Hi again - thanks for all the reviews. I finally wrapped it up and finished - yay - ending on 26 chapters and an epilogue.
-nekochan: She is the only one who could be his heir, but that does not sem to be his plan, does it?
-kaytori: I think we all want to hug Jareth... :-D
Sarah wandered aimlessly through the Goblin City, lost in thoughts. How could Jareth have done this – what had compelled him to sacrifice his only chance of escape for her sake? And would he ever have told her the truth about it? She had carefully closed the book and put it back where she took it, blown out the candles and left his room, so he wouldn't know she had ever been there, but it had been hours ago, and there was still no sign of his return or a change in the weather. The castle had felt cramped and stuffy, so despite her promise to Jareth of staying there, she had left to get some fresh air.
"Lady Sarah," someone said right beside her in a tiny voice, and when she looked down, a small goblin was there with a fearful look in its eyes. "Lady Sarah, please come."
It tugged on her sleeve, and she followed willingly.
"Is there something I can help you with, little one?" she asked, but it just looked at her with pleading eyes and kept dragging her through street after street, until they were close to the gates.
"My brother," the goblin said and pointed out through the gate. "You help him, pretty lady? Yes?"
"Your brother is out there?" Sarah asked. "Lost perhaps?"
The little goblin nodded vigorously, and Sarah smiled kindly at it, happy that she could help Jareth here, when he was busy with Cederick. She strode out through the gates, but suddenly something was thrown over her head and before she could scream or transform, a blinding pain exploded in the back of her head and everything went dark.
She awoke to a darkness so black that even her sharper eyes could not penetrate it. She was lying on a cold and clammy stone floor, her clothes in disarray and her hair tangled all over her face, and when she slowly raised herself up on her arms, her head hurt so badly that she thought she was going to throw up or faint again. She quickly lay down again, but the throbbing in her head persisted, and she lost consciousness again.
The next time she awoke, she opened her eyes to stare directly into a black beady eye and a dark beak very close to her face, and she gasped in fear and surprise and quickly sat up. Too quickly – the sharp pain lanced through her head and she whimpered and cringed, trying very hard not to pass out again.
"Pretty girl awake," someone cawed, and she recognized the overgrown raven that had brought them the message of sir Didymus's capture. Fear mingled with the pain – if the raven was here, she was surely in enemy territory.
"Yes, Bertram, I can see that," an old voice replied in an unpleasant tone, and she glanced up to see an ugly middle-aged man in dirt-brown medieval robes staring down at her. His thin brown hair hung limply around a wrinkled face, and his eyes and mouth was too small compared to his protruding hawk nose. He was seated near a fireplace in a comfortable chair, and when she looked around quickly, she could see that they were in some kind of semi-round chamber with heavy stone walls and crude windows. There was no doubt in her mind that she was in the presence of Cederick, and she tried furiously to manage her panic and think about what to do.
"So, girl," he sneered and poked at her with a long wooden staff, that was resting in his lap. "I can't just call you girl – what is your name?"
Sarah decided to try truth and flattery. "My name is Sarah, Lord Cederick, if you please," she replied in a tone that she hoped sounded frightened and obedient. He nodded and a cruel smile grazed his thin lips.
"Good, good, Jareth has taught you your place, I see," he commented. "Tell me – what are you to Jareth? His mistress? His slave?"
"I am whatever he wants me to be," she whispered vaguely in a monotone voice and tried to sound like a brainwashed servant, so he wouldn't think her dangerous or clever enough to try to escape. Which is exactly what she intended to do the moment she got the chance.
"I can see that. Does he let you use your powers at all, I wonder?"
"Powers, my Lord? You mean, when I get to brush up and look pretty for him?" Sarah concentrated for a moment and restored her looks, so her tangled hair became soft waves again and her dress clean and fresh. It seemed safe enough to show him – he would hardly believe her, if she claimed to have no powers at all.
"Yeeessss," he hissed and his smile broadened and turned more malicious. "Jareth has good taste, I must give him that. But your presence here just shows that the power has gone to his head – why in the Underground's name would he choose to waste his chance of freedom on getting a permanent slave girl, when he could just satisfy his needs with the quester girls…?"
Sarah got the feeling he was talking more to himself than to her and that he was dismissing her as a creature of no higher value than the raven that was still watching them. Cederick rose and walked around her, studying her from all sides with a lechery look.
"You remind me how much I miss those willing girls," he commented and leaned down to tug at her hair. She cried out and it intensified the blinding headache she still had from where someone had struck her. Playing the role of the vulnerable servant, she let the tears flow freely and touched the sore place tenderly – feeling no blood, but a big sore bump.
"Please, my Lord, may I rest for a while?" she pleaded in a meek subservient voice. "My head hurts so badly…"
He shrugged and waved her away. "There are some blankets over in the corner where the weredogs usually lie – you can take that spot. I'll have plenty of time to play with you later – you'll be much more fun, if you don't pass out during our… intimate moments. I like my girls alive and…kicking."
Sarah knew exactly what he meant and was petrified with terror that she wouldn't be able to get away before he attempted to force himself on her, so she scampered across the floor to the corner he had indicated and pressed herself into the corner, making herself as small as possible. She could hear him give a short contemptuous laugh, but then he started talking to the bird instead.
"So, Bertram, what should I do with her – besides the obvious? Bargain her to Jareth for the ultimate power? Nahhh, no girl is worth that, not even to a whelp like Jareth. Kill her after I've had my fun, so his use of the talisman has been in vain? Or maybe just keep her here forever without him knowing, so he'll think she just left him? Either option seems rather delicious; I'm very pleased that you discovered her, my friend."
"Better than furry ones," the raven squawked. "Muuuch better."
"Yes, we could have had fun with the stupid little knight, but using him as decoy instead to steal her away was even better. It was a worthy bargain – any pain inflicted on her will hurt him much deeper."
"Caaww," the raven cried and she could hear the claws scraping the floor. "Kill her…fun! Bargain boring. Bargain unsafe."
"Yes, it is, isn't it?" A roll of thunder could be heard from somewhere outside, and the wizard laughed hard. "Much more fun, I think – can you hear Jareth's anger? Methinks the slave girl has been discovered missing…!"
Sarah heard footsteps nearing, and then Cederick was at her side with a thin rope. He grabbed at her wrists and then ankles and tied the rope tightly around them, so they bit into the flesh, and she whimpered again and pretended to lose consciousness, though she dared not give in to her growing dizziness for real and fought very hard not to faint again. Cederick's hands paused on her legs, and then he let one hand slide up her leg in a sickening and rude caress, exposing her bare legs, testing Sarah's acting skills to the utmost, as she wanted nothing more than to beat away his hands and scream at the top of her lungs. Another hand came to rest on her chest, grabbing one of her breasts roughly and kneading it painfully, and Sarah almost stopped breathing in fear and loathing.
"Yes, you'll do fine, once you're ready to be a bit more…lively," he murmured raucously and then with a final touch rose. "But just to make sure you don't have any further tricks learned from Jareth, I think you'll need this as well."
She felt him fumble for something for a moment, and then a string was dragged over her head, and something cold and heavy came to rest on her collarbone. Cederick moved away and she could hear his staff dragging across the floor.
"Bertram, come, let's go outside and watch the spectacle – I so enjoy bad weather these days. Then we can discuss how to use the girl against Jareth."
The door opened and then slammed behind them moments later, but Sarah waited several heartbeats before she dared open her eyes just the tiniest bit to check that they had gone. She tried to process the situation, but could only focus on that it was very bad – she was in big trouble. Her hands were tingling from lack of blood-circulation from the tight ropes and her head hurt worse than ever, but the panic from thinking about his hands on her and what he was going to do with her, if she didn't get away was even worse.
The room was empty and she could see through the dim windows that they were on a ground floor, not in a castle or tower. She tried to move, but the ropes just tightened around her and made her groan in pain. Then it struck her – her transformation skills of course. If she could just turn into an owl, the ropes would fall loose around her and she could perhaps get out through one of the windows. One of them was slightly ajar, giving her a view of the dark sky outside.
Sarah closed her eyes and gathered her magic focusing on transforming into her owl form, but the moment she tried to do the transformation, a blinding red-hot pain exploded near her collarbone and nearly made her scream out loud, and nothing happened. No transformation. She looked at the place, and saw that the string and cold metal she had felt Cederick slip over her was some kind of rough talisman on a raw-hide cord and it was glowing red. As she watched, the colour slowly faded and the metal turned cool again, but she could still feel the sting of where it had burned her. Her heart sank and she choked back a sob. It must be some kind of magic dampener or blocking device – no wonder he had dared leave her alone and unguarded in here. With her magic gone and tied up so she could hardly move, she was helpless and completely at his mercy.