I apologize for the shortness of the chapter. I have a few ideas that I am toying with, so please bare with me and thank you for reading.
"No, no, no, no….." Sarah's eyes widened to an impossible degree as she edged away from her almost lover. Visions danced across her memory revealing dangers, betrayals, and dances. Her nightmare, played out in farcical detail, every moment vividly painful and embarrassing. Her alluring, mysterious, music-man was a...a, oh she couldn't bare to even think the word! It was impossible, she was having a nervous breakdown right before his anxious eyes.
Sarah couldn't breathe, she kept trying to inhale, but every breath was shallow, starving her lungs. She moved around to the back of the sofa, bringing a hand to her throat, she tried to calm down while putting distance between herself and...him. However, Jareth disappeared before her eyes, reappearing as she backed into him. She spun around and extended a hand to ward him way.
"Sarah, calm down," he ordered quietly. "Mind what you say, I know you're confused, but some words cannot be undone," he reach for her but she backed up. Tears swelled to the surface of her green eyes as she began to take deeper, more sustaining breaths. "Stay back," she begged.
"You need to understand that everything I did was out of love for you," Jareth's face was set in the hard lines that her memories recalled, he had so much pride, even now. But, she just couldn't think clearly, she couldn't understand anything with him standing there, with so many emotions assaulting her at once.
"I wish you would go away," she choked, trying not to cry, trying to keep it together. Instantly, the room fell dark and he was gone. For a moment she was relieved, sinking to the ground to weep out her frustrations. Yet, before she was finished crying an emptiness settled upon her, the room had darken, but so had her heart. Feeling hollow, she curled up on the sofa under the plaid throw, Loki stalked carefully across the floor from his position behind a curtain. He had always rather disliked the fae man. The cat uncharacteristically snuggled with his mistress and kept an eye out for any wayward guests.
Morning brought no relief. Dazed, Sarah packed a suitcase and coaxed the cat into a carrier. She took a cab to the station and caught the next train home to Massachusetts. She needed familiarity, she wanted her room, her family, and especially her angsty teen brother. Sarah sat in contemplative silence throughout the 5 hour ride. It was raining in the early evening as she knocked on the door of her childhood home.
Toby answered, "Hey, what are you doing here?"
"What do you mean? I came home for Christmas, jerkface," she smiled feeling normal for a moment.
Sarah helped her stepmother make dinner and afterwards they all happily cuddled on the couch to watch "It's A Wonderful Life." It was easy to keep calm and not think about her recent experience while surrounded by her family and their delight at her early holiday arrival. Anxiety returned once she found herself alone in her own bedroom. The faded pink walls were still covered by posters and pictures that she had left after going to college. The toys that hadn't interested Toby still sat around the room and books littered all even surfaces.
Slowly, Sarah approached the window seat that had always reminded her of Wendy's from Peter Pan. Wrenching the shutters open she sat and watched the snow fall in the light of the streetlamps. She still couldn't quite organize her thoughts or feelings. It was hard to entertain the idea that she had once been capable of wishing away her brother, or that she had ventured into another world to reclaim him, and hardest of all to believe was Jareth.
But, she had held him, kissed him, made small talk with him in line for coffee, she certainly loved him. Did it really matter that he was a semi-sadistic, singing baby-thief, who just so happened to rule a kingdom of goblin men while moonlighting as a folksinger in Soho? "Oh good grief," she said out loud, letting her forehead lean against the cool windowpane. "This is my life, I go to New York to find myself and all I manage to do is get more lost."
Jareth stood, arms crossed, upon the balcony of his chambers, surveying his kingdom thoughtfully.
"You're back," spoke the gruff voice of Hoggle from the doorway.
"So it seems. I would appreciate it if you knocked next time," replied the king flatly. Hoggle scanned the rooms with his eyes quickly, when he saw that no one else occupied the space, he shut the door and joined Jareth on the balcony.
"Alone, huh?" he asked.
"Very observant."
"Yeah, well glad you're back."
"I'm sure you'll be the only one to think that soon enough."
"Probably so, you may have to scare a few of them soundly. You leave for a few weeks and the place descends into chaos," the dwarf shook his head and crossed his own arms.
"What was I thinking, Hoggle? I never really had a chance of winning her over, did I?"
"How am I supposed to know? You were honest with her in the end weren't ya?"
"Of course, I had to be."
"Well, that's all you can do, there's no sense in worrying about it now," Hoggle replied gruffly.
"I suppose you're right," Jareth bounded off the balcony heading for the throne room. "I have some subjects to bog, you may want to keep your head down Hoggle."