Chapter 25: Business and Pleasure
Sarah locked her door, pushed the bureau in front of it, and called him. She got the usual butterflies-in-her-stomach sensation, and then Jareth was there behind her, sliding his hands over her shoulders to pull her back against him. He bent and kissed her neck, making her gasp. His lips travelled up towards her ear, while his gloved hand caressed the side of her face. Sarah shivered as he breathed her name into her ear. "You called?" he said, his silvery voice a little rougher than usual.
Sarah turned around in his arms. "I did. I did want to talk, but now that you're here--" and she pulled his mouth down to hers.
Several very satisfying minutes later, Sarah pulled away, panting. "How do you do that to me?" she marvelled. "I never used to be like this!" Her body was humming with excitement.
"Neither did I," Jareth admitted with a smile. He cleared his throat. "What did you wish to speak of?" He was wearing jeans and a soft blue knit shirt.
"Are we going out?" she asked, indicating his attire.
She could have sworn that he flushed a little. "Not unless you'd like to. I'm finding the clothing of your world an… interesting change," he said. "So you spoke with Toby, then?"
"Yes, and he had some very impertinent questions," Sarah laughed.
"Are you sure about that? They might turn out to be pertinent after all!" Jareth teased.
"Let's wait and see, shall we? Anyway, he said something about the two of us visiting you this weekend."
"I thought we might make a reversal of your last trip. I'd like to show you some more of my castle, and Toby wanted to see some of the Labyrinth. You needn't worry; he'll be perfectly safe. I thought he could come for a day or two, and well -- you owe me four days, remember." He grinned. "I'd like them now, please. I can return you whenever you wish, so you don't have to concern yourself with classes."
"That… actually… sounds fun," Sarah said.
"So we're agreed, then. Hoggle will bring Toby through the mirror tomorrow, and I'll fetch you at the same time. Now then," he said briskly. "Tell me how your Management project went." He listened to Sarah's description of it, and agreed laughingly when she told him about her professor's compliment, that she was a good leader. He asked about her other studies, probed lightly into her plans for the future (other than business management, she didn't really have any), and quizzed her on politics and government.
They got into a discussion about the ways in which a monarchy differed from a democratic republic, but Sarah wasn't as familiar with monarchies as he was. Jareth stated that one ruler could lead a country either into greatness or ruin, but that if everyone fancied himself a ruler, as in a democracy, the consequences would be much worse.
Sarah neatly countered with the example of the British parliament, which was the governing body, with the monarch as more of a figurehead than anything else. They argued good-naturedly for quite some time before Sarah put her finger in the major flaw of his argument.
"You're assuming that the subjects have the collective I.Q. of a piece of moldy bread. Not every monarch rules over goblins, you know!"
Jareth was surprised into a laugh. "There is that," he admitted. He gave her an admiring look. "Sarah, you should have gone into law, or politics. You seem to have rather a talent for it."
Sarah scoffed. "Right, like I can see me in politics. I wouldn't get elected to anything, Jareth -- I still have ethics!"
"How very old-fashioned of you," he teased. "We'll have to find a place to put your considerable talents to good use, then. Maybe you can give me some good advice while you're visiting my kingdom."
"I'd think twice about taking it, if I were you," Sarah warned. "All that information you dumped into my head seems to have faded away. I can't remember much of it at all!"
"It will come to you as you need it," Jareth told her.
Sarah gave him a rueful grin. "So now even my brain is on a 'need to know' basis?" she asked. "This is getting frustrating! Jareth, when am I going to start finding out some of this stuff?"
"Tomorrow," he promised. "And now I must go and arrange for your visit." He kissed her lightly and was gone.
"My!" Sarah quoted from one of her favourite movies. "People come and go so quickly here!"
A/N: All right, anyone who recognizes the movie quote AND can tell me the connection between it and Labyrinth will get a special (imaginary) magical crystal ball. If you look into it, you'll see a young girl on a quest. She's wandering around ina strange, magicalcountry filled with fantastical beasts and weird people. And if you turn it this way, you'll see "her little dog, too!"
Hope my fluff-seekers found enough of it in this chapter to last them a while. :)
That's all for this batch of chapters, and y'all are going to have to be patient because I'm going away for the weekend. It's my anniversary, and much as I love my faithful readers, I like my husband even more. So I'll be uploading another batch on Monday when I get back. Wish me happy anniversary!