Stepping foot through the front door of the venue was like stepping foot into a fairy tale in which the target audience was young girls who dreamt of becoming princesses. Not the type who read "Labyrinth" and trudged the perimeter of bogs.
There were flowers and lace everywhere, followed by an inordinate amount of wedding signs proclaiming such things like, "Today I marry my best friend" and "Mr. Right loves his Mrs. Always Right". It was impossible to overlook the, "This way to love, laughter, and happily ever after" sign. Dozens of professional photographs of the couple were littered throughout it all. Most were captioned with "Claire and Thomas Forever" followed by more cheesy sayings. Karen would have been in heaven.
Try as she might, Sarah couldn't hide a small snort at the ridiculousness of her surroundings.
Jareth quirked a half smile.
"This Claire and Thomas must be true soulmates if this foyer is any indication.", He stated while they waited behind other guests to enter the main hall.
"Please," she quietly scoffed. "They met at a frat party."
"I've heard true love can be found in the most unlikely of places."
"The theme was pimps and hoes, Jareth." She deadpanned.
"Yet here we are in observance of holy matrimony."
Sarah rolled her eyes before he continued.
"This frat party you mentioned. Were you in attendance?"
"Well, yeah."
"So, I'm rather curious. Were you the pimp or the hoe?"
Sarah couldn't contain a laugh as she shook her head.
"I shouldn't have mentioned it!"
"I'm not judging. I'm simply trying to visualize the situation."
She gave him a look which he chose to ignore.
"I'm envisioning Thomas, the epitome of refined procurer, dressed in velvets standing amongst a throng of scantily clad women. Possibly some men as well. The hypnotic beat of music echoes through the room."
"Good grief. I wouldn't describe the Humpty Dance as having a hypnotic beat.", Sarah interrupted.
"Patience. I'll get to the part about you soon enough."
Her eyes lit up with laughter in response.
"Thomas's hat is tipped low. The brim limiting his eyesight. Then, suddenly, he hears the most enchanting voice cut through the crowd. Thomas turns his head every which way until, finally, his eyes land on the most angelic creature he has ever seen. Standing beside her in disguise, is our dear Champion."
"Ah, so was I dressed as a pimp or hoe in this little fantasy of yours?"
"Oh, yes. Let's see. You're standing beside this Clara woman-"
"Claire."
"Right, Claire. You, however, have adorned yourself with this very tiny, very tight, animal print number. Quite similar to that of the lovely woman ahead of us to the right."
Sarah looked forward. He had to be joking. Actually, the lady had to be. That dress was definitely something Sarah wouldn't be caught dead in. Not that it was ugly, but that it sent an undeniable signal. Someone was on the hunt tonight. And Sarah most assuredly was not.
"Not a chance.", she replied, giving him the side eye.
"Hmmm, is it Leopard print? Or possibly Cheetah. I never could remember the difference between the two. Regardless, it leaves very little to the imagination. Additionally, your legs are clad with black hose. The kind that it is almost irresistible when it comes to running hands along and tearing into."
"Wait, what?" She blurted in shock.
"Oh, and we can't forget the heels. Red heels. Very high ones too. Quite the ensemble." He concluded with a devilish smile.
"Ha, not even close!"
"Oh, do tell. How off was I?"
"Fine. Yes, I was dressed as a hoe, but, buuuuuuuuuut, I did it with style."
"Naturally."
"I know you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but I went as Julia Roberts from the movie "Pretty Woman". The scene where she has the blond bob wig with the bangs? I had the wig and everything. I had a pretty good copy of the blue spandex miniskirt. It was attached to a white tank top by this weird metal ring at the front."
Sarah was on a roll and rambled on much to Jareth's enjoyment. He wasn't the only one who liked costumes. And, obviously, Sarah still loved to dress up.
"Then the tank top part also had cut outs on either side so the midriff was exposed. And the boots! How I loved those boots! Believe me, your boot collection has nothing on that pair."
Jareth frowned at her last comment. Sarah continued on in ignorance.
"Too bad they were too skanky for every day though. They were absolutely amazing. I looked spot on. You wouldn't believe how many genuine compliments I got on it."
It was then that Sarah realized she was gushing. To the Goblin King. The man, creature, and/or person of ambiguous nature who fell into the miscellaneous category for specific species. And whom she had only been in extended proximity with on a handful of occasions.
"It seems I have some research to do.", he responded.
"What?"
"You've insulted the boots of a king. I hope it was worth the risk."
They reached the table that contained a guest book and seating plaques before she could respond. Sarah quickly signed it before looking for her name plaque with table number. She rolled her eyes when she found her name, along with "guest", seated at table thirteen.
"What are you doing?" She whispered upon looking over to find him with the pen in hand.
Jareth was signing the guestbook.
"Giving my well wishes to the happy couple."
She raised an eyebrow as she tried to decipher his handwriting. Jareth put the pen down and moved onward.
"Was the underground monarch part really necessary?"
"Absolutely."
"You know, on second thought, maybe Thomas isn't so bad." She looked back and said to him as they passed into the reception hall to find their table.
He chuckled under his breath.
"Yes, you've made him out to be quite the Prince Charming."
"I know. Aren't I generous?", she knowingly mocked.
It was Jareth's turn to scoff.
"Hardly."
Then he continued before she could reply.
"How fortunate that you're here with a king then."
Table thirteen lay just ahead.
Chapter Notes:
I apologize for the shorter chapter. It felt like it took forever to get them through that foyer and into the reception hall when I was writing it though.
Additionally, a simple Google Image Search of "Julia Roberts Pretty Woman outfit" will render Sarah's costume for the frat party.
You can do the same for The Humpty Dance by Digital Underground.
Both are references to 1990, a year that I imagine Sarah would spend attending university.
Thank you for reading!
