Title: Whispers of Magic
Author: Kathea
Pairing: Jareth/Sarah
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Time will tarnish your memory but some things will never go away even if they are only whispers.
AN: Set at least 10 years after the movie with a very grown up Sarah and a Jareth that hasn't changed one bit but who would want him to?
Disclaimer: This story was written for my entertainment, if by some miracle you were also entertained then I am honored. I obviously make no money from this artistic venture.
Chapter 1: Ignorance is Bliss
Sarah sat on a plaid blanket in the dappled shade of an old maple tree. The shouts and giggles of little children filled the air as everyone enjoyed the first day of summer. Sarah watched as parents helped small children on the swings and older kids played a pick up game of rounder. All in all it was a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Her careful eyes watched two figures on the closest jungle gym. Two striking blond heads spun wildly about the bars and slides. She narrowed her eyes in caution as one figure crouched silently behind the other. Without thought, Sarah was on her feet and running. It wasn't motherly instinct, gut intuition, it was a split second vision of one small body tumbling off the highest part of the slide and landing face first in the sand. The years of running track served Sarah well as she raced over the grass to reach in the jungle gym in time. She saw the push, saw the flailing hands and saw the fall. The small body tumbled once, end over end, before Sarah caught him securely in her arms. Little arms wrapped around her neck and a small voice wailed into her ear. Sarah turned dark eyes up to the figure still standing on the bridge.
"Kara you get down from there right this second." The blond girl-child hung her head, curls covering her face and carefully climbed down the ladder. Silently she grasped Sarah's outstretched hand and followed along back towards the blanket in the shade. Kara settled on a sunny corner, waiting for the coming tirade. Sarah, and the boy, Kevan, sat in the center of the blanket.
"Kevan, sweetie, calm down. You aren't hurt. Come on baby, stop crying now." Kevan little red face turned up at Sarah's words. She brushed a soft hand across his tear streaked face and turned towards Kara who was silently crying. "Kara, why did you push your brother?"
"He wasn't supposed to fall!" Kara said hotly. "He wasn't sliding fast enough and I wanted to go down."
"Kara." Sarah said in the tone that meant business.
"I'm sorry Kevan." Kara said quietly at her brother. Kevan crawled over to his sister and engulfed her in a hug.
"It's okay, sissy. I'm fine." Kevan said holding his sister tightly. Sarah watched with an amused smile on her face. It didn't matter what Kara did or said, Kevan would always forgive his twin. It was a fact of life in their little family. Kara would do something to Kevan, Kevan would forgive her. Kevan would construct some devious plan and Kara would see that it was enacted. Kevan would get picked on and Kara would protect him. They were quite the pair of five year olds. Sarah leaned over scooped the two kids into her lap, holding them both close to her heart. It was quiet for a moment but then giggling interrupted the moment. Sarah looked down at the two seemingly innocent faces before little hands attacked her sides.
"Oh, no, not a tickle attack!" Sarah said in mock horror. Sarah rolled letting them have the advantage for a moment before holding both wiggling children to the ground. It was a ritual with them. Sarah admonished them, they were quiet, then they tickled Sarah. It was a nice little routine. The kids squealed as Sarah tickled them mercilessly.
"We yield, empress, we yield." They yelled simultaneously. Sarah pulled back partially and cocked an eyebrow. It was the signal for nap time. Kara and Kevan rolled into the sunny part of the blanket and curled around each other, more than ready for a little nap. Sarah, sighed and leaned back on her elbows and watched as their little bodies settled down. For these few precious hours, Kara and Kevan were hers. She wasn't their nanny and they weren't her clients. It was a dream, she knew, but she would relish the time all the same. In her heart they were her children, this vicarious motherhood was the only motherhood she could experience. The doctors had yet to determine exactly what kind of cancer had infiltrated her body and made a wasteland of her uterus.
The doctors had never used the word "barren" but Sarah's mind shouted it at her. She reached a hand down to brush over her stomach. In her mind, she could see it round and taut with life, a little foot kicking at the walls but in reality it was flat and smooth. It was useless and depressing to think about it. So, Sarah lay down, a protective arm across her "children" and let the warm sun and gentle breeze lull her to sleep.
Sarah held the heavy weight of her child in her arms. After a long and difficult labor, finally holding this miracle in her arms was like tasting heaven. The child lifted sleepy eyes towards its mother. A tiny hand curved around Sarah's finger and little lips suckled at her breast. The heavy pull of milk and warm comfort of another body had Sarah sighing in contentment. Another hand, a man's hand, brushed over the downy head of the child. Long fingers trailed across the child's body before brushing softly down Sarah's cheek. Emotions swelled in her heart, pride in what they had made, happiness that a dream had come true, and a love that surpassed all that. Sarah looked up to see the face that belonged to the hand but was blinded by the sun. There was the tinkling of bells, tiny high pitched pipes and then hands were grabbing her. For a moment, Sarah tried to linger in the pleasant surroundings of babe and lover but a sinister memory of hands pulling at her body jolted her from paradise.
"Miss Sarah, were you having a nightmare?" Kevan asked when Sarah was finally able to focus on the person holding her hand.
"What?" Sarah asked confused.
"You were saying something about a baby and letting go." Kara said promptly.
"Well, it wasn't a nightmare, silly. It's the daytime, you can't have nightmares during the day."
"Of course not," Kevan replied confident in Sarah response. Kara watched suspiciously but quickly joined Sarah and Kevan as they picked up their blanket.
"Come on my troopers, you've got chores to finish before dinner." Sarah said cheerily. She got the customary groans but the children followed beside her. She thought she heard the sound of chimes and a lilting melody and turned around to look back at the tree. The sun flashed in her eyes and suddenly there were rainbows of colors, like the sun going through a prism or a crystal. Sarah shook her head to clear her vision and turn back around. It was just a dream, Sarah chided herself. Nothing to get worked up over.
The evening passed in a blur as it usually did and Sarah was soon letting herself into her apartment. She slipped her sandals off at the door and dropped her mail on the kitchen table. It could wait until tomorrow. A quick warm shower and Sarah bundled herself into bed. A cool night breeze washed over her through the open window and the exhaustion of day with twin five-year-olds overtook any desire to stay awake.
All Sarah could see was the bright light burning her eyes. She tried to close them but the light still penetrated her lids. It shifted then, suddenly. It was no longer bright and jarring but now only a hazy white that was warm and misty. She heard then the tinkling bells and lilting notes that were becoming familiar. They sounded around her but as she turned to find the source the notes just moved with her. Again it changed until the notes and bells became music. It swirled and eddied around her until Sarah realized that the music wasn't moving but she was moving. Her body turning and spinning in a waltz that her mind said she shouldn't know. The mist around her began to clear and she could see flashes of mirrors. Sarah could see glimpses of herself as she moved in the steps of the dance. Careful hands gripped hers and Sarah was startled by the smooth leather gloves that held her bare hands. She tried to look up into that face certain it would make everything more clear but she couldn't make her head look up. She looked at the mirror as they turned but she could only see finely shaped legs and a strong back. Her partner began to spin her faster until the mirrors and mist became a blur and the music was no longer music but just notes and sounds, the pattern lost in the spinning.
Sarah gasped as she felt her body collapse and the misty turn blindingly white again. Sarah's last conscious thought before her tired mind gave over to dreamless sleep was that she wanted to know who she was dancing with, he seemed so familiar.
At 5:45 a.m. the sultry voice of Alicia Keys woke Sarah up from the blackness of sleep. Force of habit propelled Sarah from her warm bed and down the hall for a shower. As she stood under the hot spray, something niggled in the back of her mind, something about a dream but it was so vague, so formless that Sarah shrugged it off to stress and tried to forget.
AN2: I've already finished chapter 2 and will post it tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed it.