Disclaimer: Go ahead. Sue me. I got bupkis.
A/N: Sorry for the short chapters. I have so few hours in which to work on this and I'm trying to just write as it comes to me.
As always, thanks for reading and DOUBLE thanks for reviewing.
To Clara954 ~ Thank you for your detailed comments. I do regret that my Sarah comes across as weak to you. I honestly was trying to portray her realistically. I struggled to find the right balance between fear and strength. My thinking was this wasn't a fairy tale come to life. It was a very scary situation for a young girl to find herself in. I made sure she stood up to her attacker, though, without wishing for someone to rescue her. She grabbed a weapon and faced the situation head-on, refusing to flee from the house when she had the chance, putting Toby's safety first.
Personally, in that situation, I would have probably made a puddle on the floor before collapsing in a dead faint.
So... that's my defense. Believe me when I say that my Sarah will only get stronger as the story unfolds and I hope you enjoy the rest of my tale.
Chapter 7:
Sarah took a last look around her bedroom, making sure she had remembered everything she wanted to take with her. All of her clothes, books and most cherished trinkets had been sent on to the castle by Jareth, who had finally relented when he'd seen how important her possessions were to her. He'd been staunchly opposed to taking her clothing, arguing that the garments weren't befitting his queen, but he found it hard to deny her such an inconsequential victory.
Satisfied that there was nothing of import left in the nearly-empty room, Sarah backed out into the hallway and shut the door. Opening it again, she was amazed to see a clean, masculine study, complete with a Naugahyde sofa and shelves of leather-bound books. She'd known that Jareth had cast a spell that would alter the room when she was finished gathering her belongings, but it was still unsettling, as if she'd never even existed. With a heavy heart, she turned off the light and closed the door for the last time.
While the two men did a final inspection of the house, eradicating all signs of the evening's events and placing a protective ward on the entire property, Sarah wandered through the place she had called home for so long. Every square inch was as familiar as her own face. The kitchen where her family ate breakfast together every morning, the dining room where they'd gathered for dinner almost every night... she had never imagined it would be so hard to leave.
A sudden thought sent Sarah rushing back up the stairs to Toby's room. She quickly grabbed her brother's favorite blanket and a shabby old stuffed bear from his bed.
"I certainly can't leave you behind, Lancelot," she said softly, holding the toy close to her heart.
Fighting off the urge to weep, Sarah ran from the room, slamming the door behind her, not bothering to find out what the little room had since become.
"Sarah..."
Jareth awaited her at the bottom of the staircase, a frown upon his face. Once she reached him, she could see that his immaculate black poet's shirt and form-fitting breeches were no longer so immaculate. Wiry white hairs peppered the dark fabric liberally, along with several noticeable smears of a shiny, viscous substance.
"Merlin... I forgot about Merlin," she said, moving past the disgruntled, slobber-covered Goblin King towards the kitchen. The sight that greeted her there made her giggle, despite herself. Merlin was laying across the dark-haired soldier's feet, his way of making sure the stranger couldn't cause any trouble.
"Hey, big guy," she said, kneeling down beside him and running her hand over him in a loving gesture. Turning to look back over her shoulder, she gave Jareth a hopeful glance.
"I want to take him, too," she said.
"You think to bring that beast into my castle?" he asked incredulously.
Sarah rolled her eyes. "You have chickens in your castle. What harm could Merlin do?"
"I do not have chickens in my castle... well, not anymore."
"Please, Your Majesty, I love him very much," she said earnestly. "Please."
One look at those lambent green eyes, pleading with him to allow this one last comfort, and Jareth was swayed. He really would have to toughen up or his young bride would soon be ruling him, he thought.
" If you absolutely insist, Sarah. It might be nice to have a dog at that." He gave her a grin that almost made her forget her belligerent feelings towards him for a brief moment.
"Thank you," she whispered, blinking back the tears of relief that gathered in her eyes.
Finding himself more than a little choked up, Jareth curbed the urge to pull her into his arms, knowing he had to go slow with her. Instead he replied, "You're welcome. And Sarah... you may call me Jareth."
She nodded but remained silent, her slender fingers toying with Merlin's fuzzy hair.
"Well, if we are finished here..." he began, looking to Sarah for a signal. She took a shaky breath and nodded once more. "Come, then. Let's go home." He reached a hand out to her and she allowed him to help her to her feet. He looked to Bram and then inclined his head towards the slavering animal at his feet, a silent communication, and then the elven warrior and panting dog vanished in a shower of silvery glitter.
"Shall we?" he asked her, gently taking her into his arms.
"Yes," was all she said.
Before Sarah could take even one more breath, she found herself traveling at a dizzying pace through a spiraling black tunnel. The next instant, she was standing in the same throne room she had visited briefly just over two years before. Except it wasn't the same at all.
Where once there had been straw covered floors, dirty clothes and little kegs of ale, now everything was clean and organized. Most peculiar of all, there wasn't a single goblin lying around in a drunken stupor. The large stone room looked like a respectable place for a monarch to handle his kingly affairs.
Hugging Lancelot to her chest, Sarah turned slowly, taking in as much as she could. It looked so different, so much more inviting than she'd anticipated.
Seeing the look of relief on her face, Jareth smiled. "I take it you were expecting the worst?"
"I remember it looking different, that's all," she said sheepishly.
"Yes... it was rather a mess, wasn't it? But I saw the error of my ways and have set things aright."
"So I see."
Taking her free hand, Jareth led her up the staircase to the room where she had faced off against him.
"The secret of this room is to think about where you want to go," he told her, leading her through one of the arched doorways, where another staircase awaited them. After five more stairways just like the first two, Sarah was thoroughly exhausted and completely confused.
"Don't worry, Sarah. You'll learn your way around soon enough. It only seems hopeless for a little while," he said, sensing her concern.
She nodded to show she'd heard.
At long last, they arrived before a large set of double doors, highly-polished mahogany banded with strips of gleaming bronze. Jareth released his hold on her hand and opened them with a grand flourish.
"Your chambers, My Lady... for the next two weeks, that is."
Sarah hesitantly stepped across the threshold, awe-struck by the feminine beauty of the large, ornate room. A large white canopy bed stood against the wall to her right, draped in soft, rose-colored hangings. Directly across from her, a set of French doors led out onto a small stone balcony where a wealth of colorful flowers bloomed in large marble urns. To her left, a giant fireplace took up most of the wall, flanked by a matching pair of eggshell-colored wing-back chairs. A small floral-print settee in shades of pink and cream sat before the tiled hearth.
"All of your belongings are already unpacked. Your closet, dressing room and bath are through there," he told her, pointing towards an arched doorway on the other side of the massive, canopied bed. "I hope it meets with your approval."
"It's lovely. Thank you."
He accepted her thanks graciously with a slight inclination of his head.
"Why only two weeks?" she asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it anyway.
"We shall be married on Midsummer's Eve, Sarah. That gives you two weeks to settle in, a time in which we shall get to know one another. I will not ask you to share my bed until the night of our joining."
Sarah took a steadying breath and pretended to study the child's blanket that lay draped over her left arm, picking at an invisible imperfection in the material.
Jareth took her chin in his gloved hand and gently forced her face up so that she had to look at him. "Everything will be fine, Sarah. Accept what has happened and do not fret so."
"Easier said than done..." she mumbled.
Not wanting to cause her anymore discomfort that night, Jareth decided to let her have her space, even though he was reluctant to part from her. Drawing her right hand to his cool lips, he placed a chaste kiss upon her soft, delicate skin and then made a formal half-bow.
"Sleep well, Precious. I shall see you at breakfast. Mim will wake you and help you dress."
"Mim?"
"The housekeeper. She will be most eager to meet you, I dare say."
Sarah started to close the doors once he had exited to the corridor outside but a thought made her pause. "Wait! Where is Merlin?"
"If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say he is currently taking Hoggle for a walk in the gardens."
The image of her grouchy little friend being dragged behind the lumbering sheepdog made Sarah smile, the first real smile she'd managed in what felt like ages.
"Goodnight, Sarah."
"Goodnight...Jareth," she said bashfully, sounding just a little awkward.
His name spoken by her sweet lips made his chest tighten. Turning on his booted heel, Jareth made his way towards his tower, feeling a sense of peaceful gratification that he had never known in his long, lonely life.
"Welcome home, my love," he whispered with a sigh.