A/N: You all know the drill! Read and review!
Disclaimer: I've worked so long, I've worked so hard…but it still ain't mine.
This time, when Sarah woke up, it wasn't because some drugs had just worn off or because she was no longer exhausted. It wasn't even because she had been alerted by sunlight filtering in through the curtain. This time, Sarah was forced into consciousness because she sensed that not everything was the same as she had left it when she had gone to sleep.
Sarah sat up and opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the black sky, spattered with greenish-white stars and a large, full moon. Her curtains were open. Automatically, her eyes flew to the door, where the bolt stood, clearly unlatched. Her heart jumped to her mouth. Someone had been in her room!
She swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood up, ready to fight again. At the same moment, the unlocked door began to swing open. Sarah looked around for a weapon and spied a small vase on the bedside table. She scooped it up and threw it with as much force as she could muster. It smashed into the door and shattered into a million pieces.
"Hey!" cried a dismayed and completely unfamiliar voice. "What are you playing at?!"
The door opened the rest of the way and, cautiously, in stepped one of the most beautiful creatures Sarah had ever lain eyes on.
She had silky, gently curling hair, blacker than midnight that fell to her knees. Her eyes were enormous and almond-shaped, the color of iron. Her skin looked incredibly delicate and pale, almost lavender and Sarah could not tell if she was very young or extremely old. She was only three feet tall and moved with such grace the teen could hardly believe her feet were touching the floor. After a cautious moment of staring at each other, the Fae moved closer and Sarah realized her feet were above the floor as she caught a glimpse of large, glittering, transparent wings.
"I'm very sorry!" Sarah said faintly. "I--I thought you were someone else."
"Obviously." the iron eyes swiveled to the broken glass on scattered about the floor.
"Who--who are you?" Sarah wanted to ask what she was, but thought it to rude and left the question at that.
"I'm Musa." she answered. "I am a sprite." she added, as if she could read Sarah's mind, a small smirk forming on her lips.
Sarah scowled, the impish grin reminding her of why she was here. "Not to be rude, but what are you doing in here?"
The sprite fluttered to her side and landed neatly on the bed. Standing there, she was almost at eye-level with Sarah. "I'm to be your companion." she replied. "I'll show you around the castle, give you some company and make sure all of your needs are met." When Sarah didn't seemed thrilled with this arrangement, she raised a thin black eyebrow. "I assume you would rather contend with me than, er, His Majesty?"
"Oh yes, absolutely!" Sarah exclaimed hastily. "Sorry. I was just curious."
"Curiosity is not a sin." agreed Musa. "But it should be exercised with caution. Follow me." Without another word, she lit off the bed and flew out into the hallway.
"Where are we going?" Sarah asked, before she could stop herself, pausing in the doorway.
"You humans are an inquisitive lot, aren't you?" mused the sprite, shaking her beautiful head. "We're going to run you a bath. You look as if you haven't bathed in days. No offense." She looked over her shoulder, making sure she hadn't offended Sarah.
"None taken." Sarah said, now eager to follow her. Never in her life had an idea sounded as good as this one did now. She hastened to catch up with Musa and the sprite waited patiently until she reached the bathroom at the end of the hallway.
Musa opened the door and led Sarah into the largest bathroom she had ever seen. The floor was tiled in black stone so polished she could see her reflection and a full length mirror hung on the opposite wall, next to a stand holding a basin, into which water streamed from the wall. There were even low benches and hooks to hang towels on.
In the middle of the room, sunk into the floor was a bathtub the size of a king bed. It was at least three feet deep and had a golden lever at the edge. It was to this lever that Musa flew and Sarah watched in amazement as she pulled it and holes opened in the sides of the tub and hot steaming water and bubbles poured in. When the tub was full, Musa pulled the lever again and the holes sealed themselves.
"I will return shortly." rising into the air again. "Your clean clothes are over there, as is your towel." she waved a tiny hand and both articles appeared on the wall hooks. She inclined her head slightly and vanished, leaving Sarah to enjoy her bath.
Sarah undressed quickly and slipped into the tub. The hot water seemed to seep into her very bones and the fragrance of the bubbles utterly relaxed her. A contented sigh escaped her lips and her thoughts drifted lazily as steam rose from the bath.
How long had it been since she had had a decent bath? It seemed like forever. As long as she'd been in the hospital. But she had lost count of how long she had been there with their cold showers and crude orderlies. How glad she was to be away from that place and back in the Underground, where she belonged…
Sarah stiffened. Why would she ever think a thing like that?! She belonged at home with her family! She reminded herself that she didn't want to be here anymore than she wanted to be in the asylum. Hospitality would not make her forget that; Jareth would not tamper with her memory again. She was angry at herself for letting her guard down and angry at him for everything else… Stupid, stupid Goblin King!
Her good mood had vanished as quickly as it had come. Irritated, Sarah clambered out of the bath and snatched the fuzzy towel off the hook. She dried her face and then toweled off, snatching the aqua-colored muslin dress and slipping it on. It fit her perfectly and was still comfortable. That only served to make her more angry and she turned away from the mirror and wrung her hair out. Brushing her hair always made her feel better. She turned to the sink and picked up the ivory-handled brush that sat on the edge.
When she was sure her hair was perfectly straight and tangle-free and her mood was in check, Sarah sat down the brush and opened the bathroom door. Musa was sitting in a chair in the hallway, directly across from the doorway and she looked up with a smile when Sarah came out.
"Better?" she asked. Sarah nodded silently. "Good."
"Would you like to eat now?" Musa queried, hopping gracefully out of the chair and hovering a few inches above the stone floor. Sarah nodded again, suddenly aware of how hungry she was. The sprite fluttered down a hallway that Sarah hadn't noticed, with the teen close behind.
The dining hall was, of course, another magnificent room, with ceilings so high Sarah wouldn't have been sure they were actually there, if not for the chandelier flickering and shining with a thousand candles. The only furniture in the room was the long table and the chairs around it (which seated 50-some-people).
Sarah sat down in the chair to the direct right of the head and Musa took the one on the left, directly across from her. The food was already there, in heaps and mounds on silver trays and in bowls. Meats, breads, puddings of every kind. Sarah reached eagerly for the nearest bowl, pulling it close to see what it was before deciding to sample it. The gleaming bowl was full to the brim with small, perfectly round, ripe, juicy-looking peaches.
Sarah's appetite vanished in an instant. Her ears were ringing. Fae food. She remembered…
"I'm not hungry." she shoved the bowl away and stood abruptly. Musa looked up from her own plate, her tiny mouth twisted in surprise.
"What's the matter?"
"Even when he's not here, he's bothering me!" she exclaimed in exasperation.
The sprite cocked her doll-sized head, looking confused. "Who?"
"Jareth!" she snapped, dropping tiredly back into her chair. "That's who! He can get into my dreams and drag me off to fairy-tale lands whenever he wants! It's not--"
"Fair?" guessed Musa softly. "Sarah, listen to me. He's not as bad as you seem to believe."
"Like hell he's not!"
"No." Musa said firmly. "He's not. I heard what happened. Even your dwarf friend agrees that bringing you here was the safest and best thing to do."
"I don't care!" Sarah wailed. "I don't belong here!"
Musa raised an eyebrow as if to say 'oh really?' but didn't speak. Sarah crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Jareth is just a big bully who has nothing better to do than kidnap babies and seduce teenage girls!"
A mischievous grin crept onto Musa's face. "He's seduced you, then?"
"Yes! I mean, no! He's tried to." Sarah amended, her face reddening. Musa laughed and the sound was like tinkling glass.
"If I knew no better, I would say--"
"I'm in no way attracted to him, so don't even suggest it." snarled Sarah. "He's so cruel."
Musa sobered, her iron eyes serious. "Everyone is cruel, Sarah."
And, of course, Sarah had no answer to that. She had been cruel more times than she liked to think about.
"It--it doesn't matter." she fibbed. "I hate him. And you can tell him if you like."
Musa's eyes shimmered with tears, whether of anger or pity, Sarah did not know for, at that moment, she smiled and took wing as the food vanished from the table.
"It's rather late." she said aloud. "Are you ready to go back to bed?"
Sarah was still bone tired, even though she had slept through the day, but she was determined not to show it. "Not yet." she lied again. The sprite beamed.
"Excellent. There's something I want to show you." She flew off so fast that Sarah had to jog to keep up with her.
"What is it?" she asked.
"More questions?" marveled Musa. "You humans never stop." She led Sarah to a door that was bigger than any of the others she had seen so far. Sarah didn't expect that the tiny sprite would be able to open it alone, but she simply stroked the door and whispered something under her breath and it swung open of its own accord.
And then they were outside. It was warm with a pleasant breeze that smelled faintly of the sea. Sarah breathed deeply and looked up at the night sky. She did have to admit, it was beautiful here.
"Sarah, are you coming?"
Jarred from her daydreaming, Sarah hurried to catch up with Musa, who was at the entrance to a stable Sarah had never seen before. She wanted to look around more, but it was too dark to see, so she followed Musa into the stable.
Inside, there were lanterns hanging from the ceiling and straw scattered on the floor. Musa skipped through the air to the very last stall.
"Are there animals in here?" Sarah hissed indignantly.
Musa looked surprised. "Of course."
"How could someone keep animals in such small cages?!"
The sprite's eyes widened when she realized why Sarah was angry and she laughed and shook her head. "Sarah. Come here."
Sarah stomped to her side and Musa opened the stall door and stepped in. Sarah didn't follow; she couldn't see how both of them would fit with the horse. Musa's head popped back out.
"Well? Come on!"
Sighing, Sarah slipped in, staying close to the wall. She was so intent on not crowding the creature, that at first, she didn't notice her surroundings. When she did she gasped out loud and Musa giggled delightedly.
They were in a field as big as the park near Sarah's home. It was nighttime, just like outside the stable, but it was clearly not the same place. The tall grass waved gently in the wind and Sarah could hear a brook trickling somewhere in the darkness. There were tall, dark shapes that Sarah guessed were trees and, directly in front of her stood Musa, patting the head of a pure white unicorn that lay in the grass.
"She's just had a foal, three days ago." Musa said, watching Sarah's expression intently as she stepped closer. When she got close enough, Sarah realized that there was a smaller creature lying against the unicorn. Musa stepped completely out of her way and she finally had a full view.
The foal had no horn to match its mother, but its coat was, instead of white, shimmering gold. It had long, knobbly legs and bright blue, intelligent-looking eyes.
"He's gorgeous!" exclaimed Sarah, completely forgetting her intention to remain stoic. She knelt down by the two unicorns and stroked the foal gently. "Are there unicorns in all of the stalls?"
Musa shook her head. "Only Athena and her little Apollo here."
"Where did she come from?" Sarah asked, not looking up from the creatures.
"Jare--I found Athena injured in the Labyrinth." explained Musa. "I brought her back to be nursed back to health."
Sarah looked back at her, having heard her stammering over the story. "You found Athena?" she asked calmly. Musa muttered something and looked away. After a moment, she spoke again.
"Jareth found her." she said meekly. "I just--you got so mad when I mentioned him earlier…"
Sarah didn't say anything. She rubbed the head of the unicorn that Jareth had saved one more time and stood up.
"It's okay." she told Musa. "I understand."
The little sprite looked relieved and they went back up to the castle in a comfortable silence. It seemed like a long time to Sarah before they reached her room. She wandered after her guide dazedly until they reached the door to her chambers.
"You should get some sleep." Musa suggested. Sarah nodded agreeably and opened the door. "There should be some nightclothes on your pillow."
Sarah murmured a goodnight and closed the door behind her, but didn't bother to lock it. She changed slowly into her nightdress and then climbed into bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin.
Unfortunately, sleep did not come as easily as she had hoped. She couldn't stop thinking about the unicorns and Musa and Jareth and everything that happened to her since yesterday. Musa had said that everyone was cruel. If that was true, why should she hate the Goblin King for being that way.
It doesn't make any difference. she told herself savagely. The man stole my baby brother and kidnapped me. I don't want anything to do with him!
With this twisted comfort, she pulled her pillow over her face and drifted off to sleep.
A/N: I just noticed that every chapter ever ends with Sarah falling asleep. Don't worry, the next one won't. I think it will contain another Sarah/Jareth confrontation, so keep your eyes peeled for it. In the mean time, R&R!