Jareth leant back, his black boot-shod feet crossed atop his desk. He hardly used his desk for what it was. He had some different uses in mind for it. But at the moment, he needed to use it as it was meant to be used. A pile of papers lay in the center of the desk. Normally he wouldn't care about the paperwork that an event like his wedding would entail, but he didn't want any problems. Every little detail had been accounted for. There was nothing that could call off this wedding.
Sarah couldn't cry off, though he highly doubted she would. She was the one who needed the actual marriage; he could care less himself. All the paperwork for a normal Goblin marriage had been completed quite easily. It was the ceremony and the act of a somewhat human wedding that had been giving him grief. He finally finished all the arrangements this afternoon. It had been a close call. He had wanted to get married in the morning; and so he shall.
All the guests had been invited, though some he was not happy to have there. He only invited them because he knew it would make Sarah happy. What had she done to him, this wide-eyed innocent (well, somewhat innocent) human girl? He was a great King, a powerful magician. There should be no magic that could make him act this way. The Upperworld's God knew that. In fact, one of the widowed Queens of another world had tried to bewitch him into marrying her. He couldn't afford to join his power with anyone who ruled another world. It would throw off the balance he tried so hard to keep in check.
It was an odd thought, the Goblin King caring for something other than himself. Sarah would be surprised to learn how much he really thought about himself. It might seem to an outside observer that all the Goblin King did was amuse himself. That was a perk of being a lord of almost ultimate power and control. He could use that power any way he saw fit when it came to his comforts. For he had one of the hardest jobs in the known worlds. The power keep him happy though. He never thought anything else would come close. Then Sarah arrived.
He shook his head, dropping his feet to the ground. He was sounding like some sentimental old fool. He was old, but he was no fool nor was he sentimental. Face it, half of his happiness was just wanting to get her into his bed again. Stupid honorable human customs. If it weren't for them…
He shook his head again. Come morning, the Goblin King would be a married man. That was a strange thought, a strange feeling. Even stranger was the knowledge that soon, he wouldn't even be King. Then he could be truly selfish. That he couldn't wait for almost as much as the wedding.
Jareth rose to his feet and crossed the room to a freestanding mirror. Glare from the setting sun glanced off the mirror's reflective surface. Emitting an irritated growl, he made a sharp gesture with his right hand. The black curtain behind him flew across the window, blocking any rays from entering the room. This was the real reason he used this room for many an important work. He snapped his fingers and something shot out of a desk drawer into his beckoning hand.
He uncurled his fingers to reveal a braided ring of hair. Though not required for his level of magic, it helped to have something physical of the person he wished to see. He curled his fingers back around the braided ring. He stared directly into the heart of the mirror, not saying a word. After a moment, the surface of the mirror swirled a mixture of grey and silver. When the surface cleared, Sarah was visible in the mirror. She was sitting in her room, back toward her mirror.
He had used this to watch her and her brother grow in their human world. She had grown more beautiful every day he looked at her in the mirror. Now was no different. Her curtains hung open, softly moving in the slight breeze that came from a partially open window. Rays of setting sunlight, multifaceted from the panes of glass, played on her long, brown hair. It flared and shimmered, turning mere hair into something strangely gorgeous, spun amber. It was hard to believe she was human. Of course, the marriage ceremony would change that. By joining her future life with his, the magic of the Labyrinth would extend her life span, keep her the age of thirty for the duration of that new life span. He watched the sunlight dance upon her hair for a few more minutes, just enjoying the show.
Jareth twitched a finger and the angle of view changed. Her oval face was now shown in the mirror, eyes closed, lashes brushing her cheekbones. He could guess what she was thinking about. He stroked the mirror's surface, finger running down the line of her face. "Soon, my love. Come morning, all will be right in our world. So soon, the sun sets now. Soon."
Sarah gave a small shudder, raising a hand to her cheek. Shaking her head, she closed the window and slipped off the ledge she had been sitting on. It had taken her a bit of time to grow used to the Labyrinth's time scale. Besides a day being thirteen hours long, there was this strange twilight period of yellow light with both a sun and a moon in the sky that lasted for several hours. It was lucky that a Labyrinth day was twelve hours behind an Earth day or Toby would never make it to the wedding. She wasn't sure if she could go through with it if her brother wasn't there.
It wasn't like she was having second thoughts or anything, but sometimes it was hard living in the Underground. Unlike Jareth, who had jumped at the chance to learn and use magic, Sarah didn't have that chance. It was probably because the Labyrinth already had a ruler firmly in charge once again. Maybe that feeling of discomfort or loneliness would change after the wedding. The question was, would being the official Queen make the Underground better or worse for her? Would Jareth have more time for her? Or would it end up being like the past three days where he hardly came out of his office?
She shook her head again. She had to admit she loved the man. So, let come what may. She also hadn't had a good word duel it awhile. It made her angry. At least, she hoped that was what was making her angry. And not the fact that she kept imagining the wedding night. If the throne room had been good, this, by all rights, should be even better. "Such a dirty mind," she said aloud to the empty room. "Shouldn't have such before a wedding. Or they're perfect thoughts to have." Now she was even talking to herself. Go figure.
Jareth smiled, white teeth flashing in a wolf-like grin. He knew it. He was on the side that the thoughts were of the perfect kind. He shared those thoughts and had been thinking that way for longer than she had. "Perfect thoughts indeed."