A/N: I know it's a bit short, but this chapter was mainly for me. They don't all have to be deep, heavy, plot-advancing chapters, do they? This one is just me having fun.
Chapter 32: You Can't Take Anything for Granted
As the door clicked shut behind him, Sarah leaped from the bed. Seeing a door opposite her bed, she went in and was pleased to discover a pseudo-modern bathroom. Each appliance was in its separate compartment. The bathtub, she was pleased to note, was huge and claw-footed. There was a face painted on it, and it seemed to lurk in the corner of the bathroom. "Oh, goody," Sarah said sarcastically. "No faucets."
The tub growled at her.
"I beg your pardon," she said politely. "I just don't know how to fill you up with water."
"Try asking," replied the tub in a snarky tone of voice.
"Uh… would you please fill with water so that I can bathe?" Sarah asked.
The tub considered her request for a scant second before replying, "Nope. The king's waiting for you. Bad form, to keep the king waiting. Better you just ask to be clean, and save the bath for later. You'll need it."
Sarah frowned. "Uh… may I please… be clean?" she ventured.
The tub rolled its eyes at her and blinked once. Suddenly, Sarah felt clean and refreshed. She was wearing clean underclothes and her hair was even styled properly! "Thank you!" she told the tub. "That was incredibly helpful!"
"Right, now hurry and dress!" the tub scolded her.
Sarah ran out and pulled on the jeans, snapped them up and reached for the shirt. It was a familiar style: white, loose, and billowy. Suddenly suspicious, she peeked at her shoes under the bed. She pulled them out.
Sure enough, they had transformed into a pair of high leather boots overnight, a close match to the ones the Goblin King stalked around in. With a sigh of mock-exasperation, she pulled on the shirt and tucked it in, then pulled on the boots. In the mirror beside the wardrobe, she looked like an exact match for Jareth himself. "Guess I should be glad he didn't make me wear a copy of his pendant as well," she said to herself as she patted her hair into place and strode toward the door.
"That'll come later," the tub remarked to itself with a smirk after Sarah left the room.