His feelings for Sarah had been a surprise, to say the least.
Jareth brushed his fingers across her forehead, peering at her peaceful expression. She hadn't been the first mortal to defeat his Labyrinth, nor the last, but she had certainly been the most memorable. The only one to catch his interest.
When she had first come to his land, Sarah had appeared as any normal girl would: weak, whiny, and utterly pathetic. Truly, he hadn't anticipated on her making it past the obuliette. But she had made it much, much farther than that. Much farther into the Labyrinth, and much further into his heart.
Her strength had been dulled by her world, but by the time she had left him, it was shining bright once more.
Now, however...he mused, clicking his tongue as he surveyed her tear-soaked cheeks. It seems something has beaten her down once again.
And he had a strong feeling that this "something" was waiting for him at the entrance to his city.
"No need to worry, Precious," he murmerred. He straightened himself up and conjured a crystal to rest in his palm, smiling wickedly.
"In thirteen hours, you'll be mine."
With a flash he was gone, leaving the object of his obsession to her dreams.
"You freak! Where the hell have you taken me?"
Jareth huffed, indignant. He was used to much younger runners. He preferred naive lads and ladies that hadn't yet learned such distasteful language. Maybe this...scum was to blame for Sarah's coarse wording earlier.
"This is kidnapping, you sick bastard! Imprisonment! I can have you arrested for this! I will have you arrested for this! I know a lawyer that - "
"Gary - " he interrupted, already exasperrated.
"It's Terry, dammit!"
" - Yes, Harry, as you may have noticed, I have taken Sarah."
Larry - Carrie? - sneered at the Goblin King, steaming in rage. "Of course I noticed!" he protested, only further convincing Jareth otherwise. "Give her back and take us home!"
"Oh, at once!" Jareth answered with mock enthusiasm. "There's just one tiny thing you have to do first."
"What?"
Jareth smirked and pointed across the vast barren desert, drawing the boy's attention to the Labyrinth that rested beyond. His smug grin widened when he saw Perry's face turn a most delightful shade of pale. "You just have to reach my castle," he said, stating it as if it were as simple as crossing the street. "Then you can be on your way."
Suspision flared in the young boys eyes. "With Sarah?"
Jareth let out a disappointed sigh. He was hoping he could pull one over on the barbaric dimwit.
"Yes, with Sarah," he said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms in a dignified sulk.
The human thought it over for a moment before shaking his head with a burst of laughter. "No," he said, chuckling. Jareth arched a slender eyebrow. "No, you're not real. This isn't real. This was all just some made up story, some silly delusion of Sarah's," he insisted stubbornly. He stepped closer to the taller man, pulling hard on a string of blonde hair. "Kenny, is that you? Did Sarah put you up to this? Dude, you look so gay right now!"
Jareth slapped Sherry's hand away, keeping his icy composure. "You can believe what you want," he growled. His patience had always been somewhat thin. Now it was wearing to threads. "But trying to persuade me into nonexistence won't convince me to give you Sarah back."
"Whatever," Ferry replied, sitting himself down in the sand with an air of defiance. "You're not real and I'm not moving."
"Have it your way then," Jareth answered with a nonchalant tone as he started to fade. "You have thirteen hours in which to solve the Labyrinth before Sarah becomes one of us...forever."
As he disappeared from the desert, he thought about adding his usual last line - "What a pity..." - but decided that this time, it wasn't much of a pity at all.
A/N: This chapter was hard to write, and I honestly have no idea why.
Maybe I'm just bad at writing Jareth. I haven't quite got my interpretation of him down yet...he can be flirty, cruel, protective, posessive, wise, spoiled...ahhh...
Stupid, complex, sexy bastard. :P
But more of a hinderance than that was my internet connection. That's why review replies were so late as well, sweartogod. :P
Now that it's finally fixed I figured I better get this chapter out quick, since there's going to be a Merlin marathon tomorrow. I have a demented single-mindedness when it comes to my fandoms, so I'll probably be lost in the wonderful world of Camelot for a few days or so. And then there's still quite a few episodes of Life On Mars I need to watch, not to mention the bazillion or so ideas I have floating around for an Eleven/Amy fic now that the new Doctor Who season has blown my mind.
Soooo much British television.
But don't worry; I will finish this, and the next update will be much quicker. And hopefully longer. I think this a/n is nearly half the length of the actual chapter.
Sweet Christ, I'm a windbag.
Anyway, I have something very important to tell you. You see that button, just below this writing here? Yes? That button owns your soul. Click to reclaim.
