Chapter 6

In The World of the Dying Trees

Jareth was waiting for her when she opened her apartment door. "You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" Sarah asked with a heavy sigh, setting her keys on the counter. She had told Hannah that she was leaving early, for she wasn't feeling well, so she had gotten the rest of the day and tomorrow off.

"No," Jareth answered arrogantly, crossing his arms. A part of her rejoiced at his answer, which she found rather confusing, but for the most part, she did nothing but groan. Though she reached for the phone to call the police, something seemed to stop her.

"What do you want?" she asked, exhausted, leaning up against the counter. Fine, she was defeated. Jareth smirked, pushing off of the wall that he had been leaning up against.

"Something to eat would be nice," he answered after a period of silence. Sarah rolled her eyes, and then grabbed some random meat and bread.

"Here," she said as she handed it to him, "Sandwich. Eat." He stared at the food in front of him, then glanced up at Sarah.

"You don't expect me to make it, do you?" she scoffed, joking. His look was not joking. Her mouth dropped open, and she turned away, laughing nervously.

"You put the meat in between the bread," she instructed with a sigh, "Tada, you have a sandwich." As she walked away, towards her room, her thoughts returned to Anna and her little sister, Matilda. There was something going on in that house, and she was going to get enough evidence to find out what exactly. Though she had a pretty good idea, she wouldn't want to say it was true until she had solid evidence.

"What ever happened with that girl?" Jareth asked, suddenly in her room. Sarah jumped, stumbling slightly as she spun around to face him. "Don't do that!" she hissed, baring her teeth. Jareth chuckled slightly at her expression, only causing her to seethe more.

"Really though, what happened?" he asked, his face grim. He had seen the events happen in his crystal ball, but Sarah didn't need to know that.

She sighed, running her hand over her face. "I think she and her little sister are being abused," she answered softly, "But I need more evidence than injuries." Jareth watched her as she sluggishly plopped down on her bed, unsure of what to say.

If she remembered how they had originally met, then she would have just wished for it to happen. But she did not remember, so she did not do so. As he turned to leave, Sarah's voice stopped him.

"What did you mean when you said I didn't remember you?" she asked, propping herself up on her elbows. This thought, along with many others, had been nagging her ever since he had asked. Either she really did know him, and had just forgotten, or he was just some creep. She preferred the first thought, but she was no optimist, so it was probably the latter. Jareth's shoulders slumped, and but he did not turn to face her.

"Exactly that," he answered, his tone arrogant, covering up his sorrow, "You and I have met before. You obviously don't remember, so I shall be on my way."

Sarah almost said, "Thank God!" but the way he walked, the way his shoulders slumped, she couldn't bring herself to. The part of her that seemed to find him familiar longed to rush after him, and ask him to not leave, but the part of that found him arrogant and annoying was stronger, so she remained on her bed. As she heard her door slam shut, she released the breath that she was holding, and rolled over, onto her back.

Jareth made his way out of the building, his head held high. Though his rather odd (if not tight) wardrobe brought him a few stares, he did not care. His eyes were clouded with thoughts that refused to leave him be. Though he mainly wandered the streets, not caring for the most part where his soon tired feet led him, a destination soon stuck in his mind. If Sarah did not remember, why stay? His kingdom needed him, and he had asked for a leave of absence for only a few days; his few days were up.

Though the thought of traveling between worlds sparked a slight fear in him, after the previous incident, he shook his head to clear such ridiculous thoughts. The Goblin King? Afraid? How absurd! To add to that thought, a smirk graced his face, and the mist cleared from his eyes.

Yes, he reasoned, I shall leave this place, and go back! Yes, that is what I shall do! Despite the confidence in this thought, he still could not let go. Could not let go of the fact that he had been forgotten…

No, he shook his head, stop it. As he turned on his heel, and made his way towards his destination, he shoved any feelings into a locked compartment. He felt his heart grow cold, as it had these many years, and logic instead of emotion filled his mind. Emotion, what a silly thing to have.

Soon, the smell of damp leaves and the song of birds filled his senses, and he smiled wickedly, as he would not allow himself to smile pleasantly. Smiling pleasantly was not for a king, oh no! The crunching of gravel soon gave way to the soft squelching of leaves that had been soaked, frozen, and then thawed many times. The trees soon began to clump closer together as he went in further, brushing away damp branches.

How odd, he thought as he brushed a bug off his shoulder, usually the bugs stay away. But, he shrugged away the thought just as he had shrugged off a curious beetle, and continued on. The further he went, the more he was certain there was something strange about this forest. Despite the fact that it also held a portal to his world, unlike many of the other forests of this world, something seemed wrong.

The trees slumbered, but they made no noise as they did so. The trees of his world, Underground, slept as the trees in this world did, but they preformed this task with wheezy snores, and the occasional mumble of a dream. In his world, the trees would sometimes dance in their sleep, or the knots that composed their faces would turn in a smile.

But here, the trees seemed dead. They remained cold and still, their bark wet and stiff. Jareth paused, leaning closer to one particular evergreen. Nothing. As he almost placed his ear on the tree's bark, he was pleased to hear a slight breath. But, it sounded cough and sickened. The breathing pattern was irregular and shallow, and would stop from time to time, only to resume, almost panicked.

He recoiled in horror. These trees were dying! Not physically, but their souls were withering away, were crumbling away to dust. This season just might be their last. The emotions that he had locked away bounded out of the locked cupboard, causing him to run away from the coughing tree. This world was killing these trees! These humans, these horribly amusing humans, were killing their own earth, killing their own world. He ran faster, desperate to get to his home more than ever.

But, trees of every type surrounded him. The more he ran, the more he could hear their wheezing, their coughing, their soft death moans. Finally, he reached a clearing, where magic made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. It was a powerful type of magic, the type that allows you to travel worlds that always made Jareth feel slightly giddy.

Frantic to escape this place, he ordered the thought of travel in his head rather noisily, and waited for the jolt that would course through his body.

But there was no jolt.

Nor did he see a flash of colors race around empty space, or smell the familiar, fresh air of Underground. No, he could still hear the trees as they cried for mercy. Fear grabbed his cold heart, warming the ice, so he ordered aloud, in Goblin tongue, to be taken from this world.

Still nothing.

Jareth's mismatched eyes widened, and he looked at his feet, then the sky. Over and over, he ordered the portal to open, to take him back to his castle, but nothing happened. After what seemed to be eternity, a terrifying thought crashed into his mind.

He was stuck.

Eclipse: Heh, sorry about the rather slow update! School, family, blah blah blah… Ya know how it is. ;)

SHOUT OUT!

Rocky181 – Heh, sorry that it wasn't "soon"!

ScarlettBlue – Oh, phew! Trust me, the changes of plot are going to add of the original! I sort of rethought about what's going to happen…. Heehee!

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