Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Sarah followed Jareth through the castle.
After she'd agreed to spend the day with him, the Goblin King's dark red leather jacket had instantly materialized on his shoulders, and he had led her through one of the other atrium doors and they were currently navigating through another winding set of corridors.
He hadn't let go of her hand since they'd left the courtyard and she couldn't help the girlish enjoyment she felt at that little detail. She felt like a teenager on her first date all over again.
Hold your horses, Juliet. Her mind objected. This is NOT a date. You're just spending some time together as friends. It's a friend…date…shut up.
"Here we are." Jareth said, abruptly rounding a corner and descending the stairs of a narrow, arched hallway with black chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
Two huge metal doors stood at the end of the passage.
This looks familiar, aren't those the front doors?
She was right, for as if they sensed their king approaching, the heavy doors swung open, revealing the bustling Goblin City beyond the open veranda of the castle's entrance.
"What do you say to a proper tour of my Goblin City?" Jareth asked, pausing at the top of the front steps.
"That sounds great." She chuckled. Her last visit had been anything but conventional.
Jareth's hand tightened around hers affectionately, before pulling her along beside him into the busy city below.
Sarah couldn't have asked for a nicer day. She and Jareth had been greeted happily by every single goblin they'd passed as they walked through the streets.
First, he had taken her to the park where a herd of playful goblin children had surrounded them and tried to climb on their king like a Jungle-Jim.
One goblin child in particular, with brown skin and tiny goat horns, had managed to scale up Jareth's back to his shoulders and had whispered loud enough for her to hear:
Lady pretty, isn't she, sir?
Yes little one, the lady is very pretty. The Goblin King had agreed.
After leaving the park, Jareth led her to the various shops where she saw the goblin citizens making shoes, furniture, clothing, weapons and armor, there was even a studio where the goblins carved statues and painted canvases!
Gookie had been quite right, the goblins did know how to do a lot of things.
At one point, Jareth had taken her into a jewelry store, where she had spied a lovely silver necklace with a barn owl pendant. As she fingered the figure's spread wings, Jareth suddenly snatched up the necklace from its display, and fastened it around her neck, tossing a gold coin to the shop-keeper.
Jareth, no! You didn't have to buy it for me!
Her legs had trembled as he rested his hands on her shoulders and leaned into her ear.
I enjoy spoiling you, precious. His hot breath had caressed the side of her neck.
Her face flushed at the memory, and it certainly didn't help that he was currently staring at her fondly.
After surprising her with a trip to the goblin theater to watch a puppet show, the pair decided to stop at an outdoor café in the south end of the city and share a basket of cinnamon croissants.
Well, maybe 'share' was the wrong word, since Jareth had only eaten one roll to Sarah's four.
Plus, his staring was making it hard to concentrate on chewing.
"Do you not like croissants?" She asked trying to break the so NOT sexual tension in the air.
"I like them well enough." He said with a shrug. "There just not my preferred source of nourishment."
"Really? What do you prefer?"
"I'm mostly carnivorous."
Her eyes widened a bit in surprise.
No wonder his teeth are so sharp.
"I can't digest vegetation," he continued, "but I can eat bread and I enjoy many different kinds of fruit."
"Oh? What's your favorite fruit?"
He smirked like a predator.
"Peaches."
Guess I walked right into that one. She thought, shifting her eyes to her lap, cheeks glowing.
"You know, you look like a peach when you blush." He observed.
Sarah's head jerked up, mouth dropping open in astonishment.
"I-I do not!" She mumbled in protest, ducking her head again in mortification.
Stop blushing, dammit! You're making it worse!
"Yes you do." He insisted reaching over to raise her chin. "So I wish you wouldn't hide such a radiant sight from me."
Oh why does he have to talk like that? This is supposed to be just a friendly, platonic da-OUTING! This just a nice outing where we're getting to know each other as plain, old ordinary frie-my GOD he smells good!
"Yer, majesty! Yer, majesty!"
Sarah jumped as her thoughts were shattered by a crowd of goblins all shouting for the king's attention.
Jareth sat back in his chair and the brunette released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
The goblins were suddenly everywhere around them. They flooded the street, poked their heads out of doorways and windows, and even peered down from rooftops. They were all yelling in excitement, but she couldn't make out a single coherent sentence.
"QUIET!" Jareth roared slapping his riding crop hard on the restaurant table.
The city was instantly silent as the grave.
"Now what's the meaning of this?" The Goblin King demanded, pointing to one of his subjects at the edge of the crowd.
The goblin stepped forward, bravely. It had a large, frog-like mouth and floppy ears.
"Forgive us, yer highness." The goblin croaked in a deep voice. "But we was wondering if you would sing to us today."
A jubilant chorus of pleas erupted from the goblin horde and Jareth raised an eyebrow in consideration.
They want him to sing? That's…odd.
The soothing timbre of Jareth's voice floated through her memory and suddenly Sarah felt herself growing eager.
"I'd like hear you sing!" She shouted to him over the hullabaloo.
He looked at her for a second and his eyes twinkled before her rose from his chair. Music instantly filled their air as he then stepped into the crowd, which parted to make a clearing for him, and grabbed a one-eyed goblin by the front of its shirt.
You remind me of the babe.
What babe? The delighted crowd answered.
Babe with the power.
What power?
Power of voodoo.
Who do?
You do!
Do what?
Remind me of the babe.
Jareth tossed the goblin into the air and it landed on the roof, unharmed, and in a fit of cackles. The king then turned to the mass, moving to the beat as he sang:
I saw my baby, crying hard as babe could cry
What could I do?
My baby's love had gone
And left my baby blue
Nobody knew
What kind of magic spell to use? The goblins echoed.
Slime and snails/Oooo-oo!
Or puppy dogs' tails/Oooo-oo!
Thunder or lightning/Oooo-oo!
Then baby said
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance) Jareth pranced gracefully around the clearing.
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Put that baby spell on me
Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump) The Goblins jumped and flipped into the air.
Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump)
Put that magic jump on me
Slap that baby, make him free!
Sarah smiled and clapped her hands in time with the music as Jareth and his subjects continued to dance.
A goblin she recognized as Fip from earlier, jumped onto the table and hustled wildly, kicking the empty croissant basket to the ground before Jareth started to sing again.
I saw my baby, trying hard as babe could try
What could I do?
My baby's fun had gone
And left my baby blue
Nobody knew
What kind of magic spell to use? The goblins belted with him.
Slime and snails/Oooo-oo!
Puppy dog's tails/Oooo-oo!
Thunder or lightning/Oooo-oo!
Then baby said
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Put that baby spell on me
Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump) Jareth tossed and kicked several random goblins in every direction, but they all just shrieked with glee and kept right on singing.
Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump)
Put that magic jump on me
Slap that baby, make him free!
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump)
Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump)
Put that baby spell on me (ooh)
Sarah rhythmically bobbed her head and tapped her feet enthusiastically.
This was better than any concert she'd ever been to. The gaiety around her was contagious and Jareth captivated her with his fluid movements.
The music changed and suddenly, he was leaning in front of her, bracing his hands on the arms of her chair.
You remind me of the babe
"What babe?" She said, happy to play along.
The babe with the power
"What power?"
Power of voodoo
"Who do?"
You do
"Do what?"
Remind me of the babe He grinned, before grabbing her hands and lifting her up from her seat.
Dance magic, dance, ooh ooh ooh
Dance magic, dance, ooh ooh ooh
Dance magic
As the goblins sang, Jareth pulled her into the clearing with him.
She could feel her face coloring with panic.
Oh God, oh God no. Please don't make me dance, please don't make me dance. I'm a horrible dancer!
The music changed again into a more alluring tone, and Jareth pressed her tightly to his chest. Sliding his hard body against hers, he sang the next verse to her in a seductive and strangely echoic voice.
What kind of magic spell to use
Slime and snails
Or puppy dog tails
Thunder or lightning
Something frightening
Dance magic, dance Jareth hastily spun Sarah under his arm and cavorted her around the clearing with him.
She was shocked at how easy it was for her to keep up. She had never danced like this before!
Dance magic, dance
Put that baby spell on me
Jump magic, jump
Jump magic, jump
Put that magic jump on me
Slap that baby make him free
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Jump magic, jump (jump magic, jump)
Jump magic, jump
Put that magic jump on me
Slap that baby
Again, the music changed into a quick riff that reminded her, vaguely, of Night on Bald Mountain and Jareth moved her in front of him, pressing his chest firmly against her back and continuing to guide their movements.
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic
(Slap that) slap that baby make him free
Sarah gasped in fright as Jareth swiftly gathered her into his arms like a bride.
As the music began to rise to its crescendo, he then spun around in a few quick circles, before tossing her incredibly high into the air and catching her effortlessly.
Instead of being scared out of her wits, she threw her head back with a euphoric laugh as he swung her around.
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
Dance magic, dance (dance magic, dance)
The goblins cheered as the music faded and gradually returned to their business.
Sarah just couldn't stop giggling! She couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun!
She lifted her head back up and quickly felt her laughter die in her throat
Jareth's face was dangerously close to hers and he hadn't put her down yet.
Her heart started to pound in her ears and her cheeks burned.
His eyes seemed to glaze as he began to close the distance between them.
"Yer highness!"
Sarah flinched as a goblin with a cone-shaped helmet and a long white moustache announced his presence. She immediately twisted in Jareth's arms and he thankfully, set her down right away and stepped away from her.
"What is it?" He snapped at the intruder. He sounded rather annoyed.
"The Ambassador is here to see you, sir."
"Which one?"
The goblin gulped.
"The Ambassador, your majesty."
Sarah saw Jareth's eyes harden at the reply.
"Very well, tell him I'll be right with him." He said in a tight voice and the goblin instantly vanished into thin air.
"I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me, precious." He apologized. "Duty calls. Fip will take you back to the castle."
He nodded toward the café table.
"When will I see you again?" Sarah bit her lip. She hadn't meant that to sound so…urgent.
He regarded her for a second, before brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"I'll see you tonight at dinner, Sarah. I promise." With that, the Goblin King disappeared in a flurry of glitter.
Sarah felt something tugging on her blouse and looked down to see Fip's red eyes peeking up at her from under his colander helmet.
He had reddish-brown skin, a sharp nose, and a patchy moss-green cloak.
"You dance good, miss."
"Thank you, Fip. That's very sweet of you to say."
Fip's face turned redder and he snickered bashfully as he kicked a loose stone in the road.
"Does he sing often?" She asked absently. "Jar-the king, I mean."
"The king only sings when he's happy, or real emotional over somethin'." The soldier said, leading the way back to the castle. "It's nice ta hear him sing like that again, he hasn't done it in a long time."
"Why not?"
"Nothin' ta be happy about." He shrugged before looking up at the human speculatively. "But the king is happy now, he's happy cuz of you."
A/N: Oh my aching fingers. It was fun getting to listen to Magic Dance over and over. Please review! It makes it all worth it!