Ch 5

Jareth

She did not see me for a long time, although I perched right in front of her window. So I simply watched her. She looked troubled, and I felt the strange urge to make her troubles go away. I shook off this urge, telling myself the Goblin King comforts no one.

Finally, I grew tired of sitting and watching, of having her so near and doing nothing about it. I tapped on the window to get her attention and saw her startled look. I watched the different emotions cross her face, swearing I saw her eyes brighten as she saw me, then dim as she looked away. I decided I'd had enough of this watching, so I appeared to her.

She seems startled to see me, almost fearful, and I almost speak, not wanting her to fear me, but I don't. We stare at each for an indeterminable amount of time, and I think I see something flash in her eyes, but I can't be certain. I only know that looking at her makes me feel what I have tried to repress for so long. I am torn between wanting to simply love her or wanting to hate her for making me love her.

I see her watching me closely, and I step closer to her. She looks unsure but still I continue to approach. When I am directly in front of her, I see in her eyes that she fears me, perhaps not always, but at this moment in time she fears me, and I want to take that fear away so lean down and kiss her, harder than I meant to, but it can't be helped. Love makes one act foolish.

I am surprised that she is responding, but not unpleasantly surprised. She moves her body closer as her lips seek mine. I pull her close and caress her tongue with mine, delighting in the soft whimper it elicits from her. I love you. I realize I am close to saying this, and abruptly push her away.

She looks at me with wide eyes, and I can see she is unsure of what is happening. I want to go to her, to comfort her, to love her, but I cannot. What stops me, I don't know. Perhaps it is simply my foolish pride, not able to withstand another rejection.

She looks at me, warily. What stops us from speaking, I don't know. It has been so long since we have last spoken, and I shudder as I recall what her last words to me where.

You have no power over me.

How I loathed her at that moment! Such a foolish girl, could she not see I was offering her her dreams? And yet she turned me down, rejected me, rejected my love. I narrow my eyes at her as a thought occurs to me. Does she know I love her? I don't know, and I can read nothing in her eyes. But I wonder if she truly does not understand, or perhaps she does understand and does not want me. No, I have to push that thought aside, for at this moment in time I could not bear the thought of her rejecting me. It is easy to admit my love for her to myself when she is right in front of me. So beautiful, so fragile…fragile? I frown at that, for the girl I remembered was stubborn, willful, anything but fragile. What had happened to her?

I need time to process these thoughts running through my head, and I know nothing will be accomplished tonight, at least nothing more than that foolish kiss. I look at her. I love you. Then I am once again an owl and fly away into the night.

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A/N: AngelaScarlet, I agree--I can't stand it when Sarah slaps Jareth! I have this story finished and uploaded, so I may post the rest today, no point in delaying it. Thank you all for reading, and don't forget to review!