An After Dark Fairy Tale
Chapter 3
Sarah sensed the client move closer. She knew who it was without looking but it was still unnerving to find the Goblin King's pale face staring down at her. His right eye was icy blue and his left almost black in the muted light. The coat and hat he had been wearing were gone, making him appear even more louche and alluring. He looked like a Vegas cabaret singer in his open-necked white shirt, buttoned up waistcoat, and wide-leg black pants. Sarah eased herself up on her elbows, as he kept his seductive gaze fixed upon her.
She hadn't noticed the decor of the room when she had been unceremoniously tossed into it. But now she saw it was spartanly furnished in gaudy reds, such as one might expect of a brothel. Apart from the king-sized bed on which she lay, the only other furnishings were large gilded mirrors adorning the walls and ceiling. Sarah was dazzled by the sight of multiple reflections of herself and her companion. In a bid to keep her head, she moved to avert her eyes from them and from him.
The Goblin King cupped her chin in his hand and forced her to keep her gaze on him. "Alone at last," he said, his fingers digging into her flesh.
Sarah knew her chance of escaping now was slim but she had to try. "Help me," she begged. "If you really are the Goblin King, you have magic powers, right? You take people away, don't you? Please, take me home."
He tilted his head in an owlish way, unmoved by her pleas and wearing an amused expression. "What are you offering in return? A kiss, perhaps?"
It was a small price to pay, Sarah supposed. She nodded in agreement, wary but out of options.
He sat down next to her on the bed and gently traced a line with his index finger from her face to the cleft of her bosom. She trembled at the sensation of the soft leather of his black glove against her skin. His eyes were clear and cold as he moved forward to claim her lips in a punishing kiss. Sarah writhed against him as his tongue invaded her mouth. He tasted vaguely of peaches as his oral assault left her breathless and slightly intoxicated.
"So you'll help me?" she asked, hopefully, once she recovered her senses.
The Goblin King shook his head. "You didn't use the right words," he tutted.
"Please," Sarah whimpered.
"How the mighty have fallen," he sneered as his eyes travelled hungrily over her body. "And you were so very high and mighty when you reduced my kingdom to rubble, weren't you?"
Sarah's eyes filled with tears and she looked away in shame. "I'm sorry, I thought it was all a dream. I didn't know you actually existed — that what happened was real. If I hurt you and the goblins when I won Toby back, I didn't mean too." She dared to meet the Goblin King's cruel gaze. Her bottom lip trembled, she'd obviously injured him, but it was unintentionally done. Sure, her experience in the Labyrinth had seemed real enough at the time. However, after a good night's sleep, she decided it must have been a dream. It did have the effect of persuading her to relinquish some of the childish things she'd been holding onto, and to accept she was growing up. Magic was the stuff of kid's stories and weird uncles party pieces, or so she'd let logic dictate. Life might have been very different for her if only she had believed.
"Oh, you didn't mean to, uh? That's alright then," he mocked. "You do a lot of things you don't mean to, don't you? Like wishing your baby brother away, for example. I suppose you didn't mean to end up here, either."
"Of course, I didn't," Sarah said, incredulous he could assume otherwise.
"Nonetheless, here you are," the Goblin King said as he reached for the laces on her basque. "And here I am."
Sarah felt her body reacting to his touch, despite everything, as he stripped away the black leather to leave her exposed to him. He removed his gloves and lightly trailed his fingers over her breasts. She dared not refuse him, not after Nox's threats against her family. Sarah was estranged from them, but silently vowed no harm would befall them because of her. As she met the Goblin King's heated gaze, it occurred to her there might be a way out of her predicament after all.
"You have no power over me," Sarah said, tentatively, recalling the words that had defeated him once before.
The Goblin King paused in his ministrations and she moved to cover her nakedness with a bed sheet. All of a sudden, he struck a dramatic pose and swooned as if he'd been shot through the heart. He fell face down onto the bed and was deathly still.
Sarah was horrified and she reached out a shaky hand towards his motionless form.
As soon as her fingers made contact with his body, he began to rock with laughter and he turned to her with a nasty grin. "Such a pity," he quipped. "There are no magic words for you to use as weapons against me this time."
She had once made his world fall down and now it was her turn to be broken apart.
"Why are you being so cruel?" Sarah wailed.
"Cruel?" The Goblin King spat, affronted by her accusation. "I will allow no other to take you. If I wasn't cursed with such a generous heart, I would have left you to the highest bidder."
"Why now?" Sarah questioned. "Why here?"
"I could have taken you nine years ago," the Goblin King asserted, his eyes burning with indignation. "You had flowered and that used to be enough to signify a girl was ready for wedding and bedding. But times change, and the fae have rules. I abide by them, for the most part," he said in a suggestive manner. "If I didn't care about being exiled, like our friend the Midnight Prince, I would already have made you mine in every way."
Sarah gripped tighter to the bed sheet that covered her body, knowing it offered no protection. When she regarded the Goblin King as her fantasy, she'd imagined charm and chivalry, not lechery and threats. "I was a child! You offered me my dreams — everything I wanted. Are you saying that if I had accepted, you would have forced yourself on me?"
The Goblin King drew back from her, his expression one of outrage. He frowned, contemplating what she'd said as if he had never thought of it that way. "If you had accepted my offer and agreed to my terms, no force would have been necessary," he declared.
Sarah could see his patience was wearing thin and, although she would have liked to challenge his assertion, arguing about the past would not help her predicament in the present. "What about now?" she asked. "What if I say no?"
The Goblin King paced the floor, his anger and frustration evident. He made a move towards the door before turning his sharp gaze upon her. "I have never taken anyone against their will, and I don't intend to begin now." He huffed, indignantly. "Maybe I should go. Nox won't have any trouble finding a buyer for you without any scruples." He stalked towards her with malice in his eyes. "There is great power in a virgin's blood and there is more than one way to skin a cat, if you know what I mean."
Sarah felt sick. His words chilled her to the bone. If it was her virginity that made her such a valuable prize, it was better to be rid and be done with it.
"No, I don't want you to go," Sarah admitted. She resented being backed into a corner but, all things considered, she supposed it was a case of better the devil you know. "I just never thought my first time would be like this," she sighed, mournfully.
The Goblin King came to stand by the bed but he made no move to touch her.
"What did you picture?" he inquired. "Romantic music and slow dances, perhaps? Soft touches and tender kisses?"
He conjured a crystal ball in his hand and sent it spinning through the air. In a flash, they were no longer in a gaudy bordello. Instead, they were twirling around a glittering ballroom, their hands and bodies pressed together. The Goblin King was regally attired in royal blue and Sarah was wearing a puffy, silver-white dress.
"How did you know?" she gasped at the recreation of her poisoned-peach-induced teenage fantasy.
He laughed. "Was it your dream then, or is it mine now?" he teased.
"As the pain sweeps through,
Makes no sense for you.
Every thrill is gone.
Wasn't too much fun at all,
But I'll be there for you-ou-ou
As the world falls down."
The Goblin King crooned to her as had done before and then he claimed her lips in a gentle kiss. "Is this what you wanted?" he murmured against her skin.
Sarah couldn't deny her attraction to him, despite his cockiness and trickery. The Goblin King reached behind his back and magically produced a single red rose which he held out to her. She shakily took it in her hand and pricked herself on a thorn as she did so. A bead of red blood formed on her finger and he covered the cut with his mouth, sensually sucking it clean. Sarah let out a gasp and shuddered with pleasure. She felt slick dampness between her thighs and aching need at her core. It might have been enchantment making her hot with desire for him but, in that moment, she would have given him anything.
The Goblin King brought his lips to her ear. "You can scream as loud as you want in here, precious. No one cares," he taunted.
All at once, the glittering ballroom was gone, as were their clothes, and Sarah was pinned underneath him on the bed. His amulet hung heavily around his neck and it swung from side to side brushing against her taut nipples. Sarah lay naked and petrified as the Goblin King pressed his lithe body against hers. His mounting arousal was alarmingly evident against her shaking legs. He licked and nipped at her flesh, seemingly impervious to the fear she felt. She has heard the first time for a woman could be painful, and there might be bleeding.
"J- Jareth, please, be gentle with me," Sarah begged.
"Oh, so you do remember my name," he smirked.
Sarah hadn't meant to say his name but at least it got his attention. Her green eyes met his odd, blue ones and she issued a silent plea for mercy.
Jareth tenderly stroked her cheek and softly kissed her before sucking on her bottom lip. "What is that quaint human expression?" he purred. "Ah, yes, you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs." He pinned her by the wrists and wedged himself between her thighs, preparing to tear into her.
Sarah turned her face away. She refused to watch the Goblin King triumph over her. If it hurt, it hurt, she would grit her teeth and bear it. The red rose he had gifted her was on the floor by the bed. She watched as maggots crawled from beneath its fast wilting petals. Like the peach he once gave her, it had been alluring on the outside but rotten at its core. "I was right to believe there is no magic in the world," she murmured. Never had she felt so helpless and hopeless. Her life of broken dreams and failed ambitions had left her with nothing. If Sarah was honest, she had probably only been one more lonely Christmas away from jumping off the Brooklyn bridge.
She heard Jareth sigh and felt his hot breath over her tear-dampened face. After a moment of stillness, he pulled away from her and fell back against the bed. He stared up at their reflection in the mirror with jaded eyes. Sarah was bewildered at the turn of events and she risked a sideways glance at her companion. Jareth wore a look of defeat, his pale features revealing a hint of fragility.
"Shattered dreams," he lamented as the mirror above them cracked. "We both had our silly little fantasies, but it isn't going the way either of us hoped."
Tentatively, Sarah reached out to touch Jareth's face. He flinched at the initial contact but he didn't move away. All her life she had wanted to matter to someone and to be the sole focus of their attention. Her mother and her father had placed her way down on their list of priorities, at least that's how she saw it. She always felt like an afterthought, as if she didn't matter. Sarah had never been the centre of anyone's world. But Jareth hadn't forgotten about her.
"What no one knew was that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl," she whispered, reciting the line from her old playbook.
He turned his head slightly to meet her gaze with a look she couldn't decipher, his strange eyes encapsulating his contradictory nature.
Sarah leaned in close enough to brush her lips softly against his. The kiss was brief but she attempted to radiate confidence. Someone was going to take her virginity, and she would rather it was him. "I want you to be the one," she said.
Jareth didn't move at first and she sensed conflict raging within him. But his indecision didn't last long. In one swift and graceful movement, she was flat on her back and he was kissing his way down to her thighs. He coaxed her to open up for him and she soon felt his hot breath over her most sensitive area. Sarah shivered with anticipation as he traced a line with his tongue. It was a delicious tease and he was barely making contact. When he finally buried his face between her legs, she let out a yelp of pleasure as he lapped enthusiastically at her core. Jareth licked and nipped until she felt the fluttering of her building climax. He slid in a couple of fingers, gently stretching and stroking until she could hold on no longer. Her orgasm ripped through her leaving her trembling in its wake.
The Goblin King flashed her a self-satisfied smile that she could not begrudge under the circumstances. He tenderly kissed her breasts and then sucked hard on her nipples before eagerly returning his oral attention back to her sweet spot. Sarah climaxed for a second time with a gush. His mouth sought hers and she tasted herself on his tongue. Jareth was poised to ease into her but Sarah sensed his hesitation. She nodded for him to go ahead. There was a slight tearing sensation, but there was only pure pleasure and no pain as he moved rhythmically within her at increasing speed.
"I fear you've damned us both, precious," he rasped as he drove on.
Sarah felt the tension building inside her as sparks began to travel through all the nerves in her body. It was more intense than ever before. The sensations Jareth ignited within her were beyond anything she'd ever experienced from her own self-administered fumblings. She felt more alive — more everything.
She didn't care anymore how they got started, Sarah only knew she never wanted it to end. Jareth's slicked back hair had fallen over his face and she reached up to brush it back from his sweat-soaked brow. It was a tender act that seemed to take him by surprise, and he ran his tongue over her lips before softly kissing her.
"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave," Jareth murmured as he nuzzled her neck.
Sarah couldn't hold out any longer and the tremors of ecstasy shook her as she cried out his name. He pounded into her until he growled his release and she felt his liquid heat pouring inside her.
Jareth laid on top of her until his breathing calmed. Their eyes met and his lips twitched as if he wanted to kiss her again, but he didn't. All at once, the spell had been broken and Sarah mourned the loss of his warmth as he withdrew from her. The cold chill of the air conditioning hit her damp thighs, which were lightly smeared with blood. She shivered at the Goblin King's mercurial shift — how soon and how easily he could change from fire to ice.
Sarah was left feeling exposed and vulnerable. Pulling the bed sheet around her, she got up and stepped towards him. "Jareth, you're not gonna just go and leave me here, are you?" Panic swelled in her chest.
He didn't look in her direction as he dressed himself with the wave of a hand and went to the door. "Have you forgotten, I'm the villain of the story, not the hero? And this time, we both lose." With that, he was gone.
Sarah didn't want to believe Jareth could turn her world and then walk away. Hurt quickly turned to anger. "Get back here, you fucking fae bastard," she yelled at the empty space where he had been standing.
After anger came resignation. Sarah knew from bitter experience that tears would do no good, and neither would regrets. What was done was done. She slumped back down on the bed and contemplated her life choices. Chasing the wrong dream had led her to this fate. Sarah realised she wasn't cut out to be an actress but she didn't know what she was supposed to do. In light of where she had ended up, she might never get to find out.
In the midst of her identity crisis, Ebony burst into the room. She was carrying a shot glass full of yellow liquid and she ordered her to drink it.
Sarah took it. "What is it?" she inquired, regarding the contents of the glass with suspicion.
"Oh, just a dash of tansy and a few other special ingredients," Ebony said, amused. "It's to make sure the Goblin King won't leave you with anything more than a warm memory."
Sarah hadn't even contemplated the consequences of having unprotected sex with Jareth. Her life was currently being defined by bad decision making and that urgently needed to change. Even her fifteen year-old self knew better than to give in to the Goblin King. When had she got so careless?
She cautiously sniffed the liquid finding it to have a similar aroma to rubbing ointment for treating colds.
"Drink," Ebony demanded.
Sarah sipped, tentatively, finding it tasted bitter and was hard to stomach. After gagging a couple of times, she managed to drain the glass.
Ebony snatched it back. "Now, get yourself cleaned up and get back to work."
It was revenge he'd come for, and he meant to have it. The Goblin King thought he hated Sarah and it was his intention to hurt her. To his dismay, he found he still loved her. Pride comes before a fall — and Jareth had just plummeted over a cliff.
Her green eyes were just as he remembered but the fighting spirit he wanted to see in them was gone. That wasn't the girl who'd conquered his Labyrinth and refused him. Her belief in everything, especially in herself, was non-existent. Destroying Sarah completely wouldn't bring him peace, he understood that now.
He had spent nine years wallowing in pity and plotting all the horrible ways he would make her suffer. None of them were as despicable as what he had just done. Her virginity was a gift he most definitely didn't deserve, and yet he had coveted it and taken it anyway. Jareth had given into temptation, and he despised himself for it.
But it wasn't as if he had left Sarah with nothing. Once, he'd gifted her with certain powers and they still dwelled within her. He had seen the spark in her eyes when they were joined together. The dormant magic inside her was reawakening and the more she believed in herself, the stronger it would become. But it needed belief to feed on or it would dampen down again, as it had when Sarah dismissed her time in the Goblin Kingdom as a dream. She had the potential to become more than human. If Jareth ever declared his love for her and Sarah returned it, she could gain full access to her powers. Until then, all their passion would do was make them both sick, each pining for the other until they could bear it no longer.
Nox was waiting by the bar when Jareth reappeared.
"So?" The Midnight Prince questioned, noting his reflective mood.
The Goblin King regarded him with a look of contempt. "You took Sarah, even though you knew she bore my mark," he hissed.
Nox grinned, unchastened. "What can I say, I'm a gambling man." He took a swig of his whisky. "For all I knew, you might not even have remembered her. I mean no one keeps every piece of fruit they fondle, do they?"
"I once intended to make her my queen," Jareth lamented as he moved to retrieve his hat and coat. He resented that his hand had been forced by the Midnight Prince's intervention. "I had a plan for her. You should have left well alone. How did you even find her?"
Nox shrugged. "Ebony finds the girls. The lost and the lonely. You know the type? I guess your Miss Sugar Tits fitted the profile," he sneered.
Jareth's sour expression warned him not to push his luck.
"Look, you said I could keep her if you didn't want her. So are you gonna take her with you or not?" The Midnight Prince questioned.
Jareth shook his head. He needed to get back to his kingdom and mull over what had occurred between him and Sarah. She had turned his world again.
"She didn't please you, then?" Nox inquired with a hopeful glint in his eyes.
"It wasn't pleasure I came here for," the Goblin King snarled. "You took her, knowing I had a prior claim, and so you will keep her. For now, at least. Sarah bled for me and no one else is to touch her, is that understood?" His eyes blazed.
The Midnight Prince gave his word, knowing that Jareth was powerful enough to kill him if he broke it. But he didn't have to like it.
"If I can't put her on the menu, she's no good to me here. I am trying to run a business, y'know? Can't you just lock her up in your dungeons or something?" Nox grumbled, rueing the day he set eyes on the girl.
Jareth's icy glare silenced his protests. "I need time to think," he muttered.
"When will you be back?" Nox asked.
The Goblin King shrugged as he faded from sight.
The yellow liquid mentioned in this chapter was inspired by the Tansy flowering plant as it was used to induce miscarriages in times past. I'm imagining it more as an emergency contraceptive here with other mystical ingredients in the mix too. None of this should be tried at home, obviously!