WHAT? ANOTHER CHAPTER? TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE WEEK?
AND IT'S A LONG ONE?!
WHAT IN TARNATION.
Okay, okay. I have decided that I needed to spoil you guys.
Hell, I wanted to spoil myself, too, okay? I wanted to give something good, for once. I hope I didn't spoil you too much. I really LOVED writing this chapter, even if it's a little... off.
Put it this way... My life is just as structured as this chapter.
Take with that what you will.
Onward, little duckies!
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o
"Hello?" Sarah echoes in a large and empty room. She slowly looks around the room she suddenly finds herself in as her voice bounces from one white wall to the next. Where was she? When did she get here? She could have sworn that she was somewhere else... The room she resides is a tall and towering, no ceiling, no door, just blank space. "What's..." Her voice weakens. "What's going... on?" Her speech slows with exhaustion. "Where... Alister? Are you there?" She grows sleepy. "What's going on~" She holds her head in drowsiness.
The walls seem to glow with a silent yet monstrous scream, as does the dark red, velvet, mid-century chaise sofa she suddenly sees herself sitting on. She looks down from the silent white screaming walls at her, now, empty hands. Sarah could swear she just had a baby in these hands. Confusion strikes her further as she looks past her still hands and observes the familiar pattern on the fabric of the couch and traces it, becoming entranced in the motion. Her head is fuzzy, her breathing is light- almost nonexistent, and her vision is blurry as her eyelids grow droopy. She fiercely blinks, trying to keep her eyes open as the brightness of the room numbs her. She feels very sleepy, almost sleep deprived. She can't comprehend much thought as she just sits very still.
Until she feels a strong hand lightly grasp her shoulder.
Her eyes slowly grow upon the surprising feeling. It is an array of feelings, one of suddenly realizing that she is not alone and another of a touch that sends her senses reeling and begging. The hand is bare and free as it greedily snakes to the nook of her neck and envelopes its fingers gently around her skin. Sarah is so sleepy, now. All she can do is close her eyes as she feels the electric sensation of lips kissing and wandering to the opposite side of her neck. This touch sends waves of desire all throughout her body as she meets her hand with theirs and leans into their touch to give them full access to her neck and chest.
Desperately does she wish to open her eyes to see who is now wrapping their other hand around her torso as they pull their warm and strong body close to hers. She has little to no energy, and this person is just 'so warm'. She leans back upon them, letting them hold her tighter. She wastes no time to verbally welcome and accept the various licks and nibbles at her ear and cheek. One of her hands desperately grasps at the arm that surrounds her torso as they massage her breasts with such expertise. Her other hand lingers to feel their face; his face.
It's Jareth, the one she has spent time with and gotten to know, the one who doesn't fit in with either human or Fae, the one that made her think and had taken her breath away with a kiss that forever changed her. He continues to kiss her hand in a graceful motion as he pulls her head back to finally move his lips on to hers.
"I love you," she harshly whispers.
"I know," he replies, smiling in the same voice. refusing to part from her lips for another moment.
*~*A baby cries in the distance*~*
Her eyes slightly and slowly open.
"Close your eyes~" Jareth's voice echoes in the distance, even as he kisses her. She wants to react. She wants to scream and shout. She needs to get up- she needs to-
Her eyes just feel so heavy, she just can't possibly open them. Instead, she snakes her own hands up to his neck. Feeling her touch, he lays her body down upon the cushion as his body weighs down on hers in a way that makes her heart drop. She closes her eyes as every sense is drawn back to the feeling of his hands snaking up the inside of her dress as he caresses her thigh. She hums in satisfaction in a way that urges him further. Every thought floods right out of her mind-
*~*A baby cries in the distance*~*
Sarah opens her eyes.
She sits up with extraordinary force, pushing Jareth back away from her.
He disappears before she able to get to see a clear image of his face.
Everything starts to melt around her.
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"I heard she broke the sound barrier falling down here-"
...
"I heard she fell UP from the Realm of Fire-"
...
"I heard she landed and killed the Queen of Cups with her own castle-"
"Oh yeah? Then where's the castle?"
"Where's the Queen of Cups?"
...
Faint whispers are heard from Sarah's ears. Her eyelids squeeze tighter around her eyes before she slowly starts to drag them open.
...
"I heard she stole someone's family jewels-"
"Yeah? Well, I heard she gave someone her's-"
...
Her vision is all a blur. She hears the faint conversation.
...
"I heard she broke the bridge at the bog-"
...
She sees three blurry figures, small in height. She can't quite make out if they are a foreign creature or human-like... They are as small as their whispers. They are trying, very hard to stay quiet. The voices are foreign and squeaky, almost childlike. She only catches every other word.
...
"I heard that she solved the Labyrinth-"
...
Sarah starts to lightly grunt at the heaviness of her head.
"No-"
"Nuh-uh-"
"No-way..."
"That never happened-"
"Uh-huh! I heard it!"
"From who?"
...
Sarah starts to stir in the bed she finds herself in.
"And what are you ladies doing in here?" A booming voice drums the inside of Sarah's head.
She forces her eyes open and sees the large and dark room she is in. Her eyes turn to catch Jareth's. His face has an unknowing look. She can't quite make out what he could be thinking, though his gaze weighs heavily on hers.
"Yer Majesty-"
"Ooooh dear-"
"Now we're in for it-"
She uses all of her power to lift a single hand and reach out... for someone... anyone to take...
"Get out. Scoot," he motions for the small ladylike creatures. It doesn't take much for them to follow his gentle command and scurry out of the large wooden double doors.
"W-..." Sarah's voice is very groggy, "w-wait..." she whispers.
Jareth grasps her hand and kneels down next to her. He looks deep into her eyes as he caresses her head and pets her hair as if she were a lonely child longing to be held. He is non-human... and very nostalgic to Sarah's younger days with his long wispy hair and period style clothing. This Jareth foreign to the Sarah that exists today.
"Close your eyes," his lulling voice floods her ears and drowns her senses. She feels an electrifying feeling from his hand to hers. This sensation causes her grip to lessen.
"Jareth~"
"Go to sleep~"
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"Asleep, are we?"
Sarah opens her eyes to blue skies and a different Jareth at her side. One that is... human, Sarah can only guess. His voice is a little higher. His features aren't as rigid or finely shaped. His hair is short and his clothes are extremely human, almost too human. She frivolously blinks and looks to her left to see the blonde Fae lounging next to her with a playful smile. She sees herself and observes that she looks very much the same, wearing the same dress from prom- something that had been blanked from her mind entirely.
Jareth looks relaxed with both hands behind his head. She feels so content as if she had been here all this time. She only feels the desire to be closer to him. Looking around she sees a lovely scene; a partly cloudy day as they sit in the middle of a wide meadow full of the tallest grass and spring flowers. The grass is as cool as the breeze that kisses her skin and dances through the tresses in her hair. She gently sighs as her body forces her to stretch looking to the white clouds that seem to glow a little brighter than usual with the sun beaming behind them.
"Just..." she speaks through her long stretch, "daydreaming." she smiles back at him. Without even thinking, she rolls closer to him, nuzzling her head within his chest to inhale the rich earthy scent of his that always sends her reeling. "Is that a crime?" She jokingly asks, now sitting her upper body atop his.
"Depends." His voice vibrates her ears, as her head lay upon his chest. "What were you daydreaming about?" He asks as he pulls one of his hands from behind his head to give her a wildflower he had plucked next to his head. Her smile grows three times its size as she accepts the gift. She daintily touches the petals in pure joy as she feels his arm secure itself around her lower back. "Well?"
"What if..." she looks around, "...it was a secret?" Her smile is just as playful as his, now. She continues to smile, even though her mind doesn't think she should.
"So you did fall asleep on me."
"Did not!" She giggles.
"Okay fine. What if I guess?"
"No," she replies much like a child would.
"And why not?"
"Because... you'd probably get it right, and on the first try, too." She playfully huffs.
"Now, that's not fair," he closes whatever space between both of their faces, "you know you can't keep anything from me."
"Is that a challenge?"
"I can get anything out of you." His smile becomes mischievous.
*~*A baby cries in the distance*~*
She hears that noise again. Her ear twitches.
She gasps. "A... baby crying?"
His smile remains, "What?'
The sound continues.
She tries to push herself up from him, "D-do you hear that baby crying?" He isn't so willing to let her go yet.
"Your father told me you had an overactive imagination." he chuckles as she breaks free from his grasp to upon her knees. She becomes alert to every sound around her. She does, however, keep a steady hand upon his abdomen, as if he were to float away if she didn't. The noise is faint, but it continues. She can definitely hear it.
"There it is again," she looks into the distance of the endless meadow. He sits up with her trying to look in the same direction.
"I don't... hear anything," his smile fades in a little in a bit of confusion. Sarah can clearly hear a baby crying, but it isn't far. However, no matter where she looks, she doesn't see anything.
"I... I hear it... But I can't see it..." She continues to look around her surroundings.
"Oh..." he eyeballs her, "I get it," he suddenly says as he grabs her hand. "This is a little hint. I told you, you couldn't keep anything from me-"
She looks to him, square into his eyes. Her eyes hold many questions that she wants to ask him. But only one comes out of her mouth. "Do you not hear it?" She completely disregards his comment. They lock eyes for a few moments before she starts to try to stand.
But he is quick to change the subject. "You are absolutely beautiful." He says pulling her close to him, again. This causes her to lose focus around them and draw her attention back to him.
"I-" again she fiercely blinks as their eyes meet. "I'm... beautiful?" She shyly smiles, dazzled by the sudden compliment. She tucks some loose strands of hair behind her head as she continues to gaze into his eyes.
"Don't be so coy, my love. I don't know how much longer I can keep myself from you." He kisses her in a heartbeat, lips soft, hands even softer as he pulls her arms up to secure them on his shoulders. "Are you going to make me wait?" He wants to feel her body on his. She is more than happy to oblige as she kisses him as if she had been doing kissing him for years.
Lips are parted, her fingers are deeply threaded into his hair, and his hands lower to her hips as he pulls her even closer. He pulls her into his lap as he sits in a more comfortable position, and as he pulls up her dress, his hands on her skin causes her to gently moan in satisfaction. Before she knows it, Sarah feels like she is floating with ecstasy.
"I love you." She whispers.
"I know," he replies.
*~*A baby cries in the distance*~*
She gently parts. He growls in discontent. He isn't quite ready to let her go again.
"Sarah," his voice is low, as he touches his forehead with his, "kiss me."
"You hear it," her voice is just as quiet. She is so unaware of her surroundings, all she sees around her is a blank canvas of white all around.
"Damn you~" his voice becomes disembodied as he pops like a bubble. Sarah's head starts to become heavy as she looks to see she levitates in mid air. The meadow is gone, as is the sky. Only the bright glow of white remains around her again. She continues to hear the child cry in the distance and turns her floating body towards the direction of the sound.
She starts to feel heavy.
Her eyes feel the same.
She is so sleepy again.
But she hears the crying.
She needs to get to the crying.
'I... I need~'
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"Return at once."
"That is not a possibility at the moment."
...
"Jareth, This is your-"
"I am doing the job that you have given me. It is not as though I wish for imbeciles to wish children away to me. "
"Forget them. This is your only priority. That is an order."
...
Sarah squeezes her eyelids tighter upon hearing what sounds like disembodied voices.
...
"Jareth you are at fault for what has happened. Don't cower away like you always do-"
"I will return when my business is complete."
...
Sarah gently exhales, slowly waking up from her slumber.
...
"She is dying and this is on your head-"
Jareth looks past his disgrace of a mother to see that the shield around Sarah starts to decompose. If Mab can't sense her now, she soon will.
"I ask you, very kindly, to leave."
"You are a spineless, pathetic excuse for a-"
"Mother, get out." Sarah becomes more and more visible. His patience wears thin.
"Are you really-"
"Now."
"I ought to have you burned-"
"Fine. Then I require Matriarch Mab to leave, at this moment. She is to return from whatever hell from whence she came."
"Are you casting me out-"
"I need to work."
"Jareth-" *poof*
Sarah's eyes become more focused as she starts to move her arms and legs. Her movements are slow, but she feels a large and warm area all around her. So soft and fluffy, she thinks to herself that it must be a bed. She looks up to see Jareth marching to her. She is just about to reach out and speak before he quickly forms a crystal form in mid air and throws it at her. She sees what he has done and is overcome with the feeling that the wind has turned into liquid and it overcomes her, forcing her to lose consciousness in an instant.
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Memories-A past life.
Pictures- voices- colors-
Creatures.
School- friends-Family...
Sarah is running.
Running
And running.
She is outside, the sky is bright and golden. She sees a path in front of her alongside two tall, eroded and moss covered walls lining this path. The path never seems to be never ending as she fails to see an end in sight. She stops mid run and looks down. She is in her purple dress, the one that she wore to prom.
But not... her prom...
She grabs at the lacy texture of her wrinkled, exhausted, faded purple colored tea-length dress. She had been wearing this for a long time. Her heels are surprisingly intact, regardless of how far she has come. She looks to one of the walls around her and glides her hands against the stone. It is damp and cold. The stones seem to glisten in the sunlight as she observes a group of eyes in the moss following her. Around her is aged old debris, dead wood, stone that has fallen from its wall-like brethren and dust from the broken road.
She inhales a scent full of spices and earthy textures. She smells the dust kicked by her feet, and the dew upon the wood and stone. Her lashes wipe a gentle tear falling from her face.
Why would she be crying?
She takes a few more steps to see that there is an opening within the right wall. She takes her time to get there, not too excited to see where it leads. She hears the crunches of dead leaves and rotten sticks. She hears the wind dance through the holes in the cobble stones. She takes the time to listen to everything around her. Arriving at the entrance, she slowly brings herself around to see a memorable site- a site she only remembers in dreams:
The Labyrinth basked in a pool of golden sunlight. She can see the jagged walls of the maze that seemed so endless, long ago. She sees the tips of trees sprouting from a large and dark forest, one she chills to remember, and the at the center of it all, a speck of a castle. She remembers the castle being so intimidating and large, before. It is so strange for her now to see it so small and insignificant.
*~*A baby cries in the distance*~*
Sarah gasps, "Toby-"
"Not quite."
Sarah turns to see him, the man responsible for all of this. He is just as she remembered long ago. Long wispy blonde hair, a toothy grin, rigid and sharp features that are inhuman, and a gaze that has always melted her to her core.
Her pupils dilate. Her mind grows fuzzy.
He's a villain; the bad guy!
"What's going on?"
"You are, finally, under a spell." He says leaning up against the wall she had tiptoed out of.
"A spell-"
"It took long enough. God's above knows it took half the magic in five of the seven lands to do pull it off, too."
"A... spell- You have me- under a spell?!"
"Yes." He already grows tired of this particular Sarah.
"Why?!"
The answer causes him to smile a mischievous grin. "Because you love me."
Her disposition changes from confusion to utter distaste. "Who the hell even are you?"
"Sleepers do tend to forget," he straightens himself up. "It seems that I am the bad guy in this one," he shakes his head in displeasure. "What a shame. I have enjoyed kissing you thus far."
"Excuse me?"
"No matter," he sighs as he pulls a bubble from mid air, "at least you won't cause trouble here."
*~*A baby cries in the distance*~*
"Wait... What's going on? Who's crying? Why am I here?"
"That is a wonderful question." He looks to her beyond the crystal ball in his hand. "What are you doing here?"
"You tell me! You put me here! I'm under YOUR spell. Let me go! Leave me alone!"
"I don't have time to argue with your subconscious."
*~*A baby cries in the distance*~*
"Toby..." she whispers as she looks away in realization. "...Toby- I..."
*~*A baby cries in the distance*~*
Sarah closes her eyes, shaking her head as memories rush back to her. Voices speak to her. She sees something- doors, walls, beds, machines, mom-dad- "Toby!" she looks up.
"That isn't-"
"I have to save Toby!"
Jareth looks around his dream sequence as it starts to fade away. He then looks back to her as he sees that she has started running towards the main gate of the Labyrinth.
"What am I going to do with a stubborn woman like you?" The empty question flows to no ears but his own he sees her run. The world around them continues to fade until there is nothing.
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There is darkness. Sarah sees nothing. A moan slips from her throat as her head turns with a headache that occurs. Her eyes squeeze tighter at the light pain towards her forehead. She groans as she groggily turns to gather any kind of footing. Her feet are bare, and the straps of her dress struggle to stay upon her shoulders. She turns to see a very large and dimly lit room, fit for someone who is trying to sleep. She looks to the giant arched window on the far side of the room to see light proof curtains which fabric is set to match the motif of the rest of the room. Slowly gathering her bearings, she sits up. Her back is extremely stiff and her legs throb in pain as if she had been running around the world. She looks up from the bed she lay in and sees thin and dark transparent curtains swooping from bedpost to bedpost. They eventually gather at the top in the center of a canopy that completely covers the bed from head to toe. She realizes that she had been sleeping on top of the maroon cover and black silk sheets as she feels the smooth and cool material under her fingertips.
This alone makes her want to just lay back down and forget all of her problems. Her sleep was anything but restful, with many restless dreams, none of which she can remember. And before that, she had deprived herself of sleep for almost two days. She sighs in exhaustion as she gathers all of the strength that she has within her to stand on legs that only wiggle and wobble. Her body refuses her strong will as she hits the hard wood floors with a hard slap of her palms.
In this moment, a short and scrawny creature with large ears and large eyes scurries into the room. She looks like a child, with marks that age her at least in decades, and she glows like a fairy. She wears a peasant-like dress with swampy dark green dreaded hair and lovely wooden jewelry to match the dark brown color of the tresses in her dress. She has a bowl and a vase full of water with a washcloth in her possession as the large double doors open on command for her. Her lilac colored eyes grow at the sight of the awakened human on the floor, looking to be in pain, no less. This girl drops the ceramic bowl and vase, causing them to shatter all over the floor. She ignores this and runs out calling for her master.
Sarah is so tired, she doesn't even see the girl run. Sarah just tips over and the side of her body hits the floor with a large thud.
Jareth poofs right in the room here, seeing that she has lost the will to stand. He travels to her and helps her up. She deeply inhales and exhales, trying to stay awake, seeing that he is the one that is helping her up.
"You are a despicable woman," his voice is calm and soothing to her ears.
She slowly looks up to his eyes. She expected to see anger. "Good morning to you, too." her voice is low and tired.
"Three spells," he says sitting her on the bed. "Three spells I put you under, and you broke free out of all of them." He pulls the straps that fall to her arms back on her shoulders.
She tries to chuckle. "Is that what that was?"
"You are proving to make my job extremely difficult, my love," he says eyes enveloping hers. "And I am starting to dislike your stubbornness-"
She kisses him in an instant. His eyes grow wide with shock, completely not expecting this sudden change of events. She takes no time to pull him close by the collar, caressing his jaw with her hand and moving her fingers behind his head to pull him away from her so she can speak.
"Why did try to put me under a spell, Jareth?" She asks leaving him to relish in the kiss she had just given him.
He looks to her, absolutely dumbfounded by her attitude and control. "Because you are here and you could not have arrived at a more inappropriate time-" he finishes his thought as he pulls her in for his own kiss this time around, and with his own delicate touch to match as well. He almost tempts himself to lay her down and just take her, but he pulls away from her, "Why in the seven hells are you here?"
Her eyes are bedridden and just as dumbfounded. She can't quite find the words. "Because..." is all she says.
"I would like you to know that I already know this answer. You had stated it many a time during your... eventful slumber." He keeps his distance from her, as he can almost hear her body scream in starvation for his touch. "But I need to hear it from a conscious Sarah, not one that is prone to lustful sleep spells."
Biting her lip, she struggles to speak. "B-because I-It... Toby and... Francesca- I wanted to know if she... He's in trouble..." her speech is broken, as she tries to find an answer. "I wanted to know if she was okay- and I am afraid for Toby's life and I'm-I..." she becomes frustrated with herself. "I'm in love with you." she trembles as her eyes plead for understanding.
His eyes soften as he combs his fingers through her hair to rest her head upon his hand. He pulls her as close as he physically can. Her arms interlock in refusal to let him go, and this eventually leads her onto his lap.
"And I love you." He finally lets her kiss him again, this time he lets her fully embrace him as tightly as possible. Her arms have secured themselves behind his head as she tries to climb on top of him, she is desperate to feel everything. Her hunger has been driven into overdrive as she is suddenly flooded with memories of her dreams. They were so eventful and always ended too soon. She wishes to fix that as her mouth opens to let him obtain dominance.
This sudden drive sends a shocking sensation up his body as he slams her down. The force of their fall causes the covers and pillows around them to billow and shake.
This time they are going to finish what they have started. They will not let go.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o
Jeezus. That was a hell of a ride.
I planned to write ride the storyline a little more, but there will be PLENTY of story in the next chapter.
Wow! I can't believe that I successfully pulled myself out of that writing slum. That was an IMPOSSIBLE ONE. I almost... almost gave up on my story. But I know that, deep down, I can never NOT finish this.
I have to thank all of you who still come and read. I know that there is a good chunk of you who are reading it, and I really don't want to let you guys down. I am going to finish this story! And with any luck, it will be finished by the end of the year.
That will be the day...
Stay tuned!
I haven't given up yet! Neither should you! XD
I.L.C