I've enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on both FFN and AO3 on what you think will happen next! Thank you for reading and I hope you will continue to leave reviews and enjoy!
Jareth arrived promptly at six o'clock sharp. Sarah nearly had her breath knocked out of her when she saw the way he had dressed.
His cream-colored dress shirt was unbuttoned at the top, giving a glimpse to his chest. His belt buckle was his amulet, and he styled his golden hair "human style," sweeping up to the side and appearing much shorter.
He had some light makeup on with fashionable blue slacks, a matching jacket, and shiny shoes. Damn, she loved her man, however he appeared, but this suit was now one of her favorite looks on him.
Jareth was thinking the same thing about her.
She wore a little black dress with her hair done in waves, accompanied by a bracelet and a pair of earrings with silver heels. Her makeup was simple with light pink lipstick and golden eyeshadow.
He couldn't take his eyes off her.
Placing his hand over the door frame, he leaned into her, catching the pomegranate scent of her perfume. His eyes moved down and back up, making a show of scanning her whole body. "Good evening, Precious. You are stunning."
She leaned in for a kiss, one hand clutching the lapel of his jacket, the other on his chest. Her fingers touched the exposed skin, the warmth radiating to her whole body.
"So are you. You look damn good."
At her compliment, Jareth chuckled with a ravenous growl. "Keep showering me with praise, and I'll forego this fancy dinner and devour you where we stand."
"And miss the chance to show off all your knowledge of expensive wine?" She squeezed his shoulder. "I doubt it."
As expected, they had the loveliest time together. Sarah had dined with Jareth Underground in his own castle, but even then she was nervous about other people observing.
She knew now that everyone who worked for Jareth was fiercely loyal to him, but he was still a king, and they still had opinions of her, no doubt. Here, they could be themselves: a man and a woman in love.
Hand-in-Hand, they took a short walk after dinner. Not for the first time during their courtship, Jareth was filled with warmth as he beheld Sarah.
For years, he had self-inflicted much of his isolation. When he was younger, he had many superficial relationships, chasing that high he got from attention as the Prince of the High Court and King of the Goblins. As he became older, he no longer wanted superficial relationships, which meant that many of them faded away.
Then, Sarah came.
When they first met, they clashed like no other, and he loathed how she defeated him despite being so young.
Years later, even when they were just friends, she showed him what it was like to love and to be loved in return.
He started to nurture friendships with others, because he could see how good and how happy it made him. He seemed to return to his younger years, before the toxicity of courts and politics weighed on him. He felt freer and more open.
Oh, they had their spats, but they worked hard to resolve things. She was often blunt, bossy at times, and impatient. And yet, he loved her for it. He loved her for knowing that she had these qualities that she worked to refine to be her best self.
She meant the world to him.
As for Sarah, Jareth had been the mighty, villainous Goblin King of her youth. The literal king of her dreams. Because of him, she shed the love of the superficial and learned to love things that were real. The world wasn't fair, and it would do her good to know that.
She no longer chased the desire to be famous or be seen as glamorous like her actress mother but instead learned to connect with people on an emotional level.
It seemed ironic how she grew out of caring for people's statuses and ended up in love with a king. Just as she told him many times, she did not fall for the Goblin King. She fell for Jareth, the man who became her best friend, respected her, and fell for her.
He could be arrogant, brash, cruel, and stubborn, but she also saw that he was kind, gentle, and remorseful when he hurt someone. She knew in her heart that it was Jareth or no one.
She had waited for him to bring up the topic of the next step in their relationship, but perhaps he was waiting on her.
"Jareth?" She took his hand and placed it on her lap.
"I was thinking about something. About us. We've been together for a while, and I know we agreed to take it slow and to see how it goes, but I was wondering, what do you think about moving in together?"
She tried to sound confident, but she couldn't help the vulnerability seeping into her voice. She always did when she spoke to Jareth about their relationship and how she felt about him.
Jareth cupped her cheek with his hand, dissipating any worries.
"I am honored, my love. Let's chat about this in greater detail like where we would want to stay, and how that would look like. How would you like to live?"
She continued holding his hand, now massaging it to keep her own hands busy. "I thought about doing my career here, at least for a while. But honestly, I just want to do good in the world. I want to do it with you. Or if not with you, then come home and have you be there. I can do that in the Underground, but being a queen is another thing, if it gets there. I'm willing to learn, though; to be with you. You said that my lifespan could be as long as yours if we go Underground, so that's not a problem for either of us. What do you envision?"
Jareth paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. When he finally spoke, he was quiet and thoughtful.
"I would like to make you my queen, my equal, and companion for us to rule together. But I want to honor your dreams and ambitions that you created here. Perhaps we could live human lives if that is what you prefer."
They had mentioned marriage before in the context of what they both ultimately wanted but had never really spoken about the details.
It took a moment for Sarah to really understand what he meant.
"You mean… for you to be mortal?"
"Perhaps. If not, I am perfectly happy with living a mortal life for a short time and having a regent in my stead, so we may partake of both lives. Or we could go back and forth."
"That's a lot to think about. But no matter what, I want to move in with you. Or you with me, but I know how much you love your giant bed and your gigantic closet," she teased. "I just want to be really, really sure before we move onto such a big step like an engagement, you know? We each deserve both of us to be totally sure and without any reservations. Part of it is seeing that my parents divorced, and I want to do all I can to make sure that we're not only happy now, but staying happy forever."
He gazed at her with seriousness. "Sarah, I understand you want to take things slow, to see how we feel about each other, and how compatible we are. To learn how to work things out before we go to the next step. I commend you for it, because that's what I want to see in a future wife and queen, should it lead to that. Especially with how young you are-"
"I'm not that young, Jareth. I'm twenty-nine, and had my own relationships before you."
"Perhaps, but you are young compared to me." He shifted into a more comfortable sitting position.
"What I mean to say is, I've been alive a very long time. While there are many things to learn about life and even myself, I know that I want you. I know that I want you in my life until my last breath. Perhaps you may be concerned about the future, but I need you to know that I have already come to that solid conclusion."
He gingerly took her hand in both of his, as if afraid she would run. "I love you, Sarah. My heart is forever yours. Wherever you go, I will follow. If you'll have me, that is. Take all the time you need. Time is something I can give you in abundance. Always remember that I am only a wish away."
Tears sprang to her eyes. She thought of how she fussed over him when he was sick, and he let her.
She thought of how despite his pride, he apologized to her when he was wrong about something.
She thought of how the goblins adored him, even if they were terrified of being sent to the bog.
No man had ever made her feel so safe in voicing her boundaries. Nor had she met a man who stepped out of his comfort zone to wear his heart on his sleeve for her, which was especially impressive, considering how Jareth was a king, who was supposed to guard his emotions at all times.
"I love you. I want you with me, always." she whispered, hugging him tightly, wiping her tears.
Jareth held her back, feeling lighter than he had in a long time.
"Squawk!" Matthew flew towards Lucien. "Yo, Luc, these books are batshit crazy! Literally!"
Indeed, a book on bats was currently hurling itself at Matthew. Lucien took a broom and promptly smacked it down.
"This is preposterous! Never have I seen anything so destructive!"
It was madness.
When Lord Morpheus had been imprisoned, the Dreaming faded away, crumbling to dust. When Rose Walker, the Vortex, was here, things were chaotic but not sentient like this.
To say that Lucien was getting a headache was an understatement.
"You have requested my presence, Lucien?" Morpheus took a look around the chaos that was the library, aghast. "What in the universe is happening?"
"My Lord."
Lucien did a hasty bow after shoving Matthew to a safe place then adjusted the now lopsided glasses. "These books are mad! They are no longer simply rearranging themselves. They are tearing themselves apart and moving to different sections! These loose pages are destroying themselves to the spine!"
Morpheus was as emotionless as ever. "Have any pages actually been lost? I see no loose pages anywhere."
"I - Oh." Lucien hadn't thought of that.
Lord Morpheus was right, there weren't any loose pages. So, this wasn't just some random self-destruction sort of thing.
"It seems that perhaps anyone in their way has made them rather angry."
"Move to the side and let the books and loose pages go to where they want," Morpheus instructed.
That's exactly what happened. When the books were no longer being interfered with, they no longer attacked anyone and moved to where they "wanted" to move, fitting neatly into different sections.
"This is no simple out of the ordinary mess," Morpheus declared. "Someone or something is interfering with the Dreaming. And I will do what I must to stop them."
I enjoyed writing this chapter, especially the Jareth and Sarah scenes. Don't we all wish we had understanding significant others? *sigh* I also had fun writing the Sandman bits. Thank you for reading and I would really love it if you leave a review and some kudos if you enjoyed this! Even a small comment is nice to have.
