Chapter 7
Sometime later, Sarah eventually questioned where the dungeons were, and with a flicker of an amused smile, Jareth showed her. It was in the bowels of the castle, only accessible from the Escher room, and Sarah kept her hand firmly in his as he twirled and swirled them through that gravity defying room, slightly at a loss for how her younger self mastered that room before.
"Here we are," he murmured, when she was brave enough to finally open her eyes. She smiled at the simple door sunk into the stone wall and reached for the handle.
On the other side, two goblin guards stood at alert against the beginning of a long hall passage, a sputtering torch shoved into a stone grate above their heads. When they saw them both, they gave them both a salute and stood as tall as they could. "Kingy! Queenie! We did as you asked, she's still down the hall in the last cell."
Sarah felt Jareth's surprise but simply smiled, thanking the guards and ushering him along. Jareth said nothing, walking along with her, until they spotted the crouched woman in the corner of the last cell. Jareth briefly looked back at Sarah who had dropped his hand, watching her smile and wave him towards the woman. He nodded, turning back to the prisoner and watching her head snap up at the sound of their approach.
Seeing her face again sent his anger skyrocketing.
"My, my. What have we here?" He drawled, keeping his voice low and inflected with the anger he felt. He secretly enjoyed her small scramble back, trembling on the other side of the cell. He leaned against the bars, staring at her with loathing. "Do you regret it?"
"Yes! Yes…" The woman sputtered, shuddering, as she looked over Jareth's shoulder and undoubtedly saw a similar scowl on Sarah's face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I needed the money."
"And that excuses you from your actions?" He asked sharply, his voice echoing off the stone walls.
She shook her head rapidly, curling her knees up to her chest. "N-No...it doesn't, I suppose."
"Explain to me how you know of me," he demanded harshly, feeling Sarah's comforting hand press against his back. She must have come up beside him and he leaned back into her but refused to take his eyes off the woman in the cell.
"Eleanor was...a professor of mythical anthropology. She was damn good, too. We went to college together," Abigail sighed, running a hand through her hair. "When my mother got sick, Eleanor moved on without me, finishing her masters and taking an internship at a big wig company. We fell out of touch for a few years."
Jareth stilled, listening to the woman talk, feeling Sarah step closer, curious herself.
"I hadn't seen her in perhaps eight years. My mom was on death's door, and she offered me a job. Said she'd stumbled across the greatest finds in her work with her employer. Stole a whole bunch of the man's work, and then…." Abigail shrugged. "You know the rest. She had some books, they mentioned people and places from…." She looked around in her cell. "Here, I suppose. Michael was one of the first, I think you most likely met him. The dark haired one? Man, he was a fighter...then he sort of gave up, almost fell in love with her. She was mad, I think."
Jareth listened as Abigail droned on for hours, describing the spell books Eleanor had, the types of runes used to carve their collars, and anything else Jareth could find useful. Eventually, he stopped her, seemingly having enough information.
He conjured a crystal and sent it flying into the air and Sarah watched as it turned into several parchments, addressed to the Kings and Queens from earlier. Each and every one popped out of existence and he looked at her. "There won't be any more of that happening now."
Abigail nodded, looking for all intents and purposes, to have regret about her face. "What now?" She whispered, looking between the two of them.
Jareth tensed and glanced at Sarah and she leaned in, whispering in his ear so the woman couldn't overhear. "Whatever you choose, I will support."
He seemed to relax, then looked over at the woman. "Rise." The words were a command, not a suggestion.
The woman stood slowly, trembling, and he motioned her forward. Looking warily between the two, she approached the bars of the cell. Suddenly, in Jareth's hands, was a crystal.
"What is it?" She asked, her eyes wide.
"A crystal, nothing more. But if you touch it, you will be returned home, with no memory of us, your adventures with Eleanor, or any facts you gleaned on how to entrap my kind."
"And if I don't take it?" Abigail bristled.
"Then you will rot in this cell until I decide what manner of goblin to make you into. Preferably the kind with no intelligence." He replied with a dark tone, making her gulp. He smirked, holding up the crystal. "Which shall it be?"
She hesitated, looking between the two of them, then snatched up the crystal from Jareth's hand. She held it, mesmerized, until it suddenly popped like a bubble, leaving her staring into blank space with a confused look about her face. Before a minute had passed, she too was gone.
"Nicely done," Sarah whistled, smiling as Jareth grinned and tugged her to him, laying a kiss along her brow. "Remind me again never to tick you off."
"Why? I rather like how you irritate me. I could think of interesting ways to punish you…" He purred in her ear, grabbing her intimately.
She shivered and smiled. "Oh? Like what?"
"Shall I show you?"
