Chapter 7

Sarah's eyes clouded over and her ears blocked for a moment as she and Jareth passed through the void between worlds. She had remembered the journey being a lot easier the first time. As her senses began to clear, she found herself slowly being able to make out where she was now standing. But her vision was still blurry. She could see the brown stone that surrounded her and she could make out that the room was round. She could see a small amount of steps leading up to Jareth's throne. She could feel Jareth's presence still at her side and he seemed to be hovering as if he would need to make a jolt for her in a matter of moments. Her senses remained blocked as she could hear the muffled sound of goblins fidgeting and giggling around them. At this point Sarah was glad that her vision was blurred as she couldn't face looking into the eyes of a goblin or its king. She felt her limbs begin to gain strength again so she raised her hand to her head that now began to ache. She felt Jareth's arms wrap around her protectively and he rested her head against his chest while covering her exposed side of her face with his hand to try and block out the noise of the goblins. She felt a muffled shout coming from her protector which must have been a lot louder than it sounded to her as the sound of the goblins ceased in a split second. Sarah was grateful for this as her headache seemed to fade but it didn't stop her collapsing out cold in the kings arms.

Sarah woke but did not even attempt to move due to the amount of comfort she was in. She opened her eyes with some difficulty to find herself in a huge bed. She slowly flexed her hands and gripped the fabric that lay beneath them. She could feel it was velvet but there was something else. She focused her small gaze on what she was lay on and could just make it out. Black velvet with gold stitching. It was nothing short of luxurious but she had expected nothing less from the man whose kingdom was laced with glitter.

"How are you feeling?"

Talk of the devil...she slowly turned her head, not wishing to spark another headache and came face to face with the king who was perched on the side of the bed. She was shocked at what she saw. She knew that this man had a talent for saying everything sounding like he had a smirk on his face. But his brow was furrowed and his smile was gone. He was genuinely worried. The sunlight coming from behind him lit up his features and strands of his hair. As much as she hated to admit it, he looked more stunning than any human ever could.

"How long have you been hovering like that?" she attempted to say but it came out as more of a slur.

"Ever since I carried you here from the throne room" He said simply and still remaining serious. This stunned Sarah further. She was truly expecting him to have left her on the floor with the goblins. That is what she thought she was worth to him. She felt so inferior to him in this position so she chose to brace herself on her hands and push herself upright. But it proved a struggle. Her head instantly begin to pound and her hearing became muffled again. She let out a groan of pain but Jareth leaned towards her and gently pushed her back down by the shoulders.

"I wouldn't do that, travelling between worlds the way I do can be a strain on the body if you are not used to it" he warned. Sarah was annoyed at how small she felt to him in this state but grateful to him as well as her head felt as though someone had hit it with a hammer. Jareth stood and stepped towards the table that stood next to a gilded mirror that reached the ceiling. Sarah noticed there was a jug and glass resting on it and she was Jareth tip the contents of the jug into the glass and step back towards her. He sat back where he was and passed her the glass which she could see was not full of water. The tilted her head and carefully took a sip. Desperately not wishing to spill it and humiliate herself further. The water did make her feel better and eased her aching head so she attempted again to sit up. She got to a few inches and with no response from Jareth this time she continued until she was completely upright. She was glad that her senses were now completely clear but the relief was short lived...

"Kelly!" She suddenly yelled which caused Jareth to jump and Sarah to drop the glass that was still in her hand. But now she couldn't care less about her now soaked clothes. She was too worried.

"Oh my god! What happened to her? Did you save her? Did she die? What ha?!..." Sarah tried to finish her babbling questions but was defeated by her uncontrollable sobbing. Jareth shifted closer and encased her in his arms. Rubbing her back to try and calm her down.

"She's fine, Sarah. I swear on my life" Jareth whispered in the most comforting tone he could manage. He did surprisingly well considering he was not used to giving comfort. Sarah continued to sob but began to breathe heavily with the relief that Kelly would be okay. She hugged Jareth back as tightly as he was hugging her and they stayed this way for a few moments until Sarah was hit with crisis number 2...

"What about my family?" she spoke breaking away from Jareth's hold to meet his eyes. Jareth was dreading this but he knew that he would have to face it eventually.

"That's up to you" he said with caution. Sarah was now dumbstruck, what the hell does that mean? Doesn't he normally just take someone and that it? What was after that?!

"I don't understand, what's up to me" Sarah said beginning to tremble. Jareth took a deep breath and began to explain.

"I mean it is up to you what you want to happen. At this point, your family is wondering where you are. But considering that you have only been gone an hour in your world, they will think nothing of it for now. However, as time will pass their worry will grow until it will become unbearable and I honestly don't know what the consequences of that will be" Jareth paused for a moment as he was struggling to bring himself to speak next part out loud. He stared down to avoid looking in Sarah's eyes

"...But I do know that if you give me the permission to erase you from their memories, they will live their lives happily and normally. But that is up to you" Jareth waited a moment for Sarah to say something but she was silent so he brought his head back up.

Sarah was completely numb but it didn't stop her from back handing Jareth around the face. This shocked them both but it hurt Sarah a lot more than Jareth. Her hand stung a lot but Jareth didn't seem swayed at all. He just brought his gaze back to meet hers and continued to stare at her with caution.

"Sorry" Sarah mumbled. She wasn't sure if she meant it or not but Jareth seemed convinced as he gave one nod of his head.

Sarah couldn't think. Make her family forget her? How could he say that! What about her father and her stepmother, and Toby? Would she really ask for this? How would she feel?

After a few minutes of silent thinking, Sarah decided to examine the other side to this option. Maybe that would be the best thing. There was no way that she world see them again. Would she really want every member of her family to spend the rest of their lives wondering and worrying about what had happened to her? Maybe making them forget would be the lesser of two evils.

After what seemed like an hour, Sarah asked to be left alone. Jareth complied and left the room. Sarah had now regained all her strength and slid out of the bed. She felt a chill from the breeze that was blowing through the balcony doors so she wrapped herself in one of the sheets and started to move around the room. She hadn't seen her surroundings properly until now. This room was truly exquisite. Everything was gilded in gold from the mirror to the canopy bed and pieces of furniture were upholstered in the most luxurious black velvet to match the bed clothes and the curtains that hung next to the 15 foot tall windows. She continued to step slowly around the room until she decided to brave it and step onto the balcony. She felt the cold breeze again but continued until she was leaning against the stone railing that surrounded her. By now she was truly speechless. This side of the goblin city was one that she had never seen. It was as though the land in front of the castle and the land leading away were to completely different realms. Leading up to the castle, she remembered stone mazes and bogs that stunk to high heaven but the land past the castle was like something out of a fairytale. There were green fields as far as the eye could see and hills that practically touched the sky. Could this have really been the same place from when she was younger? It had changed so much. To her it resembled the moors from her favourite novels like Wuthering heights and Pride and Prejudice.

The scene made her smile but the happiness was short lived as she heard a knock at the door. Jareth stepped back through the door and observed his captive from a distance. By god! She had changed. It scared him a little to see her. The small figure that had stood up to him all those years go had gone. Her round baby face had been replaced with high cheekbones, a sharp jaw line and full lips. Her eyes were a little darker and her skin was luminous. She had grown at least a foot and her little girl shape had been replaced with a tall lean figure which stood at the balcony as regal as a queen. Her hair was almost as dark as black and about 3 inches longer. The sheet around her gave the illusion of some kind of gown which complimented her dark hair and red lips. Jareth couldn't resist anymore. He took a few more steps onto the balcony until he was just inches behind her. His blonde mane now blowing in the breeze as well. His hands came up onto Sarah's thin shoulders and Sarah jumped at the sudden contact. But surprising to them both, she didn't recoil. Her hair continued to be carried by the wind and started lightly swatting Jareth's face. He caught a strand and began to run it through his fingers.

"Have you made a decision?" he asked with caution as he did not wish to put any pressure on her. The last thing he wanted to do was start an argument.

"Do it" was all Sarah said without any emotion. Jareth was just about to ask if she was sure but she was too quick. She spun around to face him in a flash.

"Do it please, before I change my mind" there was a hint of desperation this time but still but much emotion. Jareth was just about to say something but thought that is was best that he remained quiet. She had been through enough today. And there would be time to talk soon. So he just nodded his head. The breeze picked up again and Sarah began to shiver. Jareth noticed and rubbed his hands up and down her arms. No wonder she was cold if all that was protecting her was a thin sheet. They both walked back into the room and Jareth closed the balcony doors then turned back to Sarah.

"I need to go and cast the spell. But I will be back soon" he said whilst his gloved hands were resting against the sides of her face. A small section in Sarah's mind thought about spitting at him and saying something like "Don't bother coming back in" or "I don't even want to see you". Why shouldn't she say that to the man that has destroyed her life in a matter of seconds? But then her more mature state of mind kicked in again. "You made the wish all those years ago, not him. There is no point in blaming him. Her two states of mind were battling it out fiercely but eventually, maturity triumphed and she managed to keep her insults behind her teeth.

She nodded at Jareth who then smiled back at her. Sarah was stunned for a moment as she had never seen this smile before. There was no malice or arrogance. There was just the face of a man who proved that he can be just as human as any other. Jareth caressed the side of Sarah's face a final time and swiftly walked from the room again. leaving Sarah to think and to continue to admire the other side of this world.