A/N: Okay, that last chapter kinda sucked, but I hope I can improve this time. Special thanks to all my readers. If I could, I would collectively marry you all.
I own nothing but my twisted imagination.
Haunted
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Sarah woke the next morning with a throbbing headache. The world seemed to be spinning, and the soft calls of the morning birds felt like a thousand tiny hammers pounding away on her temples. She slowly got out of bed, and stumbled the second she put her weight down on the floor.
She grabbed her bookshelf in an attempt to steady herself. She felt sick, vomit threatening to come spewing out of her mouth. She looked over to her vanity mirror. The trembling image staring back at her was deathly pale, with dark circles under her eyes and hair a tangled mess.
She stood, willing herself to stay steady. She took a step. Then another. She felt a little more steady with each step she took. She carefully walked out of her room, and downstairs into the kitchen, where her father and stepmother were sitting at the table. Karen looked up at her, and gave her a warm smile. "Good morning, Sarah."
"Morning," Sarah mumbled, giving a little half wave.
"Good lord, sweetheart, you look terrible," Robert said, looking at his daughter.
"Thanks, dad. That's just what fifteen year old girls love to hear from their fathers," Sarah said, opening the fridge and taking out the juice pitcher.
"Don't drink that, Sarah!" Karen exclaimed. Sarah set the pitcher down on the counter and backed away.
"Why not?"
"Its part of something I'm making to help you with those nightmares you've been having, but I'm not entirely sure that it is safe to drink all on it's own."
"What is it?" Sarah asked, eyeing the pitcher.
"You'd probably rather not know," Karen said, getting up and walking over to the stove, where a large silver pot was simmering on the back burner. She lifted the lid, and steam rushed upward. Karen grabbed a soup ladle, and stirred vigorously.
"Karen, what exactly is that?" Sarah asked, looking into the pot. The solution inside was a dark blue, thick and bubbling.
"It's a little something that my mother taught me to make. It helps get rid of nightmares. And since you refuse to see a shrink, this will help you maintain your mental health."
"What do I do with it?"
"Well, as soon as the sun sets, I'll add the contents of that picture, stir thouroughly, and then you'll drink some of it."
"You expect me to drink that? I ain't drinking that!"
"Sarah, just so we're clear, I'm on your side here," Robert said ,"But when I told her not to use that all natural healing stuff on you, she said 'fine, you can make your own dinner.' So... sorry."
Sarah gave her father the dirtiest look in her arsenal. "Thank you, oh man of steel."
She gave another look to the contents of the pot. "Oh dear god, is that an eyeball?" She squealed.
Karen slammed down the lid. "Who wants pancakes?"
Sarah shuddered as she sat down at the table. She took a long swig out of her father's coffee mug.
"Again Sarah, I'm sorry." Robert said patting her arm.
"Uh-huh," she sighed.
There was a knock at the back door. Robert got up, and went to answer it. He opened the door. Sarah's jaw dropped when she noticed the familiar boy, shirtless, with his dark curls messy and pasted to his head.
"Hello, Mister Williams, I'm Nigel. I just moved in with my aunt next door. I was wondering if I could use your lawnmower. Hers just burst into flame." he said, polite as could be.
Robert chuckled. "So all those years of neglecting her outdoor chores has finally caught up with Marlow, huh?"
"Yeah, looks that way. So can I borrow it?"
"Sure thing. Wait here, I'll go get it," Robert said, walking out the door towards the garage.
"Good morning, ladies," Nigel said, giving a friendly smile, "How are things, Sarah?"
"Uhhhh..." she said, going bright red, "Fine."
"All right then."
Robert returned, pushing the lawnmower. "Here you go. Hopefully that won't burst into flames, too."
"Thank you sir. See you later Sarah." And with that, he pushed the lawnmower back over to his own yard.
Karen set a plate of pancakes, drenched in blueberry syrup in front of Sarah. "Eat," she said, "you need all the strength you can get."
Sarah picked up a fork, and took a big bite. She had to admit that even though Karen could be a pain in the rear, she was an amazing cook, and a heavy nurturer. And since her own mother couldn't be bothered to make any contact with her, a nurturer was a nice thing to have from time to time.
It hurt her to know that Linda Williams was so busy with her new life, and her new boyfriend, Jeremy, that she could have forgotten her only daughter. She had not heard anything of her mother in almost five years...
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Jareth was livid. How dare his mother and sister plot against him? Especially his sister. Had he not made it perfectly clear two years ago that he could not be stopped from obtaining Sarah? After two years of little magical interference from her, why was she starting up now?
He was tired of his plans being foiled, simply because his pawns refused to play along. Sarah should have been his five years ago. But her damned mother had not wished her away to him. Ever since, each plan he attempted to bring Sarah to him had failed.
He needed to relieve his stress. But what to do? Throw the goblins around a bit? Torture that little dwarf (Headwart, was it?)No. He was really in the mood to taunt one of his prisoners. And he knew just the one, too.
With a sadistic gleam in his eyes, he transported himself into the deepest and darkest oubliette. He kept his favorite non child prisoner here. He snapped his fingers, and the torches instantly lit. The tiny cavern illuminated, and revealed a woman sitting in the corner. Her ankles were bound in chains. She was painfully thin, and pale. Her long dark hair was matted and dirty.
Jareth crouched down in front of her, and took her sharp chin in his hand, and lifted her face to meet his. Her lovely amber eyes gazed into the Goblin King's cold, mismatched eyes.
"Good day, Linda..."
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Short chapter, I know. And I hope you enjoy the little twist I added in...
Thank you for reading. Please review on your way out.
Love ya!
Reggie