They didn't have funeral plots purchased. Why? Toby, I understand. He was so young. How could anyone expect him to die before he grew up? But Dad and Karen didn't plan to move out of the area. Daddy had that heart attack a year ago. Shouldn't that have been a wakeup call for him? The thoughts raced through Sarah's mind as she called around, trying to find a cemetery, any cemetery, that had three plots next to each other. Robert and Karen had made no plans, and Sarah thought it only right that Toby be buried with them instead of in some other site, far away from his parents. Finally, she had found one, nearly a hundred miles away, in the same town as Karen's sister. Through it all, Jareth had stayed by her side. She had been afraid, at first, that he had come only to gloat at her misfortune, but after she had woken up to find him fixing her some breakfast, without magic on top of that, she realized he really was there only because she had called. He had asked no questions, only listened when she was willing and able to talk, giving her the strength she needed to keep going.
Spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay
"I always thought there'd be enough time, y'know? I mean, Toby was so young. Look. Here's his first day of kindergarten," Sarah said, handing Jareth the picture.
"He would have grown into a fine young man," Jareth replied.
"They were actually on their way here on the day of the crash. Toby just graduated from kindergarten, and Karen's parents were going to throw him a little "get-read-for-first-grade" party. I had finals and so I wouldn't be home. Not that it really mattered. They didn't want me there."
"How could they not? I'm sure Toby especially would have wanted you there, Sarah. You loved him enough to run my labyrinth for him. Didn't he love you?"
"Oh, we were extremely close. It wasn't Toby or Daddy or even Karen. It was Karen's family. After all, I wasn't Karen's daughter. I wasn't from their bloodline. My mother is a low-life actress who barely has time to even acknowledge her child's existence, let alone Toby's, so why should they bother to acknowledge me? I'm not from their world, so I'm not good enough for them."
"What kind of people were they?" The disgust was evident in Jareth's voice.
There's always some reason
To feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
"The rich snobbish kind," Sarah said. "Hanna – that's Karen's sister – already had Toby's prep school picked out, and Karen's parents were all ready to pay for it. Even Karen was willing to send him away to the boarding school they wanted him to go to."
"What's wrong with public schools? You went to one."
Sarah gave a derisive snort. "They're unsophisticated. They don't provide a young man with the advantages that he needs to be a success in today's world," she said, doing her best to imitate her blue-blooded step-aunt.
"Sarcasm does not become you, Precious."
I need some distraction
Oh beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
"Thank you, by the way, for coming when I called. I really needed somebody. Daddy was an only child, and his parents are already dead, so you'll be the only friendly face there."
"I promised I'd be there for you when the world falls down."
"I don't remember you ever promising me that."
Jareth stood up, pulling Sarah out of her chair, hugging her. "I thought you might not. It was in the ballroom, after you ate that peach."
"You mean when you drugged me."
"Hoggle gave you the peach."
"Only because you ordered him to!" Sarah said, pulling away.
Let me be empty
Oh, weightless, and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight
"Does it really matter, anymore? It's been five years."
"No, I suppose it doesn't. I'm sorry. I'm just so high strung right now…"
"It's perfectly alright, Precious…but do tell me something…"
"What?"
"Why did you feel the need to drink yourself stupid, the other night?"
Sarah sighed. "I guess I was just so disappointed when you didn't come immediately."
Jareth drew her back into the hug. "I apologize, Precious. Unfortunately, I was dealing with another runner at the time, or I would have come immediately."
"Did they make it?"
"No, I'm afraid she didn't."
'Who did she wish away?"
"A rather vile woman…her husband's ex-wife. I don't think she even would have run if she weren't so cautious about 'fairy dreams,' as she called them. She said she didn't want to end up by Rip Van Winkle. Unfortunately, this particular wish-away is too stupid to be a decent goblin, and too old to adopt out to a Fae family who doesn't have children, so I had to put her in a leaky oubliette beneath the Bog."
That gave Sarah pause. The idea was absurd. She knew how bad the smell of the Bog was. The thought of being stuck in an oubliette beneath it, let alone one that leaked, was horrendous. Then, without warning, she burst out laughing for the first time since before the crash.
In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
"I'm glad I cheered you up."
"I needed it, Jareth. I really did. Thank you. I've been so morose for the past few days. I was starting to wonder if I'd ever live again."
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
"You'll definitely live again. And your parents and Toby will always live in your heart, Precious. Trust me on this one."
"You've lost someone before."
"We're immune only to age, Sarah. Contrary to popular belief, we Fae can die. My father is dead. That's how I became the Goblin King. He was killed in a duel with the Elf King. It was a stupid argument, really, all over whether or not a group of chickens being raised by some goblins who had crossed the border on their own now belonged to the Elves who had found them. The High Council heard about it, made the Elves return the chickens, and then ordered the offending piece of land be ceded to the Goblin Kingdom."
"What about your mother?"
"Alive and pestering me for grandchildren."
This brought another laugh from Sarah, emotional release pouring out of her. Before either one knew it, they were asleep in one bed, holding each other.
So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
At the funeral the next day, Sarah's prediction turned out to be true. Karen's family tended to snub her. She overheard one cousin saying to another, "Well, naturally, that little waif will get the house, since Robert paid for it and had it long before Karen entered the marriage. It's just not right, though, such a historic home. She'll probably just sell it for the money."
"If Tobias had survived, he'd have inherited by all rights as the only male heir. It really is unfortunate," the other cousin replied. If the two women noticed Sarah nearby, they obviously didn't care.
Sarah growled low. Jareth was quick to massage her shoulders. "Calm down, Precious. They can't do anything to you now. After today, you'll never have to deal with them again," he said, giving her a soft peck on the cheek.
The storm keeps on twisting
Keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
Sarah nodded, and Jareth noted a glint in her eyes that really should have warned him.
"And what about that man she's with?" the first cousin continued. "He's at least twenty years her senior. Do you think he's a professor that she was sleeping with to get through college?"
"Well, they are right about one thing, Precious," Jareth whispered into Sarah's ears. "I am at least twenty years your senior."
Sarah just smirked, grasped Jareth's arm, and pulled him over to the two gossips. "Chrysta, Cecile, I would like to introduce my very long-time boyfriend to you, Jareth Kingston."
Jareth knew where this was going. "Well, fiance as of last night," he said, holding up Sarah's left hand, onto which he'd magicked an obscenely large diamond.
"Yes. True, he's an older man, but you know how men are. They take so much longer to mature than we women do," Sarah added. "It will be a shame that I'll have to sell the house, since I'll be moving to his manor in England. Jareth is a real live Lord. Of course, with all it's history, being over a hundred years old and all, and being so well maintained, the house ought to bring quite a bit of money, and that should buy me quite the wedding gown, suitable for a lady, right? Lady Sarah Kingston has quite the nice ring to it, don't you think?" she asked, flashing the diamond in the faces of the other women for emphasis.
The two cousins huffed and walked away. Jareth looked down at Sarah, his face giving away a mixture of shock and pride. "Well well, what a little liar you are."
It don't make no difference
Escaping one last time
It's easier to believe
"I know, and I appologize for lowering your rank in front of them, but thank you for going along. They really did have it coming."
"Are you sure you're not part goblin?"
In this sweet madness
Oh this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees
"I'm sure. But, would it be alright if I kept the ring on for the rest of the funeral? At least until we're away from all of these horrid people."
"Sarah, it would be alright with me if you kept it on for as long as you live."
Hannah showed up just then, keeping Sarah from pondering the meaning of Jareth's words. "Oh, Sarah, thank you for taking care of all of this. I know how dreadfully difficult this must have been, but it just wouldn't have been right to have the servants do it all when it's really family that knows them. Not that you were Karen's family, of course, but you were Robert's daughter..."
"Karen and I had a fantastic relationship after I got over Linda leaving us and grew up some," Sarah spat out. "She was even a much better mother to me than Linda." Well, the second part wasn't a lie. Karen really had tried. They just couldn't seem to get close. "In fact, it's thanks to Karen that I met Jareth." She began studying the diamind ring, then, as if critical, somehow, of the size or the cut. "Maybe we should have gone with that one with the square cut with a baguette on each side..." she said softly. "No, that would have made my finger look fat. The emerald cut really was the way to go. It gives a lengthened look to my finger, don't you think?" she asked.
The sudden look on Hannah's face betrayed her thoughts. Clearly she had doubted her daughters regarding the size of the rock. It wasn't just a piece of ice. It was practically an Olympic skating rink.
In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
That night, back in the hotel room, Sarah lay back on the bed, her heels kicked off, her hose off, her blouse barely buttoned enough to be decent. She felt free, somehow.
"So, would you like to keep it?" Jareth asked, stepping out of the shower.
"Hmmm?"
"The ring. Would you like to keep it?"
Sarah sat up, looking at the object in question. "It's lovely, Jareth, but I couldn't keep it. I mean, we went five years without seeing each other, y'know? Isn't this a rather extravagant gift to someone who used to be your enemy and just now got in touch with you again after five years?"
"I could make the diamond smaller, if you like, if that's all you're concerned about," he said. "I mean, I suppose six carats is a bit much."
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
"Jareth..."
"Haven't you been listening to a word I've said to you all day, Sarah? I love you, and I want you to be my wife."
"It's a little too soon," Sarah said, pulling the ring from her finger, handing it back to him. "But...I would be willing to get to know you better. I don't want to marry you under false pretenses, to pretend I love you and then years later relize I don't, or have you think that I'm just wanting to escape from here permanantly and just use you... Give it some time?"
Jareth closed the ring into his hand. When he reopened it, it had become a crystal pendant. "Of course, Precious. I'll let you set the pace of our relationship. But will you at least accept this?"
Sarah nodded and let Jareth put the necklace around her neck. She leaned back against him, then, relaxed in his arms, finding the comfort that she needed.
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here