Chapter 9 The Light of the Moon
4 hours later
Sarah lay under the coverlet, eyes fluttering sleepily. She was absolutely mentally exhausted. She could barely keep awake while having her family dinner birthday celebration.
Slowly she slipped into subconscious.
Dark, it was all so dark…goblins…monsters…She ran,.. things …grabbing, clawing cutting her. Pulled her hair…she screamed…no sound came forth…and ran all the while going no where, barley moving…The darkness was closing in on her…falling ….falling…falling. BLACK.
Sarah gasped and sat straight up in her bed. She glanced over at her night stand; her clock flashed 2 AM. She dabbed at the sweat collecting above her brow, her thin cotton night gown clung slightly to her slender body, damp with sweat.
She felt stifled; smothered. She had to get out; clear her mind and find some peace. Without a second thought, she arose from her bed and stole silently out of her bedroom and crept down the stairs, and out the back door.
The freedom of the early morning air beckoned her; calling for her to let go.
The moon beamed down upon a ghostly figure as it ran carefree through the woods; a long ebony mane flew trailing behind. Sarah sprinted, leaving her cares to be carried by the wind. She finally stopped, richly sucking in the beautiful crisp air of the early morning. Gasping, she clutched a sore throb in her side, but let out a laugh of delight as she reveled in the wonderful freedom of nature. She laughed childishly as she spread her arms wide and spun herself under the light of the moon. The night gown billowed open around her, inflated by the wind, reveling dainty cotton pink underwear. The dark of the morn enhanced the caress of the soft dewy grass on her uncovered feet. The scent of night blooming jasmine paraded across her nostrils. She wandered into a clearing, amid the trees, lit only by the pale face of the moon. She felt alive for the first time in ages.
As a child she spent countless hours dreaming and playing the day away amid the forest that existed beyond her back yard. It was here her wild imagination and fantasies were birthed. It was here she ran to when sad. It was here she ran to when rejoicing. It was here she danced, unhindered as showers of raindrops kissed and drenched her skin, leaving her soaked and breathless.
She stood reminiscing in the clearing, heart lighter at the happiness and security this place brought to her. Right in the middle of the clearing stood an old willow tree. Sarah glided towards the tree and sat gracefully against the trunk. Her night gown clung to her braless breast, as sweat and dew dampened her garb. She reclined and stared up through the branches at the pale face of the moon.
"Jareth." She thought, "Its all real." She sighed and looked down.
"Sarah you are such a silly child. He has forgotten about you! And besides he loathes you. You destroyed one of his castle rooms, you made a fool out of him, and you rejected him."
"I know!" she argued with herself. "I didn't understand what he was offering to give me.
NO! He is evil! He wanted to hurt me! AND he stole Toby!'
"At your request." Her thoughts countered.
"Would he still answer my call?" she wondered. "Would he hurt me?"
Her heart quickened at the thought. Fear crept into her mind.
"No. No. Its to dangerous. I can never submit to him! I have already won!" She thought arrogantly, yet her heart panged painfully, aware of the much deeper and more complicated emotions.
She drifted to sleep beneath the willow, engulfed in peaceful slumber at last.
A large white owl blinked its large, mismatched, blue eyes, as it sat watching over the soundly sleeping girl. As the sun broke into the sky, the bird took flight, and soared into the Underground. With a blink of his eyes, the owl transformed into the Goblin King, his cloak swishing around him like great black wings. A small sad smile played on is lips.
"My poor Sarah,' he thought, 'If only you knew."