Sorry for the slight delay. I usually write on my lunch hour, but I had to use them to go to doctor appointments and to go to an mri (only to find out that my ankle is a medical mystery). Angry Jareth is unleashed in this chapter. I promise in the next couple chapters to bring in her old friends. Please review! Reviews make me write faster! ;)
With a nod from the goblin king, Silas took his leave. Silas was an exceptionally brave man, but even he did not want to be around for Jareth's temper. Sarah was far too fearful to look Jareth in the eyes. Instead, she looked everywhere but Jareth's face as she trembled. Had she looked into the goblin king's eyes, she would have seen a swirl of emotions. At that moment Jareth felt first and foremost angry, but also sad, hurt, confused, annoyed, and yet relieved that no harm had come of her.
Jareth looked at his wife. She was sweaty and dirty. She had scratches on her and her dress was torn from when she fell. "Rebel, rebel. You tore your dress." Within a blink of an eye, Jareth had transported Sarah and himself to the dungeon's torture chamber. This is where the punishment would take place. Sarah began to shake more violently as this point. What is he going to do to me? She wondered to herself. "Jareth, I…" Sarah could not finish her sentence, for at that moment Jareth struck her in the face with his backhand. Sarah fell to the floor and grasped her face where she was hit. It stung with the force of a thousand bees. She was shocked, but the worst was yet to come.
"I explicitly told you not to leave the bedchamber, let alone the castle. You even found a loophole out of my magic. Do you think I was locking you up for my own amusement? I know what danger is out there. You don't. This isn't the child friendly place you were before. I am the ruler of this kingdom which means everyone here is to obey me, including you. Those who do not must be punished." Sarah wanted to argue, but she knew better. She would have 8 years ago, but now she knew better. An argument would just infuriate Jareth further. "I believe 10 lashes ought to teach you a proper lesson on how to obey your king and husband."
Sarah's blood ran cold. He was going to whip her? Wasn't the slap to the face enough? Before Sarah could try to talk her way out of her punishment, she had already been chained to a metal table that turned vertical once she was securely on it. The fabric from her dress had fallen from her back so that her bare skin showed. Sarah wanted to appear as the brave Labyrinth Champion that she knew she was. She would not give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream. Sarah could see Jareth walk over to the wall. He looked almost menacing dressed in a black poet shirt and black leggings and black boots. He retrieved one of the leather whips from the wall and returned to where Sarah was chained, awaiting her punishment.
The coldness of the chains around Sarah's wrists, waist, and ankles stung with coldness. It was nothing compared to what was to come. Sarah heard Jareth raise the whip. She closed her eyes tight and said to herself, I am not going to scream. I am not going to scream. All was silent for a slit second until, CRACK! The whip came down on Sarah's back like thunder. Sarah could not keep the promise she made to herself. She screamed the loudest she ever had before. Blood instantly streamed from the first lash. Tears rushed from Sarah's eyes. CRACK! Another lash hit upon Sarah's back. Blood began to pool at Sarah's feet. Another lash followed by another lash struck Sarah's back. Sarah's mind began to go fuzzy. When she didn't think that she could possibly take any more, the beating stopped. He had struck her 10 times.
Jareth returned the whip to its place on the wall. Then, he returned to Sarah and undid the chains. When the last chain fell from her, she felt her knees buckle. Jareth caught her in his arms. In a flash, the two of them were back in the bedchamber. Carefully, Jareth sat her down on a couch. He gently removed her blood soaked dress. He walked over to the bathroom and returned with a damp cloth that had the scent of clovers to it. He delicately dabbed at the blood that covered Sarah's back. He repeated this until the majority of the blood was gone. Some blood still continued to seep out of the lashes on Sarah's back.
Once Jareth had finished washing Sarah's back, he walked over to the closet, and returned with a loose fitting gown for her and disposed of her bloodied gown. He handed it to Sarah to put on. She refused to look at him. She grabbed it, put it on, and continued to stare out the window. Sarah was feeling quite angry at this point. She knew she was not completely innocent in all of this. He had warned her to obey lest suffer the consequences. Still, she chose not to listen to his first command of her. But did he really have to whip her like that? She wanted to know what happened to a good old fashioned spanking.
Jareth was feeling angry too. He loves Sarah deeply, but he has to keep order both in his kingdom and his marriage. He was above all things, a fair king. Fair kings do not get a reputation of fairness by being sweet and passive all the time. Sometimes, a situation calls for a king to appear heartless.
One could cut the tension with a knife. Jareth was the first to break the silence, "Are you hungry for supper, dearest?" Sarah did not respond, partly because she was so angry that she did not wish to speak to Jareth but also because she was still feeling weak from her beating. Jareth did not take the silence well. "Giving me the silent treatment isn't helping either of us. You will have to talk to me eventually."
Sarah turned and looked at him with a look that could kill and said, "Ok, you want me to talk to you? I'm sorry if my silence pisses you off, but I seem to feel a little weak. I wonder whatever could be causing it." Jareth chose to ignore his wife's vulgar language. "You deserved what you got," Jareth responded. Sarah practically spat with anger, "I deserved it? Who do you think I am? I am not one of your subjects. I am your wife." Jareth's blood was boiling, "You seem to forget, little girl, that I am both your husband and your king, so you should obey better than any of my subjects." Sarah's blood was also on the rise. "How archaic! Haven't you ever heard of the feminism movement?" Jareth grinned sinisterly. "That was Aboveground, precious. Down here in the Underground, such a thing never occurred and it never will."
Sarah was expecting that response. Still, she did not stay quiet. "What ever happened to your promise of being my slave, Jareth?" Jareth looked at her darkly. "Do you remember your potential end of that promise? Do you fear me?" Sarah answered, "Yes, especially now." Jareth asked, "Do you love me?" Sarah responded, "Yes of course I love you." Jareth asked one last question. "Will you do as I say?" Sarah reached her breaking point and shouted, "I will never do as you say!" Jareth turned from her and said coldly, "Then I shall never be your slave," and with a flick of his wrist, Sarah found herself in a dark dungeon cell without Jareth.
Cue creepy theme music! Hope you enjoyed the David Bowie song lyric reference! :)