Sarah sat up, blinking at the figure poised dramatically at the foot of her bed.
"You... you're not dead," she stammered.
"No, I'm not," the Goblin King stated matter-of-factly. "May I go now?"
He grimaced at her and pulled at the wrist of one of his dark gloves. Sarah continued to stare at him, carefully looking over his flowing shirt of cream silk, embroidered burgundy waistcoat and dark gray breeches. She couldn't see his boots from where she sat on her bed.
"Are you quite finished gawking at me?" asked Jareth, putting his hands on his hips.
His question snapped Sarah back to reality and she gazed up at his face with a start. "Oh, um... sure," she said, feeling more than stupid for having summoned him. She had just wanted to be certain she hadn't truly harmed him.
"Well?" the Goblin King said, impatiently tapping the toe of one boot on the floor.
"Well what?" asked Sarah.
"May I go?" Jareth answered in a tone that sounded almost like a whine.
"I guess..."
"You guess?" he retorted. "Heavens, why did I ever waste my energy on such a ridiculous girl?" He gave a sarcastic bow and glanced up at her. "Good evening then, Your Majesty."
Sarah watched as he walked to her window and pushed the curtains aside.
"Jareth, wait," she called out to him. He turned slowly, and she fought the urge to cower.
"What is it?" he bristled, "I'm rather busy with my city in ruins and all."
Sarah lowered her eyes and fidgeted with the floral coverlet on her bed. "You... you didn't come to the party," she said at last.
Jareth stared at her with his mouth agape for what seemed like forever before answering.
"You thought I was going to come to your little victory celebration?"
"Yes," Sarah answered. "Everyone else was there. I just thought..."
"What part of 'starved and exhausted' did you not get?" spat the Goblin King. "You ran me all over my kingdom, tore through my castle leaving utter destruction in your wake and you expected me to come throw confetti at your little party?"
He glared down hard at the green-eyed girl, trying to read her expression, but it only left him more confused. She was still a bit innocently ignorant and it defied his understanding. He could always read deception in a face. Betrayal, malice, lust, they all read like storybooks to him. Innocence was a different thing altogether. He didn't understand the way she sat on her little girl's bed surrounded by toys and stuffed animals, looking up at him with those eyes and wondering why he hadn't shown up to celebrate her hard-fought victory, as if she'd honestly expected him to.
Jareth gasped and jerked backward. She had! She had thought he would come and dance and cavort with the rest of that unseemly traitorous lot! His expression softened a bit and he owlishly tilted his head to one side.
"Did you seriously want me to come?" he asked.
"I don't know," Sarah said quietly. "I was little worried. I thought maybe I had..." She paused, unable to say what she had really thought. "I wasn't sure what had happened to you and I hoped you weren't angry," she gushed on.
Jareth shook his head, disbelieving what he was hearing. "Just why should you be so concerned about me, Sarah Williams?" he asked with a chuckle.
Sarah shrugged and looked away. "I didn't want to take anything for granted," she answered.
A little smile played over the Goblin Kings lips and he took a large step toward her. "Could it be," he began, "that you learned something in the piece of cake that is my labyrinth?"
Sarah didn't answer. Of course she had learned something. Many things, like the fact that fairies aren't nice, but rocks can be friends. And things aren't always what they seem especially when it comes to peaches. But most of all she'd learned not to take things for granted: friends, family, words...
She glanced back up at the Goblin King who had been staring at her as she'd gone through her inner dialogue. He quirked an arched eyebrow at her and smiled.
"My kind doesn't take defeat lightly," he told her with a glint in his strange eyes. "But I'll get over it."
Sarah tried to smile, but the way he loomed over her like a dark shadow made her uneasy. She backed away slightly and cleared her throat.
"I'm not angry either," she told him. He looked at her strangely and she continued. "About you snatching my brother. After all, I asked you to."
"Yes," Jareth coaxed, giving her a sideways glance.
"I'm not really angry about the Cleaners either. I guess I had that coming," Sarah said with a wince. "I am curious about the peach though."
Jareth laughed out loud. "Get used to disappointment, little girl," he told her with a sly grin.
Sarah shrugged and was silent as the Goblin King looked around her room, glancing over her carefully arranged shelves of books and toys and trinkets. He stepped toward the Escher print on her wall and studied it closely.
"Hmmm," he said, turning to Sarah. "Looks like someone stole my idea."
Sarah could see from the twinkle in his eye that he was joking, but she couldn't bring herself to laugh at him. It was strange enough that he was standing in her bedroom, poking though her belongings.
"You've got one missing," Jareth said, pointing up to Lancelot's empty space on the wall.
"I gave that one to Toby," Sarah told him. "He likes him so much and I'm really too old for teddy bears now..." She trailed off as Jareth turned and met her gaze, ice blue to her verdant green.
Jareth smiled slightly and stepped around the corner of her bed.
"May I see your brother?" he asked. "He's really a charming little fellow. I'd like to visit him from time to time."
"No way," replied Sarah, a bit more forcefully that she'd intended. Her face flushed deep red as the Goblin King stared down at her. "I mean," she continued, "it's probably not the best idea. He's still very impressionable." The phrase had sounded very grown-up in her head, but coming out of her mouth it just sounded silly. The Goblin King didn't argue though. He merely nodded and gazed at her wide-eyed.
"What about you then, Sarah?" he questioned.
"What about me?" she asked, making a face.
"May I visit you from time to time?"
Sarah found herself unable to answer. The Goblin King was asking for her permission to visit? Why on earth would he be interested in visiting her?
Almost as if he had read her mind, Jareth spoke.
"You amuse me," he told Sarah.
"Oh, well thanks," Sarah replied sarcastically. "Glad I'm so entertaining."
She rolled her eyes and looked at the Goblin King who was still awaiting an answer.
"Fine," she told him. "But there will be some rules."
Jareth nodded and she laid out her guidelines to him.
"First," she said, holding up her index finger. "You have to ask for admittance to my room. If I say it's okay, you may enter, but not before. I don't want you popping in while I'm changing clothes or something."
"I will agree to that," said the Goblin King with a wolfish grin, "although I rather like the element of surprise."
Sarah frowned and continued. "Second, you can't try to trick me into giving you my brother or going back with you or anything like that."
Jareth drew himself up to his full height and stared at her quizzically. "Utter nonsense," he spat. "In the first place, I can't trick you since you enacted that little 'no power over me' deal, and even if I could why would I want you or your brother back in my labyrinth? The two of you are nothing but trouble!"
"Okay, okay!" Sarah retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "I just wanted to make that clear. Geez, if I'm so much trouble, why do you insist on coming to see me again?"
Jareth grunted and took a seat at the end of Sarah's bed. "I've already told you," he replied. "You amuse me. And as long as you're safe in your own territory and not wreaking havoc on mine I have no complaints."
Silence fell over the room again as Jareth glowered and Sarah thought back to her frenzied flight through the Goblin City. She and her friends had caused quite a bit of damage. No wonder the Goblin King was so pissed.
"Are the uh... goblins okay?" Sarah asked shyly after a few moments.
Jareth shook his head and Sarah thought she saw a tiny smile quivering in the corner of his mouth.
"They're fine," he answered. "In fact, that's the most fun they've had in quite some time."
"Really?"
"The goblins seem to relish abuse. The ones that got tossed into the air like bowling pins are being hailed as local heroes."
"Wow. Okay. Good," mumbled Sarah. She was relieved that she hadn't injured anyone, but still confused at the thought of any creature enjoying being shot from a cannon.
She looked up and saw that Jareth was staring at her.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I accept the terms of your agreement," he told her. "I'll visit, with permission from you of course, and I won't try to trick you into giving me your brother or coming back with me."
"Fine. It's a deal then" Sarah said, extending her hand to him.
"Oh no," he said slyly. "This is no deal for a handshake. You deal with a Fae, you seal with a kiss."
Sarah swallowed hard as Jareth leaned forward. She closed her eyes and waited for the feel of his lips on hers, but it never came. Instead he placed a delicate kiss on her brow and then sat back and smiled.
"Your turn," he told her.
"Huh?" she asked.
He pointed to his forehead and she finally understood. She took a deep breath and leaned toward him and touched her lips to his brow. His skin was cool, but not clammy and he smelled of earth and mist and magic. Sarah sat back, blushing, and Jareth's smile widened.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked, amused at her obvious discomfort.
"No," Sarah shot back, trying to sound unaffected. For the second time that night she was a bit perturbed at herself for feeling disappointed over the fact that Jareth hadn't given her a proper kiss.
Jareth stood and walked to the window, his cloak swirling dramatically behind him.
"You're leaving?" Sarah questioned as he crouched down on the window seat.
He turned and looked back at her. "Yes," he answered simply. "I have quite the mess to clean up: goblins stuck in cannons, chickens running amok, broken bridges and robot guards..." He winked and right before Sarah's eyes he shrank, his regal form compressing into the form of plain barn owl.
"See you later, Sarah," his voice seemed to echo from all around the room.
Jumping up from her spot on the bed, Sarah opened the window and allowed the owl to fly out into the night. He disappeared into the inky darkness and Sarah walked back to her bed and sank down onto it. Her forehead still tingled from his kiss and she rubbed at it with her thumb.
"I hope I haven't done something I'll come to regret," she sighed to the empty room.
A/N:
Sorry for the delay with Chapter 2, folks. Real-life money-making writing got in the way of fanfic (which is way more fun, but doesn't pay the bills) and this one sat in my Word docs for quite a spell. I'll try to do better from here on out, but no promises.
So... a bargain has been struck and perhaps Sarah's impulsive words will get her into trouble again. Stay tuned to find out! *cue funky theme song*
True story bro: I am in a play of Rumpelstiltskin with my local theatre group. The guy playing Rumpelstiltskin was doing this weird voice for the character and I kept thinking, "Whose voice is that? It sounds so familiar!" Turns out he was doing Hoggle's voice for Rumpelstiltskin! I had a good lol at that.
