Author's Note: I chose the name Jarah and invented his character after looking up the name Jareth online. Interestingly Jarah is an older variant of the name, and is of a Hebrew origin. Jareth itself is considered American by origin (sometimes it is sourced as Welsh) but the names are linked to one and other.
Also, I recently went back and did some editing of the older chapters in this story. There are no major plot changes, but content has been added to the first chapter that will make Chapter 6 (upcoming) a little confusing. Thanks for reading!
Sarah noticed that the king had a way of ruining a happy moment. When he sauntered into the brightly lit dining hall, sporting a new outfit that matched her own, he gave Hoggle such a dirty look that the poor dwarf cringed. She, however, was not about to allow him any delight in damaging her nerves. She took Hoggle's hand to prevent his escape and tried to rekindle the conversation that Jareth had just killed.
"You are doing well though?" She asked him. Successful in catching his eye she smiled kindly at him, ignoring the king who came to haunt at her shoulder. She was better than she had been in days, free of her chamber, here with her friend at her side. She worried that if she looked too hard at the king she might start eating her hair.
"I'm fine," Hoggle tried to smile back, but the king interrupted his attempt.
"Well, I agreed to a dinner with you, Sarah." His voice was so proud, it made her feel sick. "Not the Prince of the Land of Stench."
She wrinkled her nose in despair at the memories of the Bog, but let go of Hoggle's hand. Turning to face the table she focused her fidgeting hands on smoothing her dress.
The king took a seat at the other end of the dining table. Sarah let her eyes rise to look at him. As soon as she was focused on his form she was overcome by that same flash of beauty. It was true that seeing him was like seeing him the first time, the dream disguise over him was so strong. He smirked as she watched him and she realized her mouth was parted in awe and her eyes half-lidded.
"Why do you do that?" She said and tried to look away. But like a magnet her eyes found their way back to the sharp bones, tan skin and eyes decorated in a harsh red make-up.
"Do what?"
"Make me forget what you look like… It is irritating." Sarah looked downward as she spoke for her nose was filled with a sudden happy aroma. At her place a dish full of food had appeared; a slice of meat, beef she thought, a lush pile of vegetables, all deep ripe colors, and white potatoes. A smaller dish on the side held mixed fruit, honey dew melon and bright slices of peach. A goblet of red liquid appeared as well, with a smaller companion filled with water.
"Whatever you say I am doing, precious, is not my choice." The king's voice was distracting but hunger overwhelmed her. Had she eaten that day? She could not remember… What was today anyway?
She was calculating this around a spoonful of warm potatoes, the sweetness of their flavor bringing tears to her eyes. She looked up at the king to find him mirroring her, spooning potatoes and eating quietly. Even with all his glam and grandeur he looked quite ordinary when he ate. The spoon in his gloved hand clinked against the plate, if she focused she could hear him chewing and swallowing. Trying to think back to her time in the illusion she was curious if Jareth had bothered to make the false people around her make chewing sounds. She tried to remember if her father's Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed, but her mind was blank. She had been deeply fooled.
"How do I know you are not a dream now?" She whispered. Carefully putting down her utensil she watched the king's face still and he looked up at her. His eyes bore angry holes into her own, their gaze was so direct, and he drew in a deep, loud breath.
"You never know, precious." His expression seemed genuine, his words mirrored the passion. "I am not the only one capable of creating such fantasies." The seriousness was forcibly dropped from his face and he gave her a tense smile.
"What do you mean?" Or who? She wanted to say.
He shook his head slightly. "Sarah, your only real concern now is pleasing yourself and me. As you may know now your life here is your only option. I'll not ask much of you…"
"Fear you, love you, do as you say?" She spat.
His jaw clenched, but the tense smile remained intact. "Those words were more for your sake than they were my own wish."
"Why did you even say them?"
"I thought it a soothing transition into the Underground." He leaned back in his chair. Both were ignoring their food now.
"But then you trap me here, what kind of transition is that?"
"Don't yell now, love, you'll frighten the Labyrinth."
"Why couldn't you let me go?"
"You were mine to begin with. I earned you."
"I am not something to earn!" She did not know when she had stood up or taken the near ten steps to where the king was sitting. She was clutching her ever-watcher in her hand, rearing it up into the air as though she might throw it at his smiling face. There was saliva at the corners of her mouth and sweat on her face. She had not been this angry in years. Her eyes were hot, as though burning tears might spring forth at any moment, but she was biting her lip to prevent them and blinking furiously. She could not crumble again, she had certainly cried enough.
The Goblin King seemed completely relaxed with her sudden burst of outrage. He watched her quietly, with a look in his eyes that might even be gentle. The fire of the iris seemed to have calmed just when Sarah's own fire truly was kindled.
"Sarah," She gasped a little when he said her name and realized she had been holding her breath. The tears broke free finally and her arm fell limp. She stumbled to the floor and sat, the ever –watcher sliding out of her hand and breaking with a harsh crash on the stony floor. Jareth took her shoulder in his gloved hand.
The king's hand felt like stone.
"Sarah," She closed her eyes. "You must let me tell you something."
"What?" Her voice felt like mud in her mouth.
"What are you most afraid of?"
She turned her head away from him and opened her eyes.
"Whatever it is," He continued. "You must never let it find you. A mortal's fears are like food to Fae and there are some Fae who are begging to make a feast of you."
"Am I your pet?" She muttered. To Sarah it seemed the bright lamps about the hall had dimmed, their bright orange glows had darkened, turned a rusty red and glowed ominously.
"Never a pet," He scoffed. "I am not so filthy." His hand on her shoulder squeezed. She could equate the touch to the grip she would use on Merlin's collar. The touch of prevention from escape.
"So you imprisoned me for what, then?"
"I told you, stupid child."
"I recall something about 'caging your queen,'" She said and tried to shake his hand off.
"You turned out a bit more bitter than I expected," He said and allowed her to pull free of him. "But you are still my Sarah and time will certainly improve your idea of me."
"Why me?"
"You are convenient." He answered.
"Do you love me?" She turned to look at him again, struck by the power of his gaze on her face. She did not understand how he could render such a look that brought such a rush of varied emotions from her, but she knew his being altogether was something she could not yet understand.
"I do." He smiled and this smile was what made him unbelievable. "And in my own world you are the safest. Safer even in the illusion than here. Had your mother not messed it up I may have kept you there long enough for you to live out a happy human life."
"What?" She turned her head back sharply away, hiding an angry flush.
His eyebrow shot up, he was pleased with himself for sparking honest interest in her.
"Yes, it might have been a perfect fairytale, really. You would live out your little mortal life and when you had aged, your children's children had spawn of their own and your doll-husband was dead, you would have made a wish. And then there I would have been, pleased to serve you. From there I would whisk you away to the Labyrinth where you could be queen forever… And not resent me."
"You had that all planned out…"
"Well, when it seemed you were making yourself believe the false world was real I had to come up with some way to appease you. The idea was actually very sweet, even if getting to the result I wanted would have taken so long."
"Sorry Mom ruined your plans." Sarah laughed. It was a sharp, painful giggle.
"I am a better illusionist than I give myself credit for." He puffed up like a red peacock.
Sarah made herself stand. She was finding herself terribly hungry. Taking her seat once more she leaned on one fist and stirred the food around her plate with her spare hand.
The king made a gentle grunt, possibly a dark giggle of his own and stood. "Eat, precious. You need the food. I will leave you in peace for tonight."
She kept her eyes on her plate when she heard his approach. Tensing when he leaned down next to her, her heart began to race when, for a moment, his breath washed across her face and his lips left a cool touch on her forehead. His hand placed an ever-watcher on the table beside her plate, but the image inside was not of Toby. Within was the image of something that made her heart flutter happily: Hoggle, Sir Didymus and Ludo, awaiting her in her chamber. The dwarf was sitting on the chair by the fire, the yeti on her bed, most likely leaving a great dent in it for her to roll into later. The little knight was bustling about frantically, climbing the bed posts, the mantel or even Ludo himself.
"A gift." He said softly and turned to leave. His scent, like a ghost, clung to Sarah. She was filled up with some kind of great passion about this, some wild mix of angry and happy, sad and confused.
She looked at his retreating back as he walked to the door, chewing on her lower lip. A frown was etched across her face and a wicked blush made her skin hot. It deepened in color when he turned and looked back at her again.
"Remember what I said Sarah." He whispered gently. "Avoid your fears, least they poison you. You are always safe with me… But not always safe here."
She looked away from him and he was gone when she found herself looking for him again. The room was so silent once she was alone, but the lamps seemed to blossom again and began to burn brightly once more. She finished her meal quickly, finding when she wanted more of something it appeared, and when she wished the greens were less in number she found only one green thing left on her plate.
"I am still mad at you." She mumbled to the air. Yes, always mad.
But beginning to be a little pleased. For three wonderful friends were waiting for her in her chamber, and this could ease even her hard heart.
She could not tell that in this heart there was a gentle infestation occurring. Deep within the folds of her flesh, in the place where the physical met the spiritual, that heart that beat blushes into her cheeks and stirred her passions, there was a tiny blackness settling. She had not placed it there and though Jareth could sense its presence he could not detect it in her mortal body.
When Jareth left, though he stood just outside the door, an invisible nail, so sharp the girl could not feel it, broke into her flesh through her breast to where her heart beat. It left the seedling of darkness there, was gone before anything could be done, and left the mortal girl, unsuspectingly, carrying magic in her heart.
Jarah could have laughed about this, ruining his brother's choice of mate, but it was not something to laugh about yet. This was only the first step in a long road of tiny changes he would make in her.
Jareth had no idea what was coming. Quite frankly, Jarah did not know either.
But that was how he favored it.