Chapter 6
Fate, this could only be
Fate, I never thought I'd believe in
Fate, now I understand
A vast dusty plain was all Sarah could see as she stood on top of a hill. When she looked up, birds flew overhead, in a V formation, trying to arrive at their destination quickly.
Where am I? she thought as she spun around. Sarah stopped moving, shocked to see a figure standing ahead of her. His silhouette was dark, yet she was able to take note of his wild hair, a style she had never seen before, and a flowing cloak of some sort on his person. Beyond him was a looming castle surrounded by inky darkness.
"Hello?" she called out, yet he failed to respond. She took a step forward which seemed to garner his attention as he slowly turned in order to face her. Sarah noticed his nearly shoulder length blonde hair waving in the breeze. Before she was able to see his face, the world around her disappeared.
Waking up feeling startled, Sarah shot up straight in her bed, clutching her chest and panting.
"Did I frighten you?"
"AH!" she screamed, suddenly noticing Jareth standing in the corner of her room. Sarah clutched the sheet and comforter around her body, thankful that they didn't fall down when she woke up. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"You said to make myself at home while I was here," Jareth stated, still staying in the corner, his face obscured by shadows.
"Boundaries," Sarah seethed. "Do you know what boundaries are?"
"I've heard of the concept," he said, sounding bored with the conversation and the concept as a whole. "It seems tedious."
"And I never said that you could make yourself at home. I said that you are entitled to your space. What are you doing here? In my room?" she demanded. "I. Am. Naked."
Stepping out of the shadows to display a mischievous grin, Jareth answered, "I'm well aware of this fact."
"Get out. Now," Sarah demanded, pointing to the door. Without protest, the otherworldly being went to the door as directed and left. "Unbelievable." She hopped out of bed before quickly putting on some underwear and a robe, rapidly tying the sash around her waist.
When Sarah walked out of her bedroom into the sitting room, she noticed Jareth standing in front of the vinyl record player located in the nook as though he were studying it.
"It plays music," Sarah explained as she glided the dimmer switch to turn on the overhead lights just enough for her not to get a headache from too much light.
"I know what it is," he said, defensively as he turned to face her.
"Okay, if you say so," she smirked, sitting down on the large, grey transitional couch. "So, what is so important that you couldn't wait until morning? Oh, and you look better by the way."
"Actually," he said while briefly looked down to consider his hands. "I do feel a little better."
"Well, at least something good came out of it," she muttered. Jareth said nothing but gave her a curious look. Sarah rubbed the back of her neck, realizing that he had no idea what she was talking about. "You were out for nearly four days. That was fun."
"Four days?" Jareth replied, stunned.
"Yeah," she answered with a yawn. "You went to rest for a little bit following our amazing chat, and then, you didn't wake up again until now."
"That's not possible," he said as his brows furrowed in confusion.
"That is a weird fact to push back on considering I was the one that was awake and noticed that you were asleep," Sarah said, rolling her eyes. He walked over to the couch before collapsing next to her. "Do you have your magic back?"
"No," he replied. "The only good that has come from my slumber it seems is my ability to put on clothes without any issue."
One of Sarah's brows rose in curiosity. "There were issues?"
"We don't need to discuss any of that," Jareth hastily said as he looked away from her to gaze at the rest of the room. There was a small pause. "Are all those bags of clothes for me?"
"Um, yeah," Sarah said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I doubt you would want to wear the same thing every day. Plus, what you are wearing now isn't suited to this… century."
Jareth turned to give her an annoyed glare.
"What? You know it's true," she stated. "I kept the receipts if you don't fit into anything or hate it with a fiery passion. I basically bought everything in slim. Seems to be your style."
"Thank you," he muttered under his breath. If he was ever going to pick a time to argue with Sarah, he wouldn't do it over her generosity, even if she did manage to insult his regular way of dressing.
"Yeah. Whatever. Is there a reason why you showed up in my room? Besides being aggravating?" Sarah asked, turning on the couch to address him. "Which is a personality trait of yours, I'm guessing." Jareth simply gave a noncommittal shrug and a slight smile to her accusation. "So if there wasn't a reason, then I need to tell you about something."
"Did you actually manage to find something in those books?" he asked.
"No, I haven't had a chance to look, but…" She stopped to remember. "I think I was dreaming."
Jareth turned to face her. "What do you mean when you say that you think?" he harshly questioned.
"Okay. I was," Sarah answered, more sure of herself this time. "I was asleep, and instead of darkness, I saw… things. Like I was living in a movie. I think that's how it used to be. And that hasn't happened in years. You said you don't feel your magic returning but maybe…Is it because of you?"
"Possibly," he answered, rubbing his chin in contemplation. "That is a very interesting prospect nonetheless. Are you able to ask others if they experienced the same thing?"
Sarah looked over to see the clock. "Considering it's the middle of the night," she said. "I haven't told anyone about this but you."
"Are you able to summon someone now?" he asked.
"Summon?" Sarah repeated. "You mean calling someone on the phone?"
"If that's what you use," Jareth scoffed. "Whatever you call that bizarre technology."
"Everything is so weird with you," she mused to herself. "And no, I'm not calling anyone this early."
"You call this early?"
Sarah stood up from the couch. "And with that, I need to get back to bed. It's nearly four in the morning." She walked back to her bedroom door. "I'll let you know if anything else weird happens when I wake up at a normal time."
"And what am I supposed to do in the mean while?" Jareth asked, disbelieving that he was being left alone.
Sarah pointed to the few large books on the coffee table. "You should learn more about fashion or the universe. I have those books out for a reason."
"I'm insulted that you believe I lack knowledge in those things."
"Be insulted all you want," she stated as she reached her bedroom door. "I'm going to bed."
Sarah woke to the sun shining in her face since she forgot to close the curtains before going to bed. She turned her head to either side, popping her neck as she remembered being rudely intruded upon by her odd house guest.
"God, he's such a weirdo," she mumbled to herself as she moved off her bed. Grabbing her robe and cinching it around her waist, she walked to the door, intending to start a kettle of water for tea. Not quite awake, she turned the knob to open the door.
"Holy shit!" Sarah exclaimed as she jumped back nearly two feet, startled by Jareth's frame blocking the door, his pleased appearing eyes gazing down at her.
"Now, when you say weirdo, am I to assume that humans use that as a term of affection, such as clever or indescribably attractive," he smirked with his arms cross over his chest.
Her hand flew to her chest in shock. "Wh-What? You could hear me?" she asked. "What the hell? Were you just standing by my door, waiting for me? That's weird as hell."
"No. I was in your sitting area, reading a book," he stated, holding up the paperback that was previously folded in his arm. "I came over when I heard you speaking such things about me."
Sarah looked past him to make sure the sitting area didn't move. "How the hell did you hear from there?"
"I might be getting some of my abilities back," he smirked. "At least, one of them."
"And it's super hearing?" she exclaimed.
Jareth chuckled. "Seems I haven't told you everything about how incredible I am."
"You know what? I'm going to shower and then you can tell me all of the many other fabulous abilities you have," Sarah said while closing the door. Seeing the wide grin forming across his face, she said, "And keep it clean, weirdo."
As Sarah walked toward her bathroom, she was alarmed again- this time by the boisterous laughter coming from the other side of the door.
Reclining in a high back chair, Jareth was tempted to turn on the record player in order to distract him from the ringing phone and the subsequent conversation Sarah was having in her bedroom. He was extremely inclined to listen to her conversation because he was always wanted to listen to her. However, due to the events of last night, he decided that he would try a thing he once heard called restraint since Sarah asked ever so nicely. However, if he had to occasionally capitulate to a few human quirks and customs, then he would do so if it meant not upsetting his favorite human.
Well, he smirked as he read his book. Not upset her too much. Jareth let out a snort as he turned the page of his book. Sarah would simply have to learn to suffer through his idiosyncrasies. He would see to make it up to her if she allows him to. Oh, and how wished for that day to come. Although he was hit the unbelievable news that humans no longer dream, Jareth has realized that his few waking moments have revolved around Sarah. Even when he sleeps, he dreams the same dream he had before waking in Sarah's home. It had to mean something, he concluded. Yes, the only time he had repeated dreams where with Sarah. But why did the dream Sarah ask him what he was going to do?
Did this involve the labyrinth alone?
His entrapment that lasted over a decade?
Or did this have to deal with his mulling over the potential consequences of telling Sarah about him and her time in the labyrinth?
"Damn," he hissed as he shut the book and throwing it on coffee table. He tried his best to not dwell on his castle, labyrinth, and kingdom. Worrying about his lack of powers was enough. He might go mad if he sat to think about the place he has called a refuge for eons. The world being devoid of dreams was another tragedy in need of fixing.
The sound of Sarah's door opening was a merciful break for his rambling thoughts. Jareth turned around to see her standing there, looking a bit apprehensive as he a device he recognized as a wireless phone in her hands. She was outfitted in a floral floor-length wrapped dress with her hair down. Jareth felt himself staring but couldn't take his eyes away from her even if he wanted to. Yes, the green throughout the dress accentuated her eyes, but he would be insincere to himself he said he didn't take note of the fabric hugging her curves in the most tantalizing way. For now on, he would have to find ways to dissuade her from wearing those dreadful sweaters. Thankfully for him, Sarah didn't notice his roving eye since she was looking down at the floor.
"Um," she began. "There is an errand that I need deal with real quick. Um, this is odd because you've always been asleep when I left."
"I would love to go with you," Jareth proclaimed, standing up in earnest. As soon as he stood, he felt his knees begin to buckle, and Sarah saw his eyes roll to the back of his head.
"Oh no, you don't," Sarah said as she rushed to his side, easing him back to the chair. She crouched next to the chair and placed a hand over his. "It's just right around the corner; I'll be right back. I promise. Besides, it will be very boring, and you would hate it." If she was being honest with herself, she was more concerned with having him tag along rather than whether or not he could endure the trip. "Also, you're wearing your old clothing. Don't want to bring any unwanted attention, right?"
Jareth let out a grumble as he slowly shook his head. He leaned back in his chair and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.
"I promise I don't plan to keep you in here forever," she stated, her contrite eyes gazing up at his frustrated ones. Looking down at their joined hands, Jareth resisted making a fuss as he lifted her hand to place a kiss on the back of her hand. He eschewed Sarah's help as he stood and ambled toward his room.
When he reached his room, he muttered, "Please hurry back, Precious." Then, he shut the door, leaving Sarah standing alone as she stared at the door with sadness and confusion.
After a short five minute walk, Sarah arrived at her attorney's office. Another five minutes was spent waiting in the reception area before Luciana escorted Sarah into her office.
"I'm sorry to make you come down to the office," Luciana said as she closed the door behind her client. Sarah collapsed in a chair across from the desk and unceremoniously dropped her purse on the floor.
"What do I need to sign and how long will it take to get to the judge this time?" Sarah asked. Luciana let out a huff as she took her seat behind her desk.
"It's not quite that simple," the attorney said, reaching for Sarah's file. Not appreciating the tone that she heard, Sarah sat up straight in her chair.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked. "You said you were going to file for default judgment."
"I was…"
"Was?" Sarah interrupted. "This was supposed to be done. You said forty five days."
"Yes, well," Luciana said as she pulled out several sheets of paper from the manila folder. "I ran into one of Patrick's attorneys at the courthouse when I went to file, and he had papers of his own to file." She handed the papers to Sarah. "After a heated discussion, I convinced him not to file his papers if I don't file mine yet. We've been at it over the phone ever since."
"Patrick wants my townhome?" Sarah blurted out.
"Well, actually to sell it and split the profits fifty-fifty," she clarified.
"What the hell, Luciana?" Sarah exclaimed.
"His original filings were worse," she stated. "Patrick wanted all the property and assets sold and split between the two of you, including the townhome and your shop."
"This is bullshit. We already agreed to all this," Sarah seethed. "No. I won't agree to this. I'll give up my claim to the beach house, but that's it. I'm keeping my home and business."
Luciana tried her best to not roll her eyes. "Yes, I know. I wasn't expecting you to agree to this, and I wasn't trying to coax you into doing so."
"Then, what do we do now?" Sarah asked before being handed more papers.
"I need you to sign these," she said. "We're filing the default judgment, but this time claiming Patrick is just using the divorce to control and manipulate you. You will keep your home, the shop, and now with alimony and attorney's fees. He's been trying to bleed you dry so you would drop the divorce. If anyone deserves alimony, it's you."
Sarah did her best to not groan as she quickly read over the filings. Years ago, she told her attorney that she didn't want alimony or attorney's fees, believing that the divorce would be over faster if she didn't. She could laugh at her naïveté.
"And this should work?" Sarah asked.
Luciana inhaled and then released a heavy sigh. "It… should. I laid it all out in there. You don't have any children together. Yes, there are a lot of assets, but the judge should take into account that he is keeping most of them. A divorce with no minor children- no right thinking judge should believe that it should take this long, especially when Patrick pulled this latest stunt."
"Fine," Sarah muttered. "Hand me a pen. I need to get home." Luciana grabbed a pen from the cluster that were in a holder and handed it to her client.
"Oh, have a date waiting for you?"
Sarah briefly lifted her head from the paper to glare at her.
"What?" she asked, innocently. "Past time for you to move on if you ask me."
"Well, I didn't," Sarah snipped, signing the last page.
"Sorry," Luciana said softly. "I was just trying to bring levity. I know these few years haven't been easy on you."
Sarah grabbed her purse and stood from her seat. "More like the past fucking decade." She sighed as she made her way towards the door. "It's really hard to move on when someone won't let you."
Mabon paced the area of his library as he quietly muttered his various thoughts that flooded his mind. His long grey hair was tied behind his back, allowing him to occasionally pull on the bundled strains in annoyance. The children of Janus were never close as one would assume a family to be. However, Mabon simply could not stand by these several years as their oldest sibling wasted away in the human realm. He knew deep down that this was a fool's errand. The only ones who were powerful enough to breakthrough whatever spell in order to find Jareth were Janus and Elisabeta, and neither two would budge on the issue.
He finally stopped his movements before letting out a frustrated groan.
Mabon reached out to form a large crystal in front of him. "One more time."
"It won't work," a scratchy yet deep masculine voice said behind him. "Your magic is not strong enough to find him."
"But of course, you already know that," finished the ominous yet light feminine voice.
Mabon spun around to see the Twins. He should be shocked to see them, not due to any of his own disobedient actions, but because the Twins never met with anyone. His purple eyes widened in surprised as he gawked at the black haired duo who finally decided to grace anyone's presence, let alone his.
"Nice to see you," Mabon said warily. "How long has it been? Nine centuries?"
"Ten," the male twin said with a pointed smile. His hair was black and pin strait. It covered half his face, allowing only one of his pure white eyes to be shown.
"Why are you here, wasting your time?" the other twin said. Her hair was also pitch black, straight yet allowed both of her grey clouded eyes to be displayed. They were quite petite, coming up only to Mabon stomach in height.
"Because I have to do something!" Mabon said.
"Such a strong familial bound," the female said. "Disobeying orders for the sake of our sibling?"
"Such an odd emotion coming from any of us," the male said with a smirk.
"If you have plans to tell Janus-"
"We tell Janus nothing," they said in unison, annoyed frowns marring their pale faces.
"We simply came here to tell you to stop wasting your time," the female said.
Mabon rubbed his head in irritation. "Chaos, Harmonia, I'm now starting to remember why we don't talk."
"Don't be irritated because you are searching in the wrong way," Harmonia sneered.
"You're searching for the wrong one," Chaos added.
"What? Why is searching for Jareth the wrong one to be searching for?" Mabon asked as an impossible thought crossed his mind. "Have you spoken to Moira?" Moira was more elusive than the Twins. Mabon would guess that he's only met her once in his entire existence. "What did she tell you? Did she show you two the future? She wouldn't dare."
The Twins mouth both turned up into a wicked smile.
"We don't know the future," they admitted in unison. "Only a few possibilities."
"But soon paths must be chosen," Harmonia said.
"And an outcome that will alter everything," Chaos continued. "Will come."
"And for this to happen, I have to find Jareth?" Mabon asked carefully.
"No," Chaos simple said.
"No?" Mabon yelled. "Then why are you coming to me with these vague sayings?"
Harmonia gazed up at him as her cloudy grey eyes considered his foolish question. "Because you wish to find him. And we only wish to be helpful."
"Then what is this other silliness about?" he demanded. "Why are you speaking to Moira? Why have you two come to me at all?"
"A simple warning," Chaos said as he grabbed his sister's hand before disappearing. "Because soon you must choose a side."
Jareth came out of his temporary bedroom to see Sarah sitting at the bar of the kitchen, flipping through a magazine. He smiled seeing her still in the dress from earlier. She turned around when the door shut.
"Oh hey," Sarah said with a surprised look. "I came back about an hour ago. I didn't want to wake you if you were asleep."
Jareth stopped in the middle of the room. "How dare you question my virility."
"Oh, god," Sarah groaned as she shook her head. "Using that word was not at all necessary. Look, all you have been doing is passing out on me and frightening me," she stated.
Jareth tilted his head to the side. "Have I really been distressing you? The first day, I understand, but my outburst-"
"Sit down," Sarah ordered as she left the kitchen counter to the fridge to pull ingredients out for lunch. "If it makes feel any better, I'm becoming less concerned and more annoyed with your bad habits."
"Bad habits?" Jareth asked, pretending to be injured by her accusation. "Me?"
"And now that you're apparently feeling better, I can reprimand you." Sarah put down her butter knife and stared him straight in his eyes. "Don't go in my room again. Okay?"
"I was simply turned around," he shrugged, giving a slow shake of his head. "Lost. Hopelessly confused."
"Shut up," Sarah chuckled causing Jareth to smile from ear to ear. She placed the French press in front of him with a mug. "You have a nice smile, you know." Sarah smirked as a blush rushed to her cheeks.
Jareth was stunned into silence as both his brows rose.
Sarah gave a small shrug. "You frown a lot. I mean, I understand why considering everything. But when you smile, it's nice to see." She quickly turned around to look inside the fridge, to take out some ingredients she forgot.
"Thank you," he said in a soft tone, almost in awe, as his eyes intensely followed her every movement.
Sarah kept her back to him as she assembled their sandwiches. "Don't receive many compliments?"
Jareth continued to watch her, staring at her as she made their food. "Some compliments are valued more than others."
She looked over her shoulder to give him a small smile. Sarah cut the sandwiches in half and placed them on their respective plates before turning around to present him with his lunch and walk around to sit next to him on the chair.
"I have a question regarding something you said on the first day I woke up," he said before taking a bite of his sandwich. Sarah's body tense in anticipation of what he could be referring to. She didn't think she could handle anymore conversations about magic. It was becoming too much too quickly. "You said it was a long story. Why is your last name Monroe?"
Sarah's shoulders slumped in relief, but she was confused by the question he asked.
"How odd that you remember me saying that," she mused.
"Not odd," Jareth countered, trying not to sound defensive. "You said you were in the process of getting it changed. Is that not noteworthy?"
"Yeah, but… never mind," she said, deciding not to think about his questioning too much. "Um, it's not my name. I mean, it is, but it's not really. How much do you know about human customs?"
"Unless something was invented these past thirteen years," he said. "I'm very aware of your various forms of ceremonies."
"Well, I was married," she said before taking a bite of her sandwich.
"Was?"
"Yeah," Sarah muttered in between chews. "I guess I'm technically still. Doesn't matter, and it's a long story. But I'm going to change it back to Williams. That was my name before all of this. Does that sound better than Monroe?"
Jareth opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by a loud yet odd noise emanated from her room.
"Oh sorry, I have to get that," she said as she hopped off the chair and ran into her room to answer the phone.
A minute or two later she came out with the rectangular device that he couldn't recognize in her hand, apprehension evident on her face.
"Um, well, this is annoying," she started. "I made a mistake, and I need to go to my store. Just need to sign some checks. If you would like to join me-"
"I'm coming with you," Jareth stated at the same time before he plopped the last bit of his sandwich into his mouth and then stood up.
Sarah laughed. "Okay, well, nice to know that we are on the same page."
"Didn't mean to sound impatient," he stated. "I'm actually thrilled that you wish for me to accompany you."
"Oh," Sarah said as she finally took notice of the fact that he was wearing the clothing she bought for him. "No problem. And I assume that those clothes are good?" Although he appeared human, he seemed uneasy in his human clothes even though he was wearing a simple pair of dark jeans, a light grey shirt, and black tennis shoes. Sarah tried her best not to be overt as her eyes slowly looked Jareth up and down. She was surprised to realize that the slim jeans fit well on him
"The footwear is quite odd," he mused as looked down at his feet. "This is very much a new experience for me."
"We can go get more appropriate shoes later if you want," she said apologetically. Jareth looked up and noticed Sarah again gazing at his figure.
Jareth covered his mouth to hide his delighted smile as he cleared his throat causing Sarah to snap out of her trances. She detected the smile that he was attempting to hide.
"I'm going to grab my purse. I'll be right back," she quickly said as she spun around to retreat to her bedroom but not before Jareth caught the bright red flush that encompassed her face.
"What is that?" Jareth asked as he observed Sarah pressing the rectangular contraption in her hand, both of them standing outside in front of her home.
"It's… it's a phone," she answered, not quite sure how or if she should explain the technology to him.
"But you're not calling anyone," he stated, sincerely confused.
"Um, I'm using an app to call a car," Sarah explained. Not seeing the confusion on his face disappear, she let out a sigh. "You can communicate in more ways than calling now. Please don't make me explain it. I push buttons, and someone comes with a car. That's all I got."
Thankfully for Sarah, a black sedan pulled up with a bright pink logo display on several window corners.
"Have you ever been in a car before?" she asked before realizing that Jareth had walked ahead of her to open the backseat door.
"I'm familiar with these machines," he smirked.
"Just checking," she said coyly, scooting across to the other end of the car.
"Going to Thé, yes?" the driver asked.
"Yeah," Sarah answered. "Could you go via 5th Avenue?"
"Um…" the driver hummed. "That's – um-"
"Yeah, it's the long way," she finished his thought.
"That's an understatement," he countered. Sarah could tell he was trying not to make a fuss.
"I want to give my friend a little tour on the way there. Here's an extra tip." Sarah reached out to give him a fifty dollar bill. "And, I'll make sure you get five stars."
"Good with me," he said, quickly grabbing the cash and then moving the car swiftly into traffic.
Jareth did his best to appear compose when he heard Sarah calling him her friend.
Friend, he silently mused. His mind briefly remembered her calling someone else a friend years ago and how much he detested the idea that she would never view him as such. How furious he once was over such a small word, a kind gesture.
Friend.
"Oh, you don't get car sick, do you?" Sarah asked, bringing him back to the present. Jareth mentally scoffed before turning to see genuine concern in her eyes.
"I'm sure I can manage," he answered, trying not to mock her honest distress. However, he wasn't able to hide his amusement from her.
"You want to laugh at me, don't you?" she asked. "It's not a ridiculous question."
"I will always be grateful for your concern with my well-being," he responded with a large smile. Without thinking, he grabbed her right hand and brought it up to his lips to give her a small kiss on her knuckles.
Sarah opened her mouth yet quickly closed it. She was well aware that this wasn't the first time he'd done that, but she had yet to figure out how to respond to his touches. She finally pulled her hand away from his and cleared her throat.
"No problem," she muttered as she moved items around in her purse, pretending to look for something.
"Is there anything you wished for me to see?" he asked.
"Not really," she admitted. "Sometimes, I just like to be in a car and people watch on my way to wherever I'm going. I assume you have been here before. No need to show you the Empire State Building?"
"Several times," he confessed. Been to the very top, in fact- but that was not something that Sarah needed to know. Wanting to change the subject, he asked, "So where is this place that we are going? You called it your store, yes?"
"Oh, damn," Sarah said with a huff. "I didn't tell you? Just driving around with me, not knowing where we are going."
"It's a nice addition to the day," he stated.
"I guess it is," she said. She zipped up her purse and placed it to the side. "Well, uh, it's my store. I call it a store because it's been a store longer, but there's a restaurant attached to it that opened roughly two years ago. It's a tea shop. I worked there in college."
"You don't come off as a typical business owner," he mused.
"Do you know any?" she asked, not knowing if she should be insulted.
"I've known many," he grumbled, remembering the various humans he's encountered throughout the centuries.
"It's not like this was a life dream or anything," Sarah explained. "The owner wanted to retire. None of his kids was interested in taking over. I just loved it so much that I couldn't see it shut down and turned into a chain or a bank. So I bought it. Well, my ex-husband and I bought it, but it's all mine now."
Ex-husband, Jareth repeated with derision in his head as he watched pedestrians walk by grey buildings, his clenched fist held up his chin. He did his best to throw that little piece of information out of his head. That idiot was never worth Sarah, Jareth thought. And he wouldn't be worth Jareth's time either.
"The store sells teas, obviously," she continued. "The restaurant is attached and is more of a café, I guess. Nothing too involved, except we do have an afternoon tea every day. My curried egg salad sandwiches are always a hit. Just a hint of spice with some watercress… fantastic. Sorry. I'm rambling. I guess I now sound like all those business people you know."
"I'm less concerned with your rambling, and more concerned with the fact that you've been withholding this delicacy from me for reason," he teased.
Sarah let out a chuckle. "Honestly, I rarely make those anymore. I hate deshelling eggs. It's my personal version of hell. I have to really be craving one to make it."
"Yet you don't feel the need to make any for your esteemed houseguest, your friend?" Jareth asked, pretending to be offended.
"No," she firmly stated with a stern look in her eyes and a shake of her head.
Jareth tried his best not to laugh too loud, but he couldn't help it. Sarah couldn't help but laugh along.
"You have the loudest laugh," she remarked, dabbing away a tear from her eye. "Anyone can hear you from a mile away."
"I'll take that as a compliment," he smirked. "Hmm, I don't seem to remember so much green space."
"Huh?" Sarah turned to look out his window. "Yeah, that's Bryant Park. It's really nice. Best public restrooms in the city." Jareth turned to give her a perplexed look. "Hey! Don't look at me like that. Sometimes, you are walking around, and you need a bathroom. It's a bigger problem here than you think. Oh! We're almost there."
Jareth noticed that they went by nearly five blocks before the driver turned and then came to a stop. He got out of the car yet noticed Sarah was still seated, pushing on contraption that she insisted on calling a phone.
"Here, you go," Sarah said as she handed the driver a card while also putting her phone in her purse.
"Oh hey, thanks," he said with sincere shock and joy. "My wife has always wanted to come here."
"No problem. Hope to see you soon," she said before getting out and shutting the door.
"What did you hand him?" His curiosity reared its head.
"Just two free glasses of champagne with an afternoon tea," Sarah answered, still fidgeting with her purse. "I keep forgetting that I have them, but I made a point to remember to give him one. I felt really bad for deciding to go through all that traffic."
"So, are you going to take me over there?" he said.
"Over where?" she asked before noticing where he was facing. Sarah looked up to see the large sign "Museum of Sex" starring back at her. "Yeah, we're not going there," she mumbled as she rushed to the door of her establishment, leaving him to catch up with her.
"Have you ever been there?" Jareth asked with pure amusement in his voice.
"I'm not talking about it," Sarah mumbled as she walked through the store, heading straight to her office in the back of the building. Jareth barely paid attention to the store's surroundings. He was much more entertained by this turn of events.
"So the answer is yes," he stated. Sarah stopped at a door, jostling the door knob with her keys. She spun around to glare at him after the door opened.
"Stop talking about the Museum of Sex," she hissed.
"Would you like to talk about regular sex instead?" he quipped, giving her a wicked smile.
Sarah nearly gasped, her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. "No!"
Finding this whole conversation absurd, she didn't know if she should laugh or throw something at him.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Monroe," came a voice behind Jareth.
"Ugh. I told you to stop calling me that, Quinn," she groaned as she made her way into her small office.
"Sorry, Ms. Williams," Quinn corrected. Jareth moved to the side to see a petite, brunette woman with a pixie cut, standing as tall as she could with her hands placed dutifully behind her back.
"Good enough, I guess," Sarah muttered under her breath. She has told her manager many times to simply call her Sarah, but Quinn has always been too uncomfortable to do so. "Oh um, Jareth, this is Quinn, my store manager. Quinn, this is Jareth- a rando I know."
Jareth turned to frown at Sarah's amused smirk before giving the young woman head nod.
"Pleased to meet you," she said, her straight face showing no emotion.
"Pleasures all mine."
"Ms. Williams," Quinn said as she moved in front of Jareth, finished with pleasantries. "The stock on the lemon and the peach blend, we are running out faster than anticipated, and we have several special orders that need to be filled with that blend."
"Then order more," Sarah said, confused by the statement. Granted, there is a reason why she has a manager, but ordering when you are running out seems basic.
"But you said that you wanted two new blends when that was done," Quinn explained. "Once we fill those orders, we will be left with that flavor when the new ones are coming in."
"And we don't have space for that, do we?" Sarah asked, sort of already knowing the answer.
Quinn shook her head. "No, ma'am."
"Just do a sale on it," Sarah huffed out. "Figure out the numbers- low enough to make it go fast but without losing money on it." She paused for a moment. "You knew that though."
"Just needed your approval, ma'am," Quinn said with a small smile.
"Let me sign these checks, and then I'll get out of your way," she said.
"Sure." Quinn turned and left the pair in the office.
Jareth finally sat in the chair across from Sarah. "Well, she is…"
"Very serious about her job, yes," Sarah finished, writing out her signature as fast as she could. "She was here when I got this place. I actually worked with her too. But I would be so lost without her. Extremely lost. She doesn't like to chat or socialize, but that's not in her job description, so whatever."
"You didn't ask her about her dreams," Jareth pointed out.
"What part of 'she doesn't like to chat' did you not get?" Sarah said. "Besides I hate to break it to you, but it would not be normal for me to ask my employee a question like that."
Jareth let out an annoyed sigh. He had to remember that humans had odd ways of interacting with each other.
"Hmm, is she upset that you have been missing from here?" he asked. If she was busy watching over him, she must have not been here often.
"Umm," Sarah hummed while stuffing checks into envelops. "I haven't been gone that much."
"But I thought you said that you were watching me this whole time?" Jareth asked, confused and a bit concerned.
"Well," Sarah said with her pitch a bit too high and her eyes not meeting his as she moved random things on the desk. "I was."
Jareth learned forward as his arms came to rest on the wooden desk. "And do you possess a type of magic to be in two places at once?"
"I mean, there might be a baby monitor in your room," Sarah shrugged, hoping he would not take the news badly. "It's no big deal."
"What?!" he exclaimed as he stood from his chair.
Nope. He's not a fan of this news, she thought. He really loves to overreact.
Sarah remembered that he promised that he would never hurt her, but that promise seemed hollow as she looked at the fury in his eyes.
"Just so we're clear: I don't consider you a baby. I was only joking about that before," she said, almost apologetically. "It's just something I had on hand."
"You planted an instrument in my room?" Jareth fumed as he rounded the desk, causing Sarah to jump from her chair.
"Whoa! Hold on," Sarah said, holding her hands out. "Don't make this to sound sinister. You wanted me to keep tabs on you but not use a device to do it?"
"You are spying on me." His voice lowered as his presence push her against the wall.
"No. NO!" she said emphatically, pressing her hands against his chest. "I' mean, not really. I only checked the stream if you passed out on me, and I had to leave. I couldn't really stay all those days."
"Is it running now?" Jareth questioned as he placed his hands against the wall, caging Sarah in place.
"Maybe?" she answered. Raising a sharp eyebrow, Jareth coaxed more out of her. "Fine! Yes. I don't think to stop it when I'm at home, and you're up and about."
"Show me."
Sarah briefly looked over his shoulder to her purse on the desk before returning her attention back to him. "I need my phone." Jareth quickly went over to dig through her bag to pull out the device. Sarah didn't dare move. She realized that every so often she seems to get small glimpses of his true personality, and, at this moment, he's revealed himself to be a very suspicious individual.
"Show me," he demanded again, handing her the phone. She looked up to see his face stern, eyes hard, and his jaw clenched.
"Okay, okay," she muttered as she logged into her phone. "Here." She held up her phone near her face and pressed a few buttons. The screen changed to a black and white video of Jareth's room, empty.
"Where's the device?" he asked as he studied the screen to see if anything would change.
"By the lamp," she confessed while watching him watch her phone. "I wanted to make sure it was close enough so that I could see if you stopped breathing, for example."
He said nothing as Sarah continued to watch his reaction. His expression seemed to go from rage to confusion and then finally to concern. Jareth said nothing as he held the phone out to Sarah which she took and then locked it.
"I guess, you live the type of life that makes you suspicious of others," she posited. "I'm sorry. I should have told you when you first woke up. I didn't think-"
"Don't apologize," he ordered. He reached over to briefly comb his fingers through her hair. "You had other matters to attend to. It was foolish for me to believe you spent your every waking moment, chained to your home, waiting for me to stir."
"That was an extreme reaction though," Sarah muttered as she observed him fiddle with her hair
Jareth grasped her chin to force her eyes to meet his. "I thought I told you that I would never hurt you," he said.
"I wasn't afraid that you'd hurt me," she boldly stated. "But you've never seen yourself mad before. That was a lot."
"I hate the idea of being spied on. I've been known to be a bit paranoid," he smirked.
"Someone gave you a reason for that?" she asked.
"Several family members," Jareth confessed as his hand went back to the wall next to her head. He found himself quietly elated to see the same defiant human he had met all those years ago. She didn't fear him then and now she still stood firm in face of a being she didn't understand. "They've done much worse than your attempts to watch over me."
"Hey! It's wasn't an attempt," Sarah scoffed. "I made sure that nothing weird- well, weirder- was going on while I was gone. I told everyone here that I might leave at a moment's notice."
Jareth let out a low chuckle. He moved his lips to hover over her ear. "Have I gotten under your skin, Precious?"
"I don't appreciate you downplaying my caretaking skills… wait, what did you call me? That's the second time you've called me that." Jareth's smile fell and he dropped his arms when he realized what he said.
Suddenly, a knock on the door caused them both to jump, startling them both.
"Come in," Sarah yelled.
Quinn opened the door enough to stick her head through. "I need you to approve of the final display, Ms. Mon-uh- Williams. Ronald and Aaron just finished."
Sarah kept her eyes away from Jareth as she moved away from the wall to grab her purse. "I'll be there in a minute."
Jareth clenched his fist, angry with himself at his slip of the tongue. He cursed himself for getting too comfortable with her too soon, certain that she now felt uncomfortable and unnerved.
"Sarah-"
"I didn't show you around," she quickly said. "Let me show you a bit." Sarah rushed to the door, not looking behind to see if Jareth was following her. She stopped when they stood in the middle of the store.
Jareth definitely didn't notice any of the shop when they first came through. The floors were dark and wooden, worn from years of foot traffic. The entire area felt old yet warm, dark wood the prevalent theme.
"All pre-packaged stuff is out here," she said, gesturing around her. "As well as other things. And behind the counter, there are the bulk bins- the rarer, expensive teas people can buy." Jareth then noticed two people behind a counter, both keeping busy with various tasks. He walked over to a small table holding a tea set for sale. Covered in intricate floral design, the tea pot attracted him to it. Picking it up slowly, his mind wandered. The decorative pot reminded him of…
"Hey," Sarah said softly from a few feet away, noticing his contemplative nature. "Are you okay?"
He shook his head, not wanting to deal with any of those memories. Clearing his throat, Jareth carefully placed the pot down.
"I'm fine," he said.
"Okay," she said, not convinced that he is telling her the truth. "We should go. I don't want to disrupt the restaurant or the kitchen during prep for tea, and there's a car waiting." Sarah reached into her purse to pull out her phone again and then made her way to the door. But before she could leave, she felt Jareth grab her arm, stalling her movements.
"I wasn't thinking when I called you that," he said.
"And you say it so effortlessly," she pointed out, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Seems like everything about you raises more question."
"I'll try my best to not say that again. If it makes you uncomfortable-"
"I don't know how I feel about you calling me that, honestly," Sarah admitted. Suddenly, she felt his grip tighten around her arm. Jareth's eyes went dark with desire and promises, eager to hear any hint that the object of his desire desired him as well.
"And by this, you mean?" he asked, pushing her to admit something, anything.
"I mean, we need to go," she said as she discreetly pulled her arm from his hand, not wanting to raise suspicions with her staff. "I don't want the driver to wait or he'll ruin my good rating."
They rode the car back to Sarah's home in an uneasy silence. Sarah toyed with her phone while Jareth gazed out the window, occasionally peeking at what Sarah was doing. Thankfully, the driver didn't take any detours and they arrived back to her home quickly.
After Jareth walked into her foyer, Sarah released a wary breath as she locked the front door. She didn't know if she should bring up what was said or even if she would get any sort of answer to her questions. Before she could say anything, Jareth spoke up first.
"You showed me your store, but are you going to give me a tour?"
Sarah's brows furrowed. "Um, sure. I didn't take you for the type of person who would care about the layout of my home."
"I'm interested in a great many things," Jareth said as he held out a hand for her to join him. It was clear to him that Sarah which to have space around what he said at the store. He felt her apprehension the entire car ride back. However, he wasn't willing to give her the answers she wanted- those that have been asked and those that he can tell she has held back from asking.
Yet, he didn't want to leave her yet, to return to his room again.
"Oh, you mean right now?" she asked, surprised by the request.
"Did I mention how tired I am of seeing only two areas of your home?" he teased. "As lovely as they are."
"Fine, fine," she said, placing her purse down on a stand near the door. "But no snooping. This is just so you know general layout of things and such."
Much to Jareth's slight annoyance, he realized Sarah going through the house tour rather quickly. They started on the ground floor and made their way up one floor at a time.
"And this is the sixth and final floor," Sarah said as she took a stop off the elevator. She stared at the worn carpet, realizing that it hasn't been. The large skylight in the ceiling illuminated the rather dull and forgotten hallway. She wrapped her arms over her chest, inadvertently hugging herself. "Not much here. Just a gym that I don't really use and some empty bedrooms. We should probably head back downstairs. Don't want you to get light headed again." When she noticed that Jareth wasn't responding, she looked over to see where he was. "Don't go in there!"
However, she was too late. Jareth had opened the door on the far end of the hallway. He noticed a fully furnished child's bedroom, covered in dust and abandoned. He turned to speak to Sarah yet surprised to find her already next to him. She pushed him off to the side, grabbed the knob on the door, and slammed it shut. Her mouth was set to a straight line. Her green eyes were furious yet cold.
"I told you not to snoop," she hissed before turning to march toward the stairs.
Jareth reached out to grab her arm. "Sarah, wait, I'm so sorry."
Sarah wretched her arm back from his grasp before setting her livid gaze upon his concerned eyes. "Do. Not. Touch. Me."
She left Jareth where he stood as she nearly flew down the stairs, her feet heaving against the floor. A few moments later, he heard a door slam shut in the distance.
Looking back down at the hall to that forbidden door, Jareth released a sigh before returning to that room. He stood before the closed door and placed his hand on the door knob. However, he thought better of it and dropped his hand to his side and stepped away.
"Oh, damn," he muttered under his breath. Not only was he angry that he caused her unimaginable grief, but he now realized that he was left in an area of the house he was not familiar with. Slowly but steadily walking toward the elevator, Jareth decided to go after Sarah even though he was uncomfortable operating this machine. After two failed attempts at estimating which floor was theirs, he exited the elevator and made his way over to her closed bedroom door.
He leaned his full weight against the wall next to the door in order to combat the tired feeling that began to overwhelm his body.
"Sarah," he struggled to say, not quite sure how to make amends. "I am extremely regretful for not following directions. I could blame my thoughtlessness on not being accustomed to listening to what other people say. But, I'm afraid that is just excuse-making- although, that is very much true. My curiosity caused me to overlook the simple rule you laid out for me."
Without warning, the door slowly opened to show the tear-stained face of his beloved; her eyes were blood shot as she clutched a notebook in her arms.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her eyes always moving but never quite making contact with him. "That was a-um- That is a terrible habit of mine- still working on that. I shouldn't have left you up there."
Jareth reached out to gently grab her chin, lifting it up so that he could see her watery eyes. "Oh, Precious. Please forg-"
"Would you like to know about him?" Sarah interrupted as she held up the notebook against her chest. Her eyes finally met his. "His name was Nicolas, and he was my son."
A/N:
Thank you for the well wishes. No worries. I am making my health a priority.
Anway... I'm hoping to get back to a writing schedule: hopefully, a chapter a month. But no promises. Sorry.
Just a side note: Chapters 5 and 6 were initially supposed to be one chapter, but I decided to split it up. I kinda thought that you readers would want a forced break in the story. But IDK. I started to feel weird about having a long chapter, but that could be me over thinking things.I've been known to do that. Feel free to lemme know if I'm being silly or not :-)