9Tailsfan: Thanks for the reply and I'm glad you like my personal touches! I hope I keep you interested and enjoying the story. And as for the manga, LOL I also am not a fan as I've said. His age does make sense, to be pretty old and immortal (or near so). I've made him old in many stories but yeah, this one I guess I just wanted to base their ages off of my grandparents haha.
Keep leaving reviews! They are so addicting LOL
Weeks came and went. Sarah was feeling more and more anxious about the fact that her father wasn't back yet. They weren't able to fix Anastasia's room without any extra money from his trades so her stepmother and stepsisters were also anxious.
Her visits with Jareth had been limited due to her need back at home. Jareth was understanding of this and no matter how hard he tried, he could not go to her home. Unless he was strictly invited like some kind of vampire (to his annoyance) he couldn't just show up even without her permission. Sarah still didn't tell him all the details, not wanting to get him riled up.
Sarah hadn't told him about her special Labyrinth book. The way he acted annoyed about her questions concerning the goblin king (him being jealous again) had stopped her from sharing how she felt about the story. She told him bits and pieces, but the story was so sacred to her that she wasn't sure if she was ready to share it with even him. So for now, she read it to Toby as a bedtime story.
But the truth was, every time she saw Jareth, everything was alright in her world. Even when she would bicker with him.
Maybe she was falling in love with him.
When she realized this, she wasn't sure what to do. It consumed her, it made her laugh and be more nervous around him. But it was true. Should she say something? Should she tell him? What now?
As for Jareth himself, more and more people were pressuring him about choosing a wife.
If only he could bog anyone for asking him questions.
He looked into his crystal, turning and twisting it all around while trying to think. At first, he didn't want to be married at all, believing that he could just rule the kingdom himself without any issue. While that was still true, he knew he had another reason now that he could not deny.
Sarah.
He was falling in love with her, he knew. No other woman could ever compare to her in his eyes. If he married another, the most it would be was so his kingdom would have an heir but even then, he wasn't so sure. The problem was, would Sarah be willing to be his queen? Most women would jump at the chance but her… She was special. She would think through it first and take it slow, he knew.
Eloise stood by his door. She saw the look in his eyes and knew instantly what was on his mind. He had never said, but she could tell.
"So, who is she?" She questioned her son.
Jareth turned to her, a frown on his face. "What?"
"You heard me." Eloise said. "There's some girl on your mind, I know that look."
Jareth turned from her. "I don't want to talk about it."
Eloise felt triumphant that he didn't deny it. "Jareth?"
"You'd love her." He said. "She puts me in my place, makes me smile, all that."
"I don't recall you meeting a noble girl that you liked. Now I'm even more curious." She pulled up a chair and looked into his eyes.
"That's because she isn't of noble birth. She's a commoner." Jareth said tersely. He really didn't want to discuss Sarah. He was afraid that his mother would just tell him to forget about her.
Eloise blinked. "So when you went to the markets for this past year-"
"Was to see her." Jareth put his head in his hands. "And she has no idea who I really am. I know you want me to marry someone of noble birth."
"Because they are trained, Jareth. Trained to understand politics and the pressures of being in the public eye. A commoner has the luxury or unfortunate luck of not." The queen mother sighed. "I just want you to be happy but sometimes, you have to find love elsewhere."
"I know that it happens, that you can find love in other places." Jareth said. "But this girl. She's different. She is beautiful, yes. But that's not why I'm drawn to her. Lord knows how many beautiful girls I've seen in my day from all the courting I've done."
"Then why does she catch your eye, Jareth?" Eloise really wanted him to open up to her.
"Because of her purity. I don't mean pure as in she hasn't seen the garbage of the world, she has. And I am not talking purity as in untouched. I'm talking about something deeper than that. She didn't let the darkness of the world consume her the way I let it when father died. Her own mother died, her stepfamily isn't the kindest to say the least, and she has still retained that beautiful part in her. She's fun, she challenges me, oh mother. She is my equal. She's young, but she's my equal."
"How young is she?" Eloise asked him.
"16. So an adult." He said to her. "And I have been nothing but a gentleman to her."
"As I know you are." Eloise patted his head. "I raised you well."
Jareth smiled at her. "I don't want to marry someone who's not her. Please, can't I have some time?"
Eloise sighed. "On your 25th birthday, so a few years from now, you will have to host a ball. Normally if you are not married by then, that's when you'd announce an engagement. But again, as you've told me, that's tradition and no set rules. We can stall easily until your 25th birthday but after that will be more difficult."
Jareth nodded. "I appreciate it, mother. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the eastern villages today."
Eloise lowered her head. "Of course, my king."
Irene knew that Sarah didn't think she noticed, but she had noticed that she was more defiant in the past year than usual. Once, she followed Sarah to the market and saw her with a young man.
Ah.
She tried to tell Robert, but it seemed that he knew all about him and even approved of him! Imagine that. She had hoped that he would forbid Sarah from speaking to him so the influence he had on her would stop.
She was taken out of her thoughts when there was a frantic knock on the door.
"Ugh." She rolled her eyes. Seeing her stepdaughter sweeping up the floor, she snapped her fingers at her. "Sarah, please get the door."
Sarah adjusted the head wrap on her head and set the broom aside. With less and less money, she had to take initiative in doing more chores. Irene and her stepsisters of course did nothing to help. Lucky for her, the workers all were kind to her and treated her well.
"Yes stepmother." She walked to the door. It was quite late, who could it be?
She opened the door and was surprised to see someone she hadn't met before.
"Um, hello." She tilted her head to the side. "How may I help you?"
The man looked terribly sad. "Are you Sarah Williams?"
Sarah blinked. "Yes I am." Who wanted to speak to her?
The man swallowed thickly. "Then you are Robert's girl."
Irene came to the door as well. When she came, Anastasia and Drizella were also interested though the stepsisters said nothing.
"You are Mrs. Williams?" The man asked Irene.
"Yes, head of this household." Irene folded her arms arrogantly. "What is it?"
The man decided that he didn't like her and faced Sarah instead. "Miss Sarah, I bear you awful news. Your father… He got in an accident in a storm trying to save someone. And he passed away."
Sarah clutched at her heart, her eyes wide, frozen in place. "No, No."
Irene covered her mouth and covered her head. "We're ruined!"
"What of the dresses and jewels he promised us?" Drizella demanded. "He at least got those, right?"
The man looked at Sarah apologetically. "I'm so sorry, Miss. His belongings were all ruined, I'm sad to say. The only thing he had left was this."
He unwrapped something. Laying inside was a preserved rose, her mother's favorite flower.
Sarah took it and held it to her heart. She felt like someone had stabbed her chest and ripped her heart out. Her father was her anchor, her rock. He had been with her when her mother died, both took care of each other. He never stayed away from her for too long and treasured her so deeply.
The man took his hat off as a sign of respect. "His body is in a coffin behind me, miss. If you want to say goodbye."
Sarah nearly shoved him to the side as she ran towards the carriage. She wrapped her arms around the coffin and screamed as loud as she could. "NOO! PAPA!"
She wasn't sure exactly how she was pried away from the box that carried his body but she was. Everything was hazy, everything felt numb. She was beating her hands on the side of the house until she bruised. She ran into the house and screamed in the living room.
"Don't be so dramatic, Sarah." Anastasia mocked. "We didn't act this way when our father died."
"YOU GET OUT OF MY FACE!" Sarah had a mind to slap her. She turned on her heel and was about to climb back into the attic when a small cry reached her.
Toby.
Toby was crying at seeing her cry. Sarah walked over to his room and shut the door, away from the prying eyes of her stepmother and stepsisters.
She held the baby boy to her. "Oh Toby. I don't know what to do anymore."
She was an orphan. She was at the mercy of her stepmother and stepsisters.
Her world was falling down.
Falling down.
She opened her lips to sing a song Jareth had composed, a song he had taught her not too long ago. Of all the songs he had taught her, this was the one that meant the most to her.
"There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes…"
So it's been a year since their first meeting, they're in love now, yay! But now Sarah's dad is gone *sad face* and it's going to be hard for them with all the pressures from their life.
I don't credit myself for the scene of Sarah finding out her father is dead, a lot of it is based off the Cinderella live action but of course I added my own details (like her freaking out at her stepsisters).
Again, I own nothing, not labyrinth or cinderella. I do own Eloise and Professor Dara and a few future characters but I don't mind if someone wants to borrow them (so long as you ask me first so that I can also read your story!).
Stay tuned for more and leave a review!
