We are nearing the end my friends! Sorry if the chapters are few and far between. The school year has started and this teacher is busy! Enjoy!
I do not own Sarah, Jareth, Ludo, Hoggle, or Sir Didymus. (However I would be happy to take Jareth off of the Jim Henson Company's hands!)
A week had passed since the wedding of Bentley and Arianna. Sarah missed her friend. She loved exploring her new home. The gardens were her absolute favorite. The flowers changed to suite Sarah's mood. When she was happy, the flowers would burst with vibrant colors. When she was feeling melancholy, they turned to a dull shade of blue, almost grey. At this time, they were blue-grey. Sarah was lonely for her friend.
Jareth could tell his wife's mood before approaching her. He knew what the blue-grey color of the flowers meant. He was no fool. He knew she missed Arianna. Jareth did the best he could. He tried to spend any extra time he had with his wife. If they weren't taking peaceful walks together or just enjoying a good conversation, they were enjoying the thrills of the body during trysts of passion. It is well known that faes are passionate lovers. It is also well known that Jareth is quite talented in this department, so Sarah was quite content during each little rendezvous. However, he did have a kingdom to run. As much as he wanted to, Jareth could not devote all of his time to Sarah. It tore him up to see her so sad and lonely.
Sarah sat on a stone bench as Jareth approached. She sensed his presence even before he put his arms around her shoulders in a sweet embrace. Sarah always felt better when wrapped in Jareth's arms. His hold eased some of her melancholy. "Precious, I know you miss your friend, and I wish I could spend every waking moment I have with you. Sadly, I cannot. However, I think I have come up with something that will help you feel a little better." Sarah cocked her head up at him in bewilderment. "I don't understand," Sarah said as she crinkled her forehead. Jareth kissed away the crinkles and smiled. Then, he nodded towards the east entry of the garden.
Sarah was in shock, for when she looked up, she saw her old friends. There was the loyal Hoggle, the brave Sir Didymus, and the ever so sweet Ludo. "Oh my goodness! Jareth thank you!" Jareth grabbed Sarah's arm before she could rush off and pulled her into his arms once more. "You are welcome, my love. However, do not leave the castle grounds. I want the guards to be able to keep their eye on you. I have some business to attend to with the high courts. I will come find you when I return. Be good," Jareth said as he pecked his wife on the lips and gave her tush a gentle grab. Jareth nodded at the trio of Sarah's friends as he dematerialized. Sarah was just fine with being restricted to the castle grounds. She was just so happy to see her friends again. She hadn't spoken to them in years.
Once Jareth had completely disappeared, Sarah rushed at her friends. They gave her one big group hug, which isn't so easy with Ludo. "Sawah back!" Ludo exclaimed with a big grin. "Milady, Thank goodness you are safely back. We have missed you terribly," Sir Didymus said as he swept his hat off and bowed. Hoggle rolled his eyes at Sir Didymus's formalities. "Sarah, I am so happy that you are okay. What happened to you? Why haven't we heard from you in so long?" Hoggle inquired.
Sarah smiled sadly at her friend. It had been too long. She did not mean for it to happen. She was embarrassed of her life choices and didn't want her friends to see the destructive path she was heading down. How could she possibly explain that to her friends? Sorry I was too busy smoking pot and having sex with random guys to talk to you. Sarah could only imagine their faces if she told them that. Sir Didymus would be so livid that he would try to attack the scoundrels who attacked his lady's virtue. Hoggle would be mortified and sad. Then there is Ludo. Ludo would not understand it completely, but Sarah knew that Ludo would be sad.
"I got busy with school and stuff. Life got very hectic for me," Sarah answered, sparing them the truth. Hoggle and Sir Didymus both had a feeling that Sarah was not telling the entire truth but thought better of it to not question Sarah further; Ludo merely smiled and nodded.
Sarah was getting hungry for lunch, so using her new found powers she conjured up a picnic basket and blanket for her and her friends to share. They were very impressed to see how progressed her magic was. While eating conjured sandwiches (one sandwich noticeably larger than the others), Sarah regaled them with stories of college (ones that she found appropriate) and of her students whom she missed dearly. They asked about Toby whom she missed more. They were having such a great time, so Sarah did her best to hide her sadness as not to put a damper on the jovial mood. The friends in turn told Sarah stories of what they had been up to since she had left. It turns out that Sir Didymus became a member of the gate keepers, which is quite a promotion, though he sometimes misses his post at the Bog of Stench. Hoggle no longer worked on the outside wall of the Labyrinth. In fact, his new area was right inside the Goblin City. He was very proud of his advancement. Ludo put his friendship with the rocks to good use. He helped build stone cottages for homeless goblins.
Sarah was so happy to hear that they were not punished for helping her during her run through the Labyrinth. When she questioned them about it, they looked bewildered. "Why would Jareth punish us?" Hoggle asked. Now it was Sarah's turn to be confused. "I thought he might since you all helped me beat him." Didymus patted Sarah's hand. "Milady, Jareth has his moments, we all do, but he is above all things fair. He knows that even he is no match to the power of the Labyrinth, for She willed us to cross paths. Jareth recognized that. He didn't like it, but there was nothing he could do about it."
Sarah sat and pondered that for a moment. If she had been in his position, she would probably have been mad. Jareth must have great impulse control. Then she recalled her punishment. Yes, Jareth had gone way too far, but he must have been beyond angry if he had to punish her in such a manner.
The friends ate their dessert and talked about happier things, such as Sarah's wedding. Unfortunately, they were not permitted at the wedding since they were not of nobility. It probably would have been a bit too posh for the tastes of Hoggle anyway. Though they were not there to celebrate her day, her friends were very happy for her and even happier to call her their queen. They knew she was someone special when they had first met her.
The sun was still shining bright when Sarah and her friends finished eating. Soon, Jareth approached. Wearing all black, he seemed quite menacing. Sarah flicked her wrists and the remnants of the picnic disappeared. Though Hoggle thought of Jareth as fair, he still did not prefer his company. "Uh, come on Ludo and Didymus. We better gets going." The three of them hugged Sarah good bye and promised to visit again soon.
Sarah had to shield her eyes from the sun to look up at Jareth. He said nothing; rather he extended his hand to help Sarah up. Soon, he whisked the two of them away without as much as a word. Had Sarah been able to look closer, she would not have seen Jareth's usual mismatched eyes. She would have saw eyes as dark and gleaming as obsidian.
The trio of friends had just reached the front gate of the castle when Jareth appeared before them. The friends stopped suddenly, for they had not expected to see him so soon and without Sarah. "Where is Sarah? Were you not just picnicking with her?" Now the friends were really confused. Sir Didymus crinkled his ever so attentive nose, "But Sire, we just left her with you a few moments ago."
Jareth felt anxiety rising inside of him. "Whatever are you talking about? I just now returned from the High Court. I have not yet seen Sarah." Jareth finished there and rushed to the former picnic sight. Certainly, Sarah was not there. Jareth knew something was amiss. Then, Jareth spied something on the ground. It was a translucent black footprint right where Sarah had been sitting. At once, Jareth knew where his queen was and he truly feared for her safety. "Calabar!" Jareth yelled. The three friends had caught up with Jareth just in time to hear his scream. "Uh oh," Ludo said, "King angry."
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