Title: The Labyrinth: The Way Back
Author: Aviry Nolane - slvrluna47@aol.com
Date: Dec 1, 2002.
Notes: yes, yes, this is probably it for the weekend, maybe a few days.
I've been on a roll! This should hold you, the story is finally getting to
the point I want it!! It's going to be long, I warn you, so beware of
chapter length.
b Chapter 5b - Misconstrued /b
It had been a long morning.
Sarah had taken her fill of fretting over the Goblin King like some prudent nursemaid when all he seemed to do was silently mock her, even in his sleep.
'how can he look so damn condescending if he's unconscious?' Sarah spat inside her head.
The wound she had left on his head hadn't healed from what she could see and if anything it only looked to be becoming worse.
Sarah only remembered it as a slight scrape when Mark had lain him down, and now by all accounts it was a savage ripping of the skin that extended past his hairline.
Admittedly, Sarah was rather surprised to see that he bled red blood, or that he bled at all really.
But despite her concern over his condition, she was quite done with being a silent observer in all this. She had wrapped his wound the best she knew how and tried to make him comfortable by throwing any blanket like object she owned over his sleeping form, including her jacket and sweater. The greater part of her morning had been spent pacing anxiously around her office space and tapping her pencil against nearby objects.
Yes, she had done all she could, now all that she had to do was wait.
However, as the door was practically being beaten down by her associates, she had no choice but to get back to work.
She was going to have to leave his side sometime.
Deciding to check his pulse a final time before she left, she sank down to her knees beside him. Using a feather light sweeping of her fingertips, she brushed some stray fine blond strands of hair away from his temples and smoothed them aside.
Concern washed over her face for what was not the first time that morning.
She let out a belated sigh after a moment and let her hand drift down the scope of his jaw line, proving to herself that he was real.
His skin was warm beneath her touch and again she found herself surprised. It wasn't that she had expected him to be carved out of marble or anything, it was just that the fearsome Goblin King was turning out to be more human than she had ever thought him to be.
She took a moment to let this thought settle. She couldn't remember his skin being so warm when she had dressed his wound earlier. What if he was developing a fever? But that thought seemed unlikely, he wasn't overly heated, in fact - his temperature was beginning to seem rather healthy.
He was almost.I mortal. /I
She nearly slapped herself. "Oh Sarah," she mused to herself, "You stupid girl."
All at once her smile faded as the brow of the Goblin King arched and knotted in a pained expression. He raised his hand and massaged his forehead lightly with a gloved hand.
There was a sudden stillness to the room as a rigid Sarah awaited his first words.
One almost wonders what she would have done if he had never said anything. Odds are that she would still be sitting there, stiff as a board, waiting for some confirmation.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, she didn't wait long.
"What an odd coincidence Sarah. That's just what I was thinking."
His eyes flashed open at this and Sarah was frozen by a mixture of horror and confusion. His hand moved across his face and gripped hers in a violent clasp. She gasped, alarmed.
Dear God, had she still been touching him?
Her eyes locked with his as his gloved grip burned white hot flames down her arm. She winced, trying to pull away, but found herself locked to his intense gaze by some power she found it impossible to fight. He was horrifying.
"Don't," he seethed, "touch me."
She could have been the next body warming the couch if he hadn't done what he did next, and by all appearances he knew it.
He blinked, looked away, and dropped her arm as an afterthought.
Suddenly, she stood and moved away with an agility that she hadn't known she possessed a moment ago.
The room was silent again, and Sarah gaped wide-eyed for a pencil to tap on something.
"Ah Sarah," voiced Jareth as he sat up from the makeshift bedding. "Reunions, reunions." He raised an eyebrow at her as he pushed the blanketed coverings away from him. "They seem to go so very well for us."
She let out a brief gibe at this and kept her further answer to herself.
"I'm glad you agree."
She said nothing and Jareth tried to summon a crystal, to no avail. He stared at his empty hand for a moment, eyes revealing nothing, and finally looked back up to Sarah's staunch form.
"Oh Sarah, you fool."
She stomped over to where he sat in an angry haze and glowered down at him. "Me? Me?! Please Jareth, explain to me how I am the fool here. Why you conniving, no good, lower than -"
His look made her objections fade to dormancy.
"What did you strike me with Sarah?"
She stayed silent, lips pursed and arms crossed defiantly.
"Dear Lady," he continued in a mocking tone, "I'd love to answer the question myself without trying your patience, but I really hadn't time to see it coming. If you'll remember."
He waited, the brat had to chip in some time.
"A frying pan." She admitted, feeling rather foolish.
"And what I material /I was it composed of, precious?" he baited after her.
"Oh, I don't know Jareth. Some metal? Iron?"
He raised an eyebrow.
Realization hit her.
"Oh, Jareth I didn't even think."
He rose from the couch and towered over her. "No, you didn't." He spat, glaring icily down at her. They stood there for a moment, gathering their thoughts - and all at once Jareth remembered his purpose there today. His purpose which thanks to Sir Didymus, Sarah knew nothing about.
Perhaps the gift basket wasn't premature at all.
His icy sneer melted away into a well-calculated smile as he gauged Sarah's reaction.
"No real harm done I suppose. I'll have a hearty bruise for awhile I'll wager, but I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle while I'm here."
She gaped, voiceless.
What? Where was the defiant Goblin King whose only joy as far as she knew was found in foiling her every turn, who was seemingly deeply dependant on her discomfort. If she didn't known better, she'd say he was being amiable.
Of course his entire statement hadn't yet hit her. Sarah was still stuck on the "No real harm" part of his remark.
But she did know better, as most do when it comes to the seemingly "good turns" of the Goblin King's favor.
What had he just said? "we?. while I'm."
"While you're where now?" She ensued.
He seemed prepared for this question. Too prepared, as if he had planned it.
Which, of course, he was.
This frightened her.
As, of course, it should have.
"While I'm here. With you."
She could only stare for a moment. "I'm sorry?"
He waved his hand dismissingly. "You should be, but I am prepared to forgive you."
"Excuse me?" She retorted.
"Hush Sarah, I'm trying to talk to you." He caught the look in her eye.
No, this was not going well. He was going to need that gift basket back if this went on much longer.
And he was sure it would.
She fumed, but stayed silent, and so he continued. "When you did - what you did, the iron made contact with my bloodstream momentarily." He paused here to glare at her with unbridled anger. He may be trying to win her over, yes, but he wasn't about to let her walk all over him, or continue to beat him over the head with kitchenry. "Iron is deadly to fae." He snapped again.
It occurred to her that he kept pausing after every point he made as if she were a mindless child or should be scribing down notes.
"And I, Sarah, am fae."
He glowered at her, pausing again. 'Okay Jareth,' she snipped to herself, 'I get it.'
"So, while you didn't manage to kill me-"
All this labored pausing was beginning to piss her off. She had started to loose sigh of what he was saying and instead focused on his angry sentence breaks.
"- you have made me. impaired."
He fell down on the leather cushions behind him at this, back still held erect. "It is a three day cycle."
Had she missed something?
"Did I miss something here, Jareth? What exactly is a three day cycle?"
He leapt to his feet and she was startled enough to lean backwards as he stomped towards her, fury gnawing at the edges of his purposeful actions. He detested her for making him say the word.
But so be it.
"I am. mortal."
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
ohhh. stimulating, eh? What do you think??
b Chapter 5b - Misconstrued /b
It had been a long morning.
Sarah had taken her fill of fretting over the Goblin King like some prudent nursemaid when all he seemed to do was silently mock her, even in his sleep.
'how can he look so damn condescending if he's unconscious?' Sarah spat inside her head.
The wound she had left on his head hadn't healed from what she could see and if anything it only looked to be becoming worse.
Sarah only remembered it as a slight scrape when Mark had lain him down, and now by all accounts it was a savage ripping of the skin that extended past his hairline.
Admittedly, Sarah was rather surprised to see that he bled red blood, or that he bled at all really.
But despite her concern over his condition, she was quite done with being a silent observer in all this. She had wrapped his wound the best she knew how and tried to make him comfortable by throwing any blanket like object she owned over his sleeping form, including her jacket and sweater. The greater part of her morning had been spent pacing anxiously around her office space and tapping her pencil against nearby objects.
Yes, she had done all she could, now all that she had to do was wait.
However, as the door was practically being beaten down by her associates, she had no choice but to get back to work.
She was going to have to leave his side sometime.
Deciding to check his pulse a final time before she left, she sank down to her knees beside him. Using a feather light sweeping of her fingertips, she brushed some stray fine blond strands of hair away from his temples and smoothed them aside.
Concern washed over her face for what was not the first time that morning.
She let out a belated sigh after a moment and let her hand drift down the scope of his jaw line, proving to herself that he was real.
His skin was warm beneath her touch and again she found herself surprised. It wasn't that she had expected him to be carved out of marble or anything, it was just that the fearsome Goblin King was turning out to be more human than she had ever thought him to be.
She took a moment to let this thought settle. She couldn't remember his skin being so warm when she had dressed his wound earlier. What if he was developing a fever? But that thought seemed unlikely, he wasn't overly heated, in fact - his temperature was beginning to seem rather healthy.
He was almost.I mortal. /I
She nearly slapped herself. "Oh Sarah," she mused to herself, "You stupid girl."
All at once her smile faded as the brow of the Goblin King arched and knotted in a pained expression. He raised his hand and massaged his forehead lightly with a gloved hand.
There was a sudden stillness to the room as a rigid Sarah awaited his first words.
One almost wonders what she would have done if he had never said anything. Odds are that she would still be sitting there, stiff as a board, waiting for some confirmation.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, she didn't wait long.
"What an odd coincidence Sarah. That's just what I was thinking."
His eyes flashed open at this and Sarah was frozen by a mixture of horror and confusion. His hand moved across his face and gripped hers in a violent clasp. She gasped, alarmed.
Dear God, had she still been touching him?
Her eyes locked with his as his gloved grip burned white hot flames down her arm. She winced, trying to pull away, but found herself locked to his intense gaze by some power she found it impossible to fight. He was horrifying.
"Don't," he seethed, "touch me."
She could have been the next body warming the couch if he hadn't done what he did next, and by all appearances he knew it.
He blinked, looked away, and dropped her arm as an afterthought.
Suddenly, she stood and moved away with an agility that she hadn't known she possessed a moment ago.
The room was silent again, and Sarah gaped wide-eyed for a pencil to tap on something.
"Ah Sarah," voiced Jareth as he sat up from the makeshift bedding. "Reunions, reunions." He raised an eyebrow at her as he pushed the blanketed coverings away from him. "They seem to go so very well for us."
She let out a brief gibe at this and kept her further answer to herself.
"I'm glad you agree."
She said nothing and Jareth tried to summon a crystal, to no avail. He stared at his empty hand for a moment, eyes revealing nothing, and finally looked back up to Sarah's staunch form.
"Oh Sarah, you fool."
She stomped over to where he sat in an angry haze and glowered down at him. "Me? Me?! Please Jareth, explain to me how I am the fool here. Why you conniving, no good, lower than -"
His look made her objections fade to dormancy.
"What did you strike me with Sarah?"
She stayed silent, lips pursed and arms crossed defiantly.
"Dear Lady," he continued in a mocking tone, "I'd love to answer the question myself without trying your patience, but I really hadn't time to see it coming. If you'll remember."
He waited, the brat had to chip in some time.
"A frying pan." She admitted, feeling rather foolish.
"And what I material /I was it composed of, precious?" he baited after her.
"Oh, I don't know Jareth. Some metal? Iron?"
He raised an eyebrow.
Realization hit her.
"Oh, Jareth I didn't even think."
He rose from the couch and towered over her. "No, you didn't." He spat, glaring icily down at her. They stood there for a moment, gathering their thoughts - and all at once Jareth remembered his purpose there today. His purpose which thanks to Sir Didymus, Sarah knew nothing about.
Perhaps the gift basket wasn't premature at all.
His icy sneer melted away into a well-calculated smile as he gauged Sarah's reaction.
"No real harm done I suppose. I'll have a hearty bruise for awhile I'll wager, but I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle while I'm here."
She gaped, voiceless.
What? Where was the defiant Goblin King whose only joy as far as she knew was found in foiling her every turn, who was seemingly deeply dependant on her discomfort. If she didn't known better, she'd say he was being amiable.
Of course his entire statement hadn't yet hit her. Sarah was still stuck on the "No real harm" part of his remark.
But she did know better, as most do when it comes to the seemingly "good turns" of the Goblin King's favor.
What had he just said? "we?. while I'm."
"While you're where now?" She ensued.
He seemed prepared for this question. Too prepared, as if he had planned it.
Which, of course, he was.
This frightened her.
As, of course, it should have.
"While I'm here. With you."
She could only stare for a moment. "I'm sorry?"
He waved his hand dismissingly. "You should be, but I am prepared to forgive you."
"Excuse me?" She retorted.
"Hush Sarah, I'm trying to talk to you." He caught the look in her eye.
No, this was not going well. He was going to need that gift basket back if this went on much longer.
And he was sure it would.
She fumed, but stayed silent, and so he continued. "When you did - what you did, the iron made contact with my bloodstream momentarily." He paused here to glare at her with unbridled anger. He may be trying to win her over, yes, but he wasn't about to let her walk all over him, or continue to beat him over the head with kitchenry. "Iron is deadly to fae." He snapped again.
It occurred to her that he kept pausing after every point he made as if she were a mindless child or should be scribing down notes.
"And I, Sarah, am fae."
He glowered at her, pausing again. 'Okay Jareth,' she snipped to herself, 'I get it.'
"So, while you didn't manage to kill me-"
All this labored pausing was beginning to piss her off. She had started to loose sigh of what he was saying and instead focused on his angry sentence breaks.
"- you have made me. impaired."
He fell down on the leather cushions behind him at this, back still held erect. "It is a three day cycle."
Had she missed something?
"Did I miss something here, Jareth? What exactly is a three day cycle?"
He leapt to his feet and she was startled enough to lean backwards as he stomped towards her, fury gnawing at the edges of his purposeful actions. He detested her for making him say the word.
But so be it.
"I am. mortal."
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
ohhh. stimulating, eh? What do you think??
