A Dreamer's Heart ~ Chapter Two
Sarah was warming up some soup for Jareth when she heard low growling and hissing noises coming from the living room. Approaching the doorway she saw three goblins lined up side by side with weapons at the ready in a defensive stance. She was about to question them about their behavior when the sound of a delivery truck rumbling up her driveway came to her ears.
"Goblins!" She hissed authoritively. "No! Don't you dare attack!"
"We defend the King!" Dink exclaimed, holding his axe at the ready, the other two assuming the same stance.
"Goblins!" she repeated, putting more authority in her voice. "I said, no!" She strode into the room and pulled the axe from Dink's little hands. "Go in there with your King!" she commanded, pointing in the direction of her bedroom. "And don't come out unless I say so!" She heard the door of the truck slide open, then footfalls in the dry leaves outside. "Goblins, go now!" she reiterated forcibly. Finally, they scurried into her bedroom just as the bell rang at the front door.
"Hi, Jerry," Sarah greeted pleasantly, hiding the little axe behind the door as she opened it..
"Afternoon, Sarah," he replied with a pleasant smile, handing her a clip board for her to sign for her package. "Bet you been expectin this, heh?" he asked teasingly, waving the new book in front of her face tauntingly. His smile was suddenly replaced with a frown as the sound of growling filtered out from the other room. "You get yourself a dog?"
"Nah," Sarah replied nonplused, handing him back his clipboard, while taking her new book. "I found a stray the other night, and you know me," She shrugged with a chuckle. "Always the sucker for letting things in the house. I figure he probably belongs to a camper up on the peak. You haven't heard anything have you?"
"No, not at all," Jerry replied, scratching his balding head thoughtfully. "Fact, I don't think there is anyone out there right now. But I'll ask around during my deliveries, and see if we can find the owners. What's he look like?"
"Looks like?" Sarah repeated, not prepared for that question. "Uhm… a husky. With two different eyes, and uhm… gray and white fur. Almost looks like a wolf, except for the eyes, and he seems to be house trained."
"Oh, he's a big one, then," Jerry remarked with wariness. "You might want to keep this one outside, Sarah," Jerry told her in a stage whisper. "They found the remains of a cougar over on the other side of Gallow's Pass bout five days ago. They said it looked like wolves ripped it to pieces, but they ain't certain. There was a bunch of white owl feathers scattered around too. Your stray might not be as house trained as you think."
"Shit," Sarah whispered, not pretending to be overwhelmed by the news. 'Goblins really can be vicious.' She thought, then aloud said, "Yea, I'll tie him outside after you leave. Thanks, Jerry."
"No problem," he smiled, nodding his head politely. "I'll have Stella check in on you, let you know if we hear anything else. So, you make sure you got your phone plugged in, K?"
"Okay, Jerry, I will," she replied pleasantly as he turned to make his way back to his delivery truck.
Sarah closed the door and turned to face the living room, the hardbound book firmly in both hands. She stared blankly at the thick paper wrapped text. About five days ago she would've been ecstatic at having a new novel to read. She would've unplugged her phone, changed into her robe and slippers, made some tea, and settled down in her favorite chair in the den to read the romance from cover to cover.
But now, she sighed deeply as she glanced wistfully towards her bedroom, she was in the middle of an adventure of her own. Taken right out of the pages of fiction. Only there was no romance in her adventure. She bowed her head, biting the inside of her bottom lip as she fought that familiar hollow feeling that swelled within her. It seemed as though fate had skipped her completely when it came to her heart. She was always the friend, sometimes the lover, but never truly wanted or loved.
With a waking breath she snapped out of her reverie and crossed the room to place her book on the end table. Heading back to the kitchen she glanced once more towards her bedroom, an inner spark of… hope, tried to jump to the surface. She shook the feeling off as lonely wishful thinking, and resumed her task of preparing Jareth some soup.
Five goblins sat quietly on the floor in the bedroom, gazing mournfully through the open doorway. Even though they couldn't see the Lady from this room, they all felt her sadness.
"Why is the lady so sad?" Dink asked quietly. He'd felt her sadness before, while she tended the king's wounds, but she always pretended to be happy whenever she let him in to visit, even more so since the king woke up.
"Because she has no magic in her life," Jareth replied cryptically, having a hard time separating his own feelings from hers when she let her emotions surface for small amounts of time.
"Ohhh," the goblins sing sung as one voice, though none of them really understood what their king meant.
"But, the Lady is mortal," Dink observed. "She doesn't have magic to be sad about not having any."
"That's not the kind of magic she longs for."
"Lady longs for touchy touchy with King!" Dink stated with a jagged toothed smile, the others laughed in agreement. "She always happy when…"
Jareth raised himself up on an elbow, frowning at the strain it caused his body, and pointed at his goblins. "Remember your King, and hold your tongues!"
The room fell silent just as Sarah entered with a tray and two steaming bowls of soup, a glass of juice, and buttered toast. "Goblins, out," she announced with casual firmness, not questioning what Jareth was yelling at them about. The room cleared as they scurried through the doorway.
"They admire you," Jareth pointed out, ignoring how his supporting arm shook under his weight.
"They tolerate me," Sarah countered, placing the tray on top of a small cabinet at the foot of her bed.
"I've never known them to follow commands from anyone but me," he remarked, allowing her to fix pillows under and around him so he could sit upright more comfortably.
"Yea, well, this is my castle, and you have no idea what they went through just to get in the door."
"I heard you ran screaming." He grinned up at her as she leaned over him, struggling to fix the pillow at his back so that it didn't press against his wound.
"I did," she admitted bluntly, meeting his gaze pointedly. "That's when the battle really started. They had to convince me to open the door, and they succeeded, as you can attest."
"You resent what had happened to you so long ago," he stated matter of factly, using the hint of bitterness in her tone as his reasoning.
She snorted. "It was a mistake, Jareth," she remarked curtly, resuming her attention with the overly soft pillow. "Just one of many mistakes I've made over the years of my life." Finally satisfied that the pillow wouldn't press against his wound too much, she moved to get him his soup.
Her use of his given name did not go unnoticed. She usually avoided addressing him at all, and when she did it would be by his title and nothing more. He wondered if he should allow himself to think on such trivial things as she placed a bowl of soup upon his lap, along with another pillow to rest it on.
"You speak as though your life is ended," he stated cautiously, slowly twirling a spoon around in the steaming bowl.
"It might as well be," she remarked before thinking, paused in her movements, then continued to place the juice on the bedside nightstand. "If you don't need anything else for a while, I'd like to take a bath while you eat. Sleeping on the couch isn't agreeing with my back at all."
"I have my goblins if I require anything," he quipped haughtily, then sipped at some broth from the spoon.
She nodded, grabbed some clean clothes, then stepped from the room.
Jareth turned his gaze towards the hallway, watching her shadow disappear down the other end. He heard the soft click of a door being closed, then the sound of running water. Returning his gaze to his soup he let his mind wander freely.
He had the very vague image of her kissing him in his mind, it nagged at him incessantly, especially after Dink's comment about her being happy while touching him. 'What, exactly, had she done while I lay unconscious?' He put the spoon down and raised his hand, pointedly staring at his fingertips.
'I shouldn't,' he told himself. 'I can't,' he reiterated, lowering his hand. 'I am not strong enough to stand as much as make a crystal.' But his curiosity got the better of him. He had to know. He had to see for himself. Drawing in a few deep breaths he raised his hand and channeled his meager amount of magic to form a crystal, then stared in amazement at the lengths she had gone to save his life.
"Please, Jareth," she was begging him with a cup of broth in one hand and a spoon in the other. "You have to eat something, drink at least." She was crying, her legs straddled his waist harmless to his injuries, which he noticed through the orb, were more plentiful at that time. "Come on, you have to have some instinct to survive! Swallow it, dammit!"
She climbed off of him in frustration as he had lain prone the entire time. She paced her room like a caged animal, fretting, planning, trying to think of what to do. "Goblin!" Dink had appeared without hesitation, ready to do Sarah's bidding no matter what she asked of him.
Jareth watched with mild surprise at the expression on his goblin's face, an expression he had never seen before. Grief.
"How the hell do you get him to do anything?" she ranted at the little goblin.
"We don't make the King do anything," he answered, completely appalled at her question. "The King makes us do things!"
"Goblin, leave," she commanded him after a moment.
"But Lady called..."
"And now I'm telling you to leave!" she yelled, rounding on his poor faithful servant. "Out!" she yelled, pointing to the closed door.
"Lady just like King. Never make up your mind!" Dink had accused defiantly just before vanishing from sight.
"I'm nothing like him!" she had yelled in turn, stalking to the bed. The fire in her demeanor subsided as she gazed upon his prone figure. "Dammit, Jareth, you have to eat. It's almost been three days." New tears streaked her face as she touched her forehead upon his. "Please, wake up," she whispered softly, her lips were so close to his, though she hadn't been aware. But he had, even in the darkness of unconsciousness, he had sensed her closeness and lifted his face to touch her lips with his.
She had pulled her head back in surprise, her eyes shone of hope and fear simultaneously. "Goblin King?" A tear had fallen from her jaw to land near his lips. She gently wiped it away with a fingertip. He had opened his mouth and drew in a deep breath at her touch, and that was when her eyes darkened with determination.
She looked over at the cup of broth, then back at his half parted lips. "You'd kill me for sure for this," she whispered. "But you have to get something in your stomach." She glanced at the mug once more, working her bottom lip between her teeth indecisively. Then her eyes set with resolve, that age old familiar look that she gets in her eyes when she is determined, that inner cruelty that has no boundaries, and no rules.
She reached over and took hold of the cup then leaned over him, she hesitated more than once before placing her lips over his, gasping softly when he had responded to her. She pulled back, and placed the cup at his lips, tilting it to pour a tiny bit of liquid into his mouth. After watching him swallow the little bit that had went to the back of his throat, she repeated her actions, kissing him for his lips to part, then poured more broth in his mouth.
Soon she didn't have to tease his senses with kisses to get him to open his mouth, and was able to simply place the cup at his lips. He reflexively swallowed more and more of the broth, until the cup was empty.
Jareth closed his eyes, his hand fell limply off the side of the bed, the crystal rolling onto the floor well out of his reach. He swallowed hard as a wave of dizziness overcame him. He'd used too much energy and completely exhausted himself. But was satisfied that his curiosity had been sated. Allowing himself to be pulled down into the spiral of darkness, a small smile curled at his lips. He wondered if she realized that it was her attentions towards him that had awoken him, and not the consumption of broth. But now he knew, and he understood Sarah Williams all the more for it.
XxXxX
"Oh my god," Sarah exclaimed as soon as she entered the room and found him slumped over unconscious. "Jareth!" she called to him, easing his body to lay flat as she had positioned him before. "Goblin!" she yelled, her voice full of panic. Dink appeared from thin air, even though he had only been in the den down the hallway. "What happened to him? Why is he unconscious again?"
"I don't know!" Dink replied, instantly fearful for his king's life once more. "What did you feed him?"
"It's chicken broth, that's it! He didn't even touch much of it," Sarah looked around frantically for some clue as to what happened when her eye lit on the crystal lying on the floor. "Goblin, can you make crystals?"
"Goblins can't make crystals. Only the King can make crystals." Sarah walked on leaden feet and picked the crystal up from the floor. "Oh, that's bad," Dink stated. "King is not strong enough to make crystals."
"He exhausted himself to see something in a crystal?" Sarah wondered aloud, watching the scene within the orb repeat itself. "Oh no," she whispered, realizing that he now knew what she had done to get him to drink the broth. "Dammit, I shouldn't have left him alone." She turned to face the goblin. "Will this keep using his magic?" she asked, holding the clear ball in front of the goblin's face.
"I don't know. I think, yes. King always makes them go away when he's done using them."
"How do we get rid of it?" she asked. "And don't tell me you don't know!"
"I…" He looked around confused, not knowing what else to say. "Lady touchy touchy King!"
"What?" Sarah exclaimed, instantly appalled at the suggestion.
"Lady touchy touchy the King, and the King woke up!" Dink insisted. "Do it again!"
Sarah let her shoulders slump with understanding. "I was touching him for three days, that's not what woke him up." Sarah waywardly glanced in the crystal, just to see if there was something else in it, and saw herself and Dink as they debated with each other at that moment. "He's watching us," she whispered to herself, watching as only her lips moved in the crystal but no sound was heard.
"Lady touchy touchy King!" Dink insisted.
Sarah looked at the little goblin when his image appeared in the crystal, his comment was heard clearly. "Jareth, stop the crystal." She watched herself repeated her command then it flashed multiple images in quick succession of Jareth tossing a crystal in the air, each orb disappearing once it left his hand.
Willing to give it a try, she took a step back, though she wasn't sure why, held the crystal at her fingertips as Jareth had done, and tossed it high into the air, quickly bending in half to cover her head in preparation of it hitting the ceiling and bouncing back to hit her. The clear orb never came down.
"Where'd it go?" Sarah asked, straightening herself to look around curiously.
"You make crystal go away like King," the goblin answered in awe, his eyes wide with wonder. "You have magic!"
"Jareth," she breathed, and raced to the bed, ignoring the goblin completely. "Jareth!" she called more urgently.
"King won't wake up, Lady. King wasn't strong enough to make a crystal."
"Out!" Sarah commanded, pointing to the doorway.
"What I do?" the goblin asked offended, then sighed deeply and resigned himself to obey when Sarah simply stared at him pointing toward the door.
She closed the door behind the goblin then went back to the bed. She checked Jareth's breathing once more, brushing his hair from his face to see if he had awoke. He hadn't. She turned her body and sunk to the floor, resting her back against the mattress.
"And you're how old?" she asked rhetorically in a disgruntled tone, looking over the mattress at his prone figure. "You couldn't wait until you were stronger, could you?" Folding her arms over her chest, she breathed gruffly with irritation. "Goblin!"
"Goblin's name is Dink!" he fumed upon appearing before her, his little hands on his tiny hips.
Sarah looked at him curiously, then smiled politely. "Very well, Dink. Go fetch me my book that the man gave to me today."
"Dink a goblin, not a dog!" he argued, bending his knees threateningly, ready to fight.
"You will get me my book," Sarah told him forcibly, rising to her feet to peer down at him. "Or you will not be allowed to enter here at all!"
Dink straightened his back and looked at the Lady, contemplating if she was telling him the truth or not. His eyes shifted ever so slightly to his King, and noticed how his majesty's lips curved slightly with amusement. Dink met the Lady's gaze once more, knowing that she didn't see the King wake up. He disappeared only to return within a couple of seconds.
"Book for Lady," he stated, lugging the heavy text to her before disappearing again.
"About time he just left with out me having to tell him," she grumbled to herself as she turned towards the bed. She checked Jareth once more, not noticing any change, then carefully climbed over him to settle on the other side of the mattress with her book. "I seriously hope you don't mind sleeping with the lights on, 'King'," she mused whimsically. "Because I'll be pulling an all nighter with my book." She settled herself comfortably, then glanced over at Jareth. "'You' apparently can't be trusted to be left alone without hurting yourself, so consider yourself babysat until further notice."
Sarah carefully ripped the packaging from her book, and stared at the cover dreamily for a moment, then shifted her gaze to the seemingly unconscious man beside her. She watched as his upper body moved slightly in rhythm to his breathing, then daringly reached out to caress an area of his back with no injuries. A sheet modestly covered his butt, but not enough to protect him from her hungry eyes. Tearing her gaze away, she opened her book, and was completely captivated by the story within minutes.
XxXxX
"Dink," Jareth called, just slightly above a whisper. His servant was standing before him immediately, wringing his hands nervously. "Where is she?" Dink's gaze shifted slightly behind his King's back.
"Lady sleeps with King," he answered quietly.
Jareth pulled his arms under his chest, wincing as the skin on his back pulled taut around the wound. He turned his head to the other side and found her curled up, almost in a ball, with her back against the wall, and her book hugged tightly against her chest. With a deep sigh, Jareth carefully maneuvered himself to throw a leg over the side of the mattress.
"King is not strong enough to get up!" Dink exclaimed with anxious concern, looking back at Sarah fretfully.
Jareth paused his movements, glanced over at Sarah, then fixed Dink with a pointed glare. "Shush!" He continued his attempt to stand up.
"Lady yells at Dink," the goblin complained in an anxious voice. "She threatens me, too!"
"I yell threats at you all the time," Jareth replied between gritted teeth, forcing himself to overcome the pain while putting his feet to the floor, leaning heavily on the mattress.
"But, your my King. You're allowed to yell and threaten me."
"And this is the Lady's castle," Jareth gritted in a pained voice. "She has been more than generous towards us, wouldn't you agree?"
Dink solemnly mulled this in his head while Jareth insisted on trying to stand up straight. "She cried when King did not wake up," Dink said informatively. "She made your crystal go away with magic."
"She had help with that," Jareth whispered weakly, his breathing already strained from his excursion.
"King is not strong enough to get up." Dink reiterated fretfully, wringing his hands in front of his chest.
Jareth ignored the goblin and managed to stand upright for the first time in days. Though his legs trembled and his back felt like lava heat, it felt good to stand on his own two feet.
"Lady says King must rest."
"And you are annoying me greatly. Now go elsewhere." Jareth closed his eyes, breathing deeply while his body quaked under the strain.
Dink looked from his King to the Lady then back again with indecision. Suddenly he scrunched his face with determination, puffed out his chest, and worked his little arms to get himself all fired up.
"Lady!" he shouted loudly, then promptly disappeared from sight.
"Send Dink to the bog," Jareth mumbled to himself. "Must remember that."
Sarah opened her eyes to see Jareth standing at the side of the bed, tucking the sheet around his waist. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked, rising from the bed to stand in front of him.
"I am standing," he answered with as much arrogance as he could muster. "What does it look like I am doing?"
"You're going to be falling if you don't lay back down," she told him. He was paler than she'd ever seen him, and his body physically trembled with his exertion. She placed a hand on his bare chest, thankful he had had the foresight to wrap the sheet around his narrow hips, and attempted to ease him back to the bed.
He grabbed her wrist with a grasp firmer than she had expected, causing her to suck in a startled breath. "I wish to remain standing for the moment," he told her bluntly, not releasing her wrist when she tried to pull her hand free. "I thought you were more at ease with my presence." He remarked, noticing the hint of uncertainty that lit in her eyes.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" she asked, letting him hold onto her wrist without further struggle. She had no doubt that she'd be able to pull free from his grasp, but didn't want him to use any more energy than he already was.
"I was told of how you remained close at hand when my goblins first brought me here. How you fawned over me, tending to my wounds with the utmost care."
"Yea, well," she chuckled nervously. "That was when you weren't able to do anything yourself."
"Perhaps you were simply more comfortable while I was unconscious. When you could, quite literally, do whatever you wanted with me."
She blushed profusely, turning her head to avoid his gaze. "I know you saw what I did." She met his eyes defiantly. "And you damn nearly killed yourself, again, making that crystal."
"I did see what you had done," he stated agreeably, leaning closer to her slightly. "But tell me, Sarah," he questioned in a deep suggestive tone. "Would you continue to caress my skin, knowing how I react to your gentle touch?" His thumb caressed the pulse spot on her wrist. "Would you touch your lips to mine if I continued to refused to eat?" He lowered his head closer to the side of her face, feeling his strength waning as quickly as her breaths became uneven. "Would you whisper softly to me while I slept if you knew I heard every word?"
"No," she whispered within a breath, closing her eyes against the effect he was having on her. She couldn't breath, her heart hammered in her chest, her mind grew fuzzy and disoriented. "No," she repeated in a stronger voice. "I wouldn't."
"Pity," he remarked, fighting to keep his voice even, despite his strength giving out on him.
He released her so suddenly that she thought he had collapsed. Snapping her eyes open, she found him gently easing himself back to the mattress. Putting much needed space between them to let her head clear somewhat.
"I've exhausted myself for your comfort, my Lady," he told her quietly, closing his eyes to rest on his side.
"Why?" she demanded, stepping closer in agitation. "Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Surely you want to heal and return home?"
"Surely," he repeated patronizingly in a weak voice. "What I want is more obvious than that."
"Obviously, I don't know…"
"Lady!" Dink exclaimed happily from behind her, causing her to jump in surprise. The other goblins appeared in the room with him, each carrying more supplies. "We went shopping!"
"Why is that goblin wearing pantyhose on his head?" Sarah asked hesitantly.
"Zip went the wrong way," Dink stated simply as an explanation.
Sarah decided not to question it any further, and simply accepted the supplies as they handed them to her.
"King is sleeping?"
"Yes," Sarah replied tiredly, turning her head to gaze upon his elegant features. "King is sleeping."