Thanks to my reviewers! Let me know if you like how things are going, and let me know if anything is confusing because I can tend to be a little disjointed at the beginning of my stories...
Games Afoot
Jareth still didn't know what had possessed him to play with her that way. The girl had still been a child, and he had played with her emotions. Had she been a member of the circles he was accustomed to running with, he wouldn't have been at fault for treating her as he did. She would have been the one who was laughed at and possibly scorned for falling prey to his professions of love, especially if he withdrew them. Yet even the fast, dangerously wealthy and privileged men and women of his acquaintance had rules. Adults, especially those trying to find favor at court, were fair game. Children, those unaccustomed to or unaware of the game were off limits…until they stepped onto the playing field.
The rules were known in his world. Parents kept their daughters, even their sons, away from the Hawks, the elite group of nobles that ruled the social and political scene at the high court of the underworld…at least until they were old enough to fend for themselves. Some kept their children away from court permanently, choosing instead to arrange marriages outside of its walls. Yet the most sought after matches were made among the ranks of the Falcons, and many took the chance that their dear daughters and sons would fall prey to their games without gaining any status from it.
The foolhardy young sons of minor Lords often tried it, with the hope being an invitation into the elite, privileged ranks, and with the worst case scenario being laughed out of court, stripped of funds and dignity. For the daughters, there was always the chance that they would catch the eye of a prince, even a king. The worst case scenario for them was being cast aside for their innocence, or robbed of it without the offer of matrimony.
Still, Jareth could justify the actions of his peers in that regard. Those from the underground were well aware of the rules of the Hawks. The had known what was happening when they arrived at court for the yearly Golden Ball, and had accepted any and all consequences just by showing their faces.
She had not known.
He had tricked her into his world, trapped her into attending the ball. She had not known the importance of her attendance there, and yet he had held her to the rules that went along with it. He had offered her her dreams in exchange for her obedience, would have kept her there forever, casting aside the child, who had of course been nothing but a pawn, and forcing her to disappear from her own world into his, still never knowing what she was agreeing to. It was a cruel twist of fate that she had used words to escape him. He had unearthed those words, with their silly—but binding—meaning, only to trap her, letting the ancient book find its way into her hands. Fate had punished him for twisting chance to fit his purposes. She had learned the words of power in addition to the words that had allowed him to take the child, and had escaped him.
He had laughed it off among his friends, cursing the girl for her escape, and dedicating himself twice over to the unwholesome pursuits of the Falcons. He became even more of a master at the game to atone for his defeat, using his intelligence and political power to ruin and to build the lives of those around him according to his ever-darkening whims. He let himself forget that they were real people, and thought of them as numbers. Each triumph that he laughed about with his friends was one more point in his favor, one more point against his defeat. His conqueror.
Yet still, he could not get the girl out of his mind. Still he wanted her. He watched her as he had before his defeat. Yet before he had allowed his friends to know of his intent for the girl. Now he watched her in private, keeping his weakness, his continued obsession with her, hidden.
There were still ways…
No. He couldn't risk being defeated by her again. His reputation would not survive it, and the strength of his kingdom relied on his ability to play the political game as a master, as a member of the Falcons, the greatest and most privileged players of all. The labyrinth was a testament to him, of course, because no one but her had ever beaten it. But he still needed to be at court, and be winning. The people could easily forget the power of the far-off labyrinth, the most contested and impenetrable fortress of the game, if he was not at court as its emissary.
Still, if he was to force her into play again, and to win, the victory would be unlike anything a Falcon had experienced in centuries. Jareth hated to hurt Sarah, especially when he secretly admired her for her amazing victory, but he hated to lose even more.
Perhaps he had nursed his defeat long enough. Perhaps he was ready for a victory.