A/N: Thanks for the lovely reviews guys!
A scream rang out through the halls of her dorm. Visions of gloved hands reaching for her throat and a swinging sharp pendant still clouding her eyes and shielding from her the contents of her room. A ringing in her ears of smashing crystal and a sense of dread served to keep her already racing heartbeat leaping in her chest. One hand was clutched at her throat as if in a desperate attempt to prise someone else's fingers off while the other buried itself behind her under her pillow, searching frantically for a possession she swore to know nothing about in her conscious life. As her questing fingertips finally grazed it a sense of calm stole through her and she allowed herself to smile. Her green eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened once more it was to be greeted by the sight of her coursework stacked in a leaning pile on the other side of the room and last nights clothes sticking out of her laundry hamper. There were no threats here, nor had there ever been. But still the lingering feeling that she couldn't breathe and the threat of imminent danger clung to her like the sheen of sweat from the night of dreaming and she couldn't shake it as it settled like a lead weight into her gut. Because... what if this time she was right? After so many false alarms what if this one nightmare was a warning?
Sarah pressed her hand to her forehead and smiled wryly, swinging her legs out of her bed and shaking her raven hair from her eyes. Honestly, her imagination got the best of her even still. Still coming up with impossible possibilities of what could be.
"And that, Sarah, is why we had to switch from Law, to Literature and then into Theatre like we always swore we wouldn't." She muttered chidingly to herself, padding towards the bathroom.
'And also why we have no roommates since your crazy fantasies and reoccurring nightmares scared them all away.' The thought was scathing but true, and no matter how it was cut it would stay the same. It was a wonder she even had the few friends that had stuck around for so long. Even if her favourite person to spend time with was a few hundred miles away agonising over the latest game for his collection while she was here drowning in University work and half forgotten dreams. But then Sarah had never been a gregarious person as such, having mostly enjoyed her own company over others with few exceptions...
The carpet of the room gave way to the tiled mural floor of the bathroom, the mosaic slippery from it's recent gloss as Sarah passed over it towards the sink unseeingly, too distracted by her thoughts. In fact, since her first day there she hadn't really noticed any part of the decor that made up the University and gave it the reputation that had convinced her to leave her family behind a few years before. Perhaps it was the fact that the main garden boasted a large hedges maze for quiet escapes and every painting and tapestry depicted some form of implausible creature that resonated within parts of her memory. Maybe it was the way everyone walked around tossing words about meaninglessly and took so much for granted. Whatever reason it was, Sarah had turned herself off from it all and chose to live her days in a form of stubborn ignorance which tended to grate on people's nerves, even going so far to try and push for a movement to get rid of a stone statue on the 4th floor outside one of the libraries because it wasn't historical but rather... fanciful... and bore no ties to their school. Stated in her claim was that it belonged somewhere as a prop for a movie perhaps and the young woman had spent a month covering it over in old dust sheets until she won. Or at least... half won. Now it stood just down the hall from the new dorm room she had been recently elected... and she had no power over it any longer.
It wasn't that it was hideous. Far from it, in fact. But it terrified her. The pointed ears, the confident stance... the cold gaze that she swore followed her the entire length of the stone floored corridor. At times it seemed to have moved whenever she lost sight of it though no one else appeared to know what she was raving about and put it down to the stress of her course. He laughed at her with his fixed half smile that she claimed grew whenever she met his eye... yet again no one else saw it happen. Eventually they had stopped listening and she had stopped speaking her observations aloud to avoid a meeting with the campus shrink but still they continued to happen whenever she found herself alone. The sense of familiarity was the worst part. The battle armour and gloved hands she could forgive but the face... the face haunted her.
Shuddering, her raven hair was swept off her shoulder and the tap was turned on, a deep and tired sigh escaping her as the faucet clanged into life and slowly started trickling out water into the bowl. All from one episode her child psychiatrist had attributed to her sense of abandonment from her mum and her father taking a different wife she hadn't originally connected with- she now recognised a face of a damned stone chiseled statue. Truly ludicrous. Sarah splashed her face with the cold water collected and braced herself with a hand on either side of the sink as she dared look up at the reflection staring back at her in the mirror. The young woman blinking slowly in front of her looked exhausted... pale. Not much had changed feature wise from the time she had entered into therapy till now. She was taller, sure. She had lost much of her baby fat in recent years too, but besides the dark bags that came as an occupational hazard of University life under her eyes that was where the differences ended. Her cheekbones were as high and prominent as always making her green eyes look bigger... and it was into them she stared. Maybe she was hallucinating after all. Sleep hadn't come easy for 10 years.
"Sometimes I wish... I wish...-"
The wish were halfway out of her mouth before she flinched violently, standing straight and turning her back on the mirror as her hands rose to hold her face. What was she doing? Wishing?! She wasn't a kid anymore! Hadn't she already learned words had power? To be careful what you wish for in case it came true?!
"He's at home. Toby is at home. He's safe- you imagined all of it. None of it was real!"
The words fell on deaf, stone ears since the walls surrounding her offered no comfort. Nor did any come from the light swinging slightly above her head. Groaning, she dropped her hands back to waist level, one hand holding a finger from her other hand as her eyes clenched shut. God only knew why it was in the little hours of the night when things settled upon her shoulders after all these years. At least it was a calm night. Had a storm rolled in and raged its way overhead that night, there was no doubt she would have been inconsolable. What time was it anyway? The watch her Dad had bought her routinely went missing so when she glanced at her wrist she wasn't surprised to see it gone. Though the eerie feeling that had followed her around since she'd arrived here slowly crept up her back again and she stepped out of the bathroom in an effort to elude it without glancing back. The light was switched off and the door was pulled shut behind her... and only then did she glance back at the solid oak door and nod. Mirrors... another necessary obstacle of daily life.
The campus clock sounded through the silence, announcing the arrival of the fourth hour as a door down the hall opened and closed with a slam, shaking her out of her thoughts with wide eyes. 3 hours. She had gotten a maximum of 3 hours. Again. For the third time that week. It wasn't fai-
Striding through to her room again she yanked on some clothes in a hurried rush, nearly falling over into her nightstand in her haste to escape herself. A few moments later the door swung shit behind her as she exited the dormitory, pointedly choosing to go right instead of left and hurtling down the stairs with a face like thunder. Maybe a walk would do her well. Clear her thoughts. Possibly she could bother Aliannah if there was a light under her door when she passed for some company.
However... passing unnoticed behind Sarah's retreating back, a stony face smiled and arms moved, stretching and stepping in a neat leap to the side as a small gaggle of goblins tumbled out onto the hall runner. He then side hopped back again to assume his position once more with his brow quirked. Rounded faces and bulging eyes looked around the area wildly as they collected their bearings and turned to one another, hissing laughter and eerie giggling barely audible in the settling silence.
"She nearly said the words!"
Suddenly the lights illuminating the corridor flickered like torches, and the goblins were gone, a single black orchid petal lying serenely where they'd been.
The ceilings were quite high even for the way the building had been erected, towering off into the near gloom with only a few sconces alluding to where they ended. Huge painted murals spanned the expanse of sanded stone depicting battles and dances alike, the pillars and carved arches lining the walls the only things separating each one as they led off into different places. And they each were blatantly ignored by the young woman who strode by underneath them. Rich red rugs gave way to deep violet, the windows spanning the walls changing from basic square to sport stained glass and Sarah found herself outside the Theater before she knew where she had been going. Instead of feeling relaxed for seeing it the feeling dwelling within her intensified to the point of nausea and she turned on her heel, pushing open the side door to the concourse and leaving through the English corridor heading for one of the common rooms.
This was mostly uncharted territory for her. Students here rarely merged with other departments outside of friendships and had no reason to be anywhere other than where their classes were. Instead of taking stock of her surroundings however she trusted her feet to carry her forward as she delved into her thoughts once more. The lights didn't automatically come on here so she was at the mercy of the clouds outside allowing the moonlight into the hall so she could see where she was going. Dust motes hung in the air in each section of pooling light filling the stretch of space with silvery but cloudy light, some swirling from an unapparent draught as she walked along the far wall careful not to disturb them. The tapestries covering the other departments were missing here, replaced by dutifully realistic portraits of past poets, authors and the like and Sarah imagined could feel their eyes following her as she passed. Coats became collars which in turn became ruffs, but the poise of them didn't begin to change until she was more than two thirds along the corridor. Faces disappeared off into the darkness ahead of her beckoning her closer with their painted stares and she followed them almost in a trance. Green eyes peered further and further into the gloom, her back bending as she leaned forward to see it better... then rather suddenly a cloud seemed to move and she wished it hadn't.
Just as her mouth opened to scream a hand came down on her shoulder and spun her, and she came face to face with a stranger looking at her like she was the most entertaining thing since Jurassic Park had come out in cinema's a few years before. The young man tilted his head, his slightly overlong hair falling into his eyes and he smiled after a moment with a show of perfect teeth.
"You seem a little lost. And not a little scared. Everything alright...?" He asked, his tone clearly amused as he stood there watching her.
His hand never moved, going so far as to squeeze her shoulder after she hadn't replied for a few seconds nor shown any inclination to. Turning to look back over her shoulder instead, the chilling sight from a minute before greeted her gaze once more. She felt more than saw him look over her head and glanced back to see him frowning as his eyes finally landed on what she was looking at. And then he laughed.
"Ohhh, you're that girl; the one who caused a hue and cry over the statue on the forth floor. Sandra, isn't it? I'm Jaque. Listen, Sandra, we have so many others - not just ones like these- in this castle-slash-university. That one you're looking at is your guy's counterpart. Faculty brought it in earlier yesterday afternoon."
Jaque spun her round again to face the figure standing opposite them against the back wall, his other hand coming up to rest on her other shoulder so she couldn't move away and pressing forward so she was all but forced to take a step. Then two. Then five. And suddenly she was barely two metres away staring into the empty carved eyes of what was clearly another Fae Statue, only this time it was a woman.
"Sarah... my name is Sarah..." She finally remembered to correct him but all the same it almost felt like an introduction towards the statue than a statement towards Jaque.
"Yeah yeah, Sarah. Anyways, isn't she beautiful? In a kind of... dark way? I'm so glad I decided to study art and sculpture this year. Imagine being stuck doing maths when you could be tasked with drawing things like her, right?"
Trepidation was beginning to pool in her stomach with each passing moment that 'Jaque' held her in place, every second she was being made to look at the almost ethereal figure across from them seeming like an hour. Was it just her or... or had the woman just let out a breath? Why was she starting to feel so dizzy? Heartbeat pounding like a distant war drum and her fingers curling into her palms, the rush of blood and adrenaline finally made it to her head and she twisted away from him with a wrench of her shoulders as her common sense kicked back in. The steps that had been forced on her were retraced and she slowly shook her head at him in disbelief. Who did he think he was?
"Listen here, Jack or Jaque or whatever, as nice as it is that you're passionate about your major, don't presume to randomly come up behind me in the middle of the night and put your hands on me for any reason!" Sarah snarled, her lip curling as she took another step back.
His brows shot up in something akin to shock and interest at her sudden outburst, but that only made the clamouring in her mind all that much worse. In a twisted way, her eyes were beginning to play tricks on her for he seemed to hold an almost resemblance to the statue outside her room. His white blonde hair made his pale skin look that much paler, and as her gaze burned intensely into his she noted his eyes seemed... amber. But that was impossible... no one had amber eyes. The heels of her hands pressed into her eyes and she hunched in on herself, stumbling to the side until her back met the wall and she slid down it. She was going mad. Plain and simple. 3 different course choices in the space of a few years had taken its toll on her for she had been working flat out to catch up and now it was manifesting in her brain to show hallucinations and to steal her sleep. He probably thought she was mad- even though he had been the weird one being overly enthusiastic about figurines in the moonlit hours instead of being in his bed.
A weak flash of light spanned the corridor like the refraction of a crystal or edge of a knife, lighting the hunched body for a moment as the air was momentarily displaced by Jaque moving. It was felt more than seen as he took his place on the floor across from her, one leg outstretched as he rested his elbow on the other and yawned languidly. Outside, the moon absconded behind another fleeting wisp of cloud and the wind picked up to stir the leaves of the hedges and trees that lined the path on the other side of the windows. One of the University's protected Hawkes had seemingly escaped it's keep to perch on one of the branches outside the window and for lack of better explanation could have been argued to be watching the pair rather intently. It's tail feathers caught the light again, sending another flash across them and finally the pressing silence was broken by the young man as he turned to look behind him at the bird and huffed a laugh.
"...Really. I clearly can't go anywhere, can I?" He murmured under his breath, flashing it a smile as he turned back to Sarah with a blatantly amused expression.
Her head was resting on her arms which she'd wrapped around her knees protectively so she missed the exchange, her breathing deep but irregular. A few seconds passed then a black boot reached out further to tap her shoes in a pointed manner to grab her attention... then again when it didn't get the reaction it sought. Finally after the tapping grew rather insistent Sarah's head rose again to look at him in an exasperated manner. Another smile was sent her way with a wink as his hands folded in his lap, the bird behind him now ignored.
"So... we got off on the wrong foot, I believe. I openly admit that meeting a person for the first time by turning up unexpectedly and forcing them into sculpture appreciation isn't the most intelligent move I've ever made. I'm sorry." He began, his smile reigning in to become sheepish, "Therefore, please allow me to start all over again, hm?"
He shifted slightly awkwardly, clearing his throat as he readied himself to do just as he had said.
"Hello. My name is Jaque Caomhánach, I am... 24, an Art Major and a... Sagittarius? My talents include long rants about stone figurines and statues, not sleeping for days on end and apparently scaring people."
A long moment passed where Sarah merely blinked at him and he rolled his eyes, sighing as he looked away.
"It's nice to meet you, Jaque! This is usually the part in an introduction, I believe, where you go on to introduce yourself and I get to go 'It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance', Sarah. So we're not sitting here like a pair of miserably awkward bookends."
A blush alighted to her features and she laughed, the tension in her shoulders easing only slightly as she looked up at the bird outside that had moved a little closer. For some reason she got the idea it was glaring at him.
"Ignore the bird, he's a temperamental old man who has apparently escaped and has abandoned the post he was assigned."
At that the hawk gave an indignant screech and took off and he gave a satisfied sniff as if he'd achieved something he'd been attempting to do for a while. Then he looked back at her clearly expecting her to now return the greeting. But the words weren't coming as easily as they had for him. Not at all.
"Looks like you can add 'offending random birds' to your repertoire." She tried for a smile but it was slightly strained so she let it fall again. "Okay. Uh... I'm Sarah- Williams. Sarah Williams. I'm 24 also... nearly 25. I started off as a Law student, transferred to English and Literature... and now I'm in theater. I have an overactive imagination, a hatred for personified myths- like her over there- and I have no idea what I'm doing sitting in this corridor."
A deep, rumbling laugh escaped her companion and he quietly gave her a muffled round of applause as he inclined his head towards her and nodded. What that meant she couldn't begin to fathom but in that moment she could have sworn he was related to Jareth and she involuntarily she shivered at the thought. It was midterm... but maybe going home for a little while wouldn't hurt her. She needed a break from all of this, something to ground her, and no one kept her grounded these days quite like her little brother Toby. But that would mean leaving for at least a week what with the distance she had between her and her childhood home. Yet looking at Jaque... who was now looking back at her like she'd mentioned something unbelievably interesting, furrowing his brow in a frown, Sarah was convinced she needed it. Again it was him that broke the silence as he seemed to surface from his interlude of thinking and he tilted his head to the side appraisingly.
"Three entirely different majors in what I assume to be quick succession is quite a bit to bite off and chew from the sounds of things. But it sounds like you've found your niche- what with the whole 'overactive imagination' side, plus your expressions were clearly made for the stage. Though I imagine hatred for any kind of myth might make theater a little difficult." He mused, moving to fold his arms as he blinked lazily.
An idea crept up on him and she could only watch as it reached his face and lit up his eyes like someone was holding a lighter behind his iris'. It was almost unsettling how his eyes seemed to be shining at her but no sooner had she blinked than it was gone. His eyes just looked slightly more alert.
"Okay so I'm just going to come out and ask this as you're already looking at me like I'm some kind of mad ghost or unicorn, can't really make that much worse huh?" Jaque asked rhetorically, sitting up straighter and leaning forward as his features turned earnest. "Help a guy out? I need a 'model' for one of my course credits in order to complete this year and so far I have nobody willing to sit still for hours on end while I draw-slash-paint them and fashion my end of year project on said sketches and paintings. Basically I have to make a sculpture - like her- in order to pass. Considering how little you've moved in the last half an hour or so I'm inclined to believe you'd be perfect."
A sudden incredulous laugh bubbled out of her and she began to giggle, covering her mouth as her shoulders shook and her face grew red again. Jaque instantly looked baffled by the sudden turn of events serving to make her laugh that much harder, then his expression melded into confusion as he began to laugh too.
"...What? What's so funny? I genuinely need you in order to pass University, show a little compassion for the guy who scared you shitless!" He cried with a grin, white teeth glinting in the small shafts of light as his own chuckle merged with her's.
The pair ended up laughing for the next few minutes regardless while they both fought to regain their composure, nearly hysterical in face of the arguable lack of sleep. Sarah nearly keeled over to the side as she clutched helplessly at her ribs and the laughter rang out through the hall in a long echo, quite possibly waking up the occupants in the nearby dorms. Eventually however she collected herself and settled back again, looking momentarily at the ceiling.
"... I'm clearly losing my mind anyway, so sure. I see no harm in helping you pass your course, Jaque... even if you're the weirdest person I've met in a long time."
He grinned, reaching forward to hold out his hand to her to shake. "See, I just know we're going to be great friends."
Standing up, he used the hand he shook her's with to pull her up with him and then dusted himself of exaggeratedly. "Well I'm beat for the night, I hear my bed calling. It has been a pleasure Miss Williams, and I'll be sure to find you when I dare to begin my portfolio with you for my future. Good night."
He gestured for her to walk ahead of him then he departed through the side door towards where the hawks were kept, leaving her in her sleep deprived state to wonder what kind of mad man she had just made a deal with.
The sun rose later that morning in a breathtaking display of gold's and pink's as it began to pour its light over the grounds. The birds began to stir invisibly in the branches of the trees around the campus, permeating the stillness of the air with their song or taking flight. As the beams rose to breach the mostly obscured windows, they found Sarah's suitcase atop her bed and her along with it, seated upon it as she fought to zip it closed. Having never lost the penchant for going ahead with her plans instead of letting them stagnate Sarah had left a message on the answering machine at home to say she was coming to stay for a week and had began packing immediately. The room looked virtually empty as it was now devoid of her clothes and personal belonging's save for her books, costumes and coursework, and as she finally succeeded in fastening her case shut she looked up at it all with a proud smile. The burgundy carpet was now glaringly threadbare from where the bed had been before being moved, added to the list of things needing done when she returned. The walls were also in a sorry state for they had never been decorated since her moving in, thus they joined the carpet on the list of things to change.
Aliannah appeared at her open doorway as she jumped off her bed and pulled down her suitcase, leaning against the door frame in her dressing gown as she took it all in with a scowl. Her cream and ivory bedspread was rucked from the previous weight so the brunette then moved into the room to straighten it out and to alert Sarah to her presence, who turned around with a small fright at the sudden movement before smiling.
"Ali! It's... why aren't you still in bed? It's not even half past six yet..."
Her friend glanced up at her pointedly as she pulled the corners taught then walked soundlessly over to the window to open it as she yawned.
"It's hard to sleep when someone is clearing out their room with their door open, Sarah. Harder when you realise it's your best friend and she hasn't mentioned once that she's suddenly taking off before the Sun is even fully up!" Ali returned, turning with her hands on her hips as her mouth pursed displeasingly.
Her disgruntled hair only added to her air of annoyance and Sarah had the grace to look shamefaced as she grimaced, turning away to go and grab her backpack from where it hung over her bedroom mirror and vanity.
"I only decided I was going a few hours ago, I would have told you then had I thought you were awake. I just... I need..."
Ali held up a hand to cut her off then returned it to her waist. "You need a break, I know. I've been telling you this for weeks now. I just didn't expect you to take what I said on board suddenly in the little hours of the morning! Jeez Louise... you're going home right? To darling little Toby? How long are you going for?"
Sarah slung her pack over her shoulder and caught up the handle of her case as she walked over to her friend for a hug, wrapping her arms around her as Aliannah's settled around her shoulders a little reluctantly before resting her cheek on top of her head.
"I'm going for a week. Just a week... two max. Then I have to come back and help this strange guy I met last night called Jaque so he can pass his Art Major and I have a list over by my dresser of things I need to do and I have a mountain of coursework to complete-"
"Shush. This Jaque person can wait. So can everything else; I'll get some help from Elijah to see if we can whittle down your load a bit while you're gone, okay? Stop stressing." Ali pulled back to hold her at arms length and rubbed despairing at Sarah's forehead. "You're going to give yourself frown lines and wrinkles before you turn thirty at this rate, woman. Pull yourself together. If I see you before you're ready to come back I will personally lock you out of your dorm, got it?"
Walking away toward the door finally, Sarah paused upon feeling a weight in her pocket and turned back towards the figure standing behind her against the windowsill questioningly.
"Just a little something for Toby. He's still at that Gameboy right? It's a newish game for it, heard it's really big with preteens. Albion or something."
Sarah grinned, thanking her as she finally left her room to the sound of Aliannah grumbling about being alone for a week, but as she turned the corner towards the stone statue she reached into the other pocket that seemed that much heavier and retrieved a familiar looking plastic bracelet. Then she slowly looked up at the stone fae soldier in front of her standing with his brow raised almost mockingly as she rubbed it between her fingers.
The doors swung shut and a car engine started, carrying Sarah away from the University and towards her home where hopefully things would make sense again. Hanging from her rear-view mirror was the bracelet, swinging and glinting in the pale sunlight, blocked momentarily when a hawk took flight from above her heading towards the East.