A Wish Unspoken: A Christmas Tale
Part II
"All right," growled Sarah. "Where is he?" She cut her eyes toward the shadowed wall where the Goblin King stood waiting.
"Where is who?" he asked innocently. He casually picked an invisible piece of lint from his dark sleeve before looking up at Sarah with a smirk.
Sarah stormed over to where he stood, her fists clenched in rage.
"Don't fuck with me, Jareth," she hissed. "You have no reason to take my brother this time, so give him back to me right now."
Jareth smiled down at her and purred, "Sarah dear, as much as I would love to fuck with you, I can assure you that I do not have your brother."
"Then where the hell is he?" Sarah shouted, gesturing wildly.
"Well, how should I know, Precious?" Jareth asked seriously. "I'm not the one responsible for him. Perhaps you should call him."
Sarah put her hand on her hip and glared at him. "Call him? Jareth, he was just here… unless you've done some kind of weird voodoo magic and he's on top of the Empire State Building and if he is, so help me, I'll kill your stupid fairy ass."
All this was said as Sarah whipped out her cell phone and pressed the button to ring Toby's phone. She had worried that they might get separated in the city crowds, so they had worked out a plan that they would call each other if such a thing happened. Jareth watched from the shadows, amused as Sarah tapped her foot impatiently and waited for Toby to answer.
"Hello?" Toby's 8 year-old voice finally came through the other end.
"Oh thank god, Tobes! Where are you?" Sarah blurted, tremendously relieved.
"Um… I'm at home. Who is this?" Toby asked.
"It's Sarah, you goof. I've been super worried… wait, you're at home? How can you be home? You were just here with me in NYC…" Sarah looked back at Jareth in alarm, but he merely shrugged.
"Seriously, Sarah," said Toby. "What are you smoking? Why would I be with you in NYC? I haven't seen you in over two years."
Sarah's mind whirled. Her brother had to be joking.
"Stop kidding, Tobes," she told him shakily. "Just tell me where you are and I'll come and get you. You shouldn't disappear on me like that."
On the other end of the line Toby sighed. "I told you, I'm at home. Are you crazy or something? And you're the one who disappeared, by the way."
"Fine, Toby," Sarah huffed. "If you're at home let me talk to Daddy."
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"Toby? Toby, can you hear me? If you're at home, put Daddy on the phone."
"You're a really sick twisted bitch, Sarah," squeaked Toby.
Sarah was dumbfounded. She'd never heard her brother use such words and certainly not directed at her. She stood numbly holding her phone next to her ear as Jareth silently watched from his dark corner. Another voice came on the line and Sarah jumped.
"Sarah? Is that you?" asked Karen.
"K-Karen, hi. Yeah, it's me Sarah. Look, Toby and I got separated and…"
"Sarah, are you in trouble?" Karen interrupted. "I'm willing to talk if you need help, but I will not stand for you calling and upsetting your brother."
"I…I didn't mean to upset him. I just asked to talk to Daddy…"
"Oh Sarah, how could you be so cruel?" Karen asked softly. "Look, if you need help, I can find someone to help you. Otherwise, don't call here again."
"But I-" Sarah tried to reply, but the phone clicked as Karen hung up. Sarah lowered the phone slowly and turned toward Jareth.
"What did you do?" she asked icily.
"Nothing more than you asked," he replied with just as much ice.
"I don't understand," Sarah said shaking her head.
"It's quite simple, Precious. You wished you'd never made the wish that summoned me seven years ago. And now you haven't."
"But why are you still here?" growled Sarah.
Jareth laughed. "Oh Sarah, you can't wish me away. To whom would you be wishing? Wouldn't that be an interesting paradox?" He stepped out of the shadows and placed his gloved hands on Sarah's shoulders.
"No, my girl. I'm here to show you, guide you, make you see how generous I have been with you. My lessons should not be taken so lightly, as they are not given lightly. You are an ungrateful child to wish to forget what I have taught you and what you yourself have done."
"But-" Sarah began but Jareth laid a finger over her lips.
"I don't wish to hear how you 'didn't mean it.' What's said is said." He glared coldly down at the shivering female before him. "Now, is there somewhere I can take you?"
"I want my Daddy," Sarah said, her voice trembling.
"Sarah, I don't think…"
"I want my Daddy, damn it!"
Jareth sighed, his breath coming out in a long puff of vapor. "Very well," he said stretching out his arms. "Hold tight to me."
Sarah moved forward hesitantly and allowed Jareth to wrap his arms around her. The world around them pulsed and wavered as they were transported to a dark quiet snow-covered corner that was unfamiliar to Sarah. Transporting from the city left her dizzy and she clung to Jareth for a moment while her head stopped spinning. Pushing away from him, she looked around.
"Where are we?" she asked, taking in her surroundings. In the distance she could see houses decorated with blinking colored lights. She didn't recognize any of them.
"We're not too far from your home," Jareth answered. Sarah whirled around to face him.
"Then why are we here?" she asked angrily. "I told you I want to go home. I want to see my dad and check on Toby."
Jareth frowned. "Toby is at your home, but your father is not, Sarah. He's here." He gestured with his hand toward a large stone pillar a few feet away. Sarah blinked in the dim light, unable to make out exactly what it was. Cautiously, she crept forward, her heart pounding in her chest as the moon peeked out from behind a cloud and cast silver light on where she stood. She choked back a sob as she realized where she was.
"The cemetery," she breathed. Jareth was silent. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Please," Sarah whispered. "Please tell me…"
"He had a heart attack. Three years ago, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Sarah answered. "But I was there. I was at the house. I called the paramedics and did CPR…"
Jareth shook his head. "No, Sarah. You weren't there. You were living in the city with your mother, seeking your fortune as an actress. There was no one with your father that day. Young Toby found him."
"No no no," sobbed Sarah, falling to her knees. "That can't be true. Why are you doing this, Jareth?"
Jareth stepped toward her and laid his hand on the top of her head. "Because, dear girl, you asked me to."
Sarah snapped her head up and narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't believe you," she spat.
"See for yourself then," Jareth said motioning toward the stone monument. Sarah hesitated for a brief moment before defiantly stepping up to it. She cleared away the snow that had gathered on the carving and groaned as she read her father's name. Gasping for breath, Sarah backed away from the monument. She felt faint. Jareth moved forward to steady her, but she held up her hand.
"Stop!" she cried. "Stay away from me. I don't know what you've done, but stay away from me!"
Sarah turned and broke into a sprint away from the cemetery and the Goblin King. Her first thought was to run home, but she remembered what Karen had said. She knew that her father wasn't there and that Toby hated her. She couldn't go there. Instead she found herself running toward to train station. Reaching it, she looked back. She saw no sign of Jareth and she breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps he was done torturing her.
Sarah bought a ticket for the train back to the city, settled into an empty seat and slumped against the window. She would go home. She would go home to her little apartment and sleep and wake up tomorrow and this would all have been a bad dream. Toby would be there and the two of them would go home and celebrate Christmas with her dad and Karen. Sarah's chest tightened at the memory of what she'd seen in the cemetery. Was her father really dead? She shook her head in defiance. It was not possible. This was all a nightmare, a hallucination, a trick of the Goblin King in order to get revenge on her for beating his silly game.
"This isn't real. This isn't real. It's all a trick. This isn't real…" she repeated over and over to herself as the train lurched forward and began its trek back to the city.
A/N:
So sorry for the long delay, Lovelies! I have been sick for a couple of weeks now with bronchitis on top of the flu on top of a UTI. Add a little dehydration to that mix and you have the holidays from hell. Ugh. I am recovering now, and decided to put up this installment. It's probably complete rubbish and riddled with errors, but I am heavily medicated and still a bit feeble. Drop a nice little review for me in the box and let me know what you think. You'll be speeding along my recovery if you do because reviews are chicken soup to the fic writer's soul. Merry Christmas, darlings!
Fanny
