straight up and stepping further into the room. "What I said was that you had thirteen hours to solve the labyrinth or your brother would become one of us forever. I never said that meant a Goblin."
"But you're the goblin king, wouldn't that make him..."
His laugh was mocking. "Yes, I am the king of the goblins, yet do I look like a goblin to you? And what of those charming little friends of yours. Are they goblins? There are many more types of people in the Underground than just the Goblins."
For a moment, he sounded almost angry and Sarah started to apologize for upsetting him. Then she remembered that he had invited himself into her house without asking, so she should be the one who was upset here.
She put the brush back on the vanity table and reminded herself that she had faced him down before. She stood up straight and pushed a lock of long dark hair over her shoulder. "Look, why don't you just tell me why you're here so that way you can go away?" Arms folded over her chest, she gave him her best look of impatience that she could manage. This was not an easy task as her stomach reminded her of how intimidating he could be.
His eyes narrowed as they met hers. He walked forward slowly as if he were stalking her. He saw the way that she tensed as he approached, the set of her jaw, how she squared her shoulder refusing to back down to him. A thousand ways to answer that question came to mind, but none had to do with the actual reason for him to come looking for this insolent whelp that had once defeated him. A sensation that he was not used to started to eat away at his mind. Doubt. He was no longer certain that he should be here. He thought that if he did tell her why he had come here, that she would once again refuse him. She would deny him once more and he didn't think he could deal with that rejection, not when he had so much to deal with at the moment.
He sighed, taking a step back to give her more space. "I don't think it matters why I'm here. I'll just go ahead and go away as you say."
He turned to head toward the door and Sarah though she heard him muttering something that sounded like, "I should have known better.......a waste of precious time...never get it back." There was a tenseness to him that she hadn't bothered to see before, as if he were walking into the lions pit and expected the lion to win.
Then he was out the door and turned to stride down the hallway. She heard his voice through the apartment. "That's it, we're leaving."
Another answered him, one that was much more familiar. "But...?"
"Now, Hedgewort! Or is that to complicated for you?"
"eh, yes Jareth!"
Sarah blinked and hurried out of the room just in time to see two figures disappearing. Jareth, and a much smaller form. She caught sight of a red lather cap, big bushy eyebrows over large blue eyes, and a well worn face that looked back at her guiltily right before he vanished.
"Hoggle?"
Hoggle had brought Jareth here to her home. He knew that she hadn't wanted to see him again. She knew that he had about as much love for the Goblin king as a mouse had for a cat. So why he would lead Jareth here, she couldn't figure out.
"Hoggle?" She called again, expecting him to answer, only he failed to appear. "Hoggle, I need you." This phrase, the words that she had promised to say if she were ever in need of her friends, had never before failed to summon the dwarf. This time, he stoutly refused to appear.
After several minutes of waiting, sat down on the couch, worry starting to grow in her mind. "Oh, Hoggle, what have you gotten into?"