Content Warning: mentions of child abuse.
Chapter Five: And We Can Hate Each Other Once More
The next morning, Sarah woke suddenly at the feeling of being in a strange place. Once the memories had settled into their rightful slots, she went to the bathroom to shower and change back into her sleeveless white blouse and pencil skirt. She haphazardly made the bed and folded up the nightshirt before spending several minutes staring into the antique mirror at her blemish-free face. No evidence of last night remained on her cheek, nor her arm. Her feet also felt better than normal, despite their shoelessness.
Sarah exited the room through the heavy door with bare feet and legs. She mourned slightly for her missing heels, but thankfully the runner kept her free of the cold wooden floors.
Downstairs the house was silent, and the front door obstacle-free. If it wasn't for her dire need for answers, Sarah would take this opportunity to slip out unnoticed.
"Did you sleep well, love?"
Sarah turned to face May coming out of a doorway to her right. Sarah nodded and smiled.
"Jareth has informed you that my name is Ismaila," she said almost gleefully. "I am so happy I don't have to hide my true self from you anymore."
"Why did you?"
Ismaila laughed softly. "I didn't want my son to know that I had befriended you, and I am sure you wouldn't see me the same way if you knew I was his mother."
"That's true," Sarah mused. "Then why did you befriend me at all?"
"I was confined to this house for a very long time, and we'd met before." She leaned forward and with a conspiratorial whisper told her, "I was the one who gave you the red book."
Sarah felt her jaw drop and she was about to ask how, when Jareth trotted down the stairs. He was now dressed in clothing rather than a towel, but his hair was still sleep-mussed and stood out at even more bizarre angles than usual. He lazily ran his fingers through his hair at the sight of both of them in the hallway.
"Good morning, my darling boy," Ismaila said in a jovial tone.
He nodded and swept his eyes over Sarah, lingering on her bare feet.
"Your feet," he remarked.
She looked down. The only remarkable thing about her feet was the sky blue nail polish and the toe ring on her left foot. "What about them?"
"You require footwear."
She shrugged. "I lost my shoes when I was being chased."
He grunted and indicated a door to his right. "Let's have breakfast and answer your questions."
The dining room was well lit and homely and already the table was laden with plates of eggs, bacon, fruit and bread. They served themselves silently and only when Sarah was sipping her coffee, did anyone talk.
"So to begin with you know Travis because when you were a young child his friend was babysitting you," Jareth began, twirling his fork elegantly between finger and thumb.
Sarah's stomach sank. Had she been wished away?
"No, you weren't wished away," he said, reading her expression. "Travis dragged his friend—Jake, I believe his name was—to a Halloween party, and you had no choice but to follow. Instead of going to the party, they decided to break into an abandoned house. They intended to graffiti and destroy the house further."
Sarah bit her lip as she listened. Needless destruction wasn't too far off one of her crimes against Jareth.
"However, the house wasn't abandoned." He placed his fork down. "Because they had tried to enter the house in the company of someone who had certain powers, they were able to enter despite any magical wards in place."
Sarah tried to school her features at his mention of certain powers and hurriedly shoved a mouthful of egg into her mouth to save herself the trouble of responding.
"That house was this house," he explained, rubbing his thumb over the tines of his fork. "As soon as the wards were activated, I came to see what miscreant had set them off. I found Travis and his friend. I duly punished them."
Sarah was about to ask how, but he held up his hand. "I will tell you that story in just a moment." He finally started eating, dipping his bacon into the egg yolk, before closing his mouth over the fork. He met Sarah's eyes as he lazily pulled the fork out of his mouth and licked the tines. Sarah turned her attention to the inside of her coffee mug.
"I found you sitting with my mother and it was then that I realised you were the one with the power to enter this house and to see it for what it really was," he explained, looking down at his plate. "I returned you to your parents."
Sarah arched her brow as she stared at her egg. "So we'd met before…" She trailed off, not wanting to mention her victory.
"Yes," he replied. "And that was the only time I saw you until you made your wish."
"So what happened to Travis and his friend?"
"I sent them both to separate oubliettes," he answered, and with an abruptness, slammed his fork down. "One of them was bullied into breaking into my house so he got off lightly, but Travis…"
He turned to his mother and she nodded. "Darling Sarah, children are sacred to my kin. Travis was sixteen; still a child by your standards, but he was well aware of what he was doing."
Sarah wondered why May—Ismaila, rather—was telling her this. She glanced sideways at Jareth and saw a dark expression on his face, his brow knitted tight and his lips drawn into a moue of disgust.
"When Jareth took him, certain things about his past came to light," Ismaila continued. "He took sadistic pleasure in bullying young children and even knocking them around a bit."
"I took it upon myself after I released him back Aboveground, to keep an eye on him," Jareth rejoined, his voice reedy and a touch sad. "I didn't do a good enough job of keeping him in check."
Sarah watched as Ismaila patted her son on his hand that he had curled into a fist on the tablecloth. "Darling, you are not to blame for that man's behaviour."
He turned to his mother. "Because of me, that man lived to hurt m-Sarah," he spat before he threw his napkin down, knocking over the salt shaker. Sarah noted that salt had no effect on the fae if they could casually scatter it across the table without reacting. Her attention was once more on Jareth who had stormed out of the room.
Sarah and Ismaila sat in stony silence until it was broken by Jareth's mother. "He blames himself for a lot of things he shouldn't. It's not in our nature to blame ourselves and quite out of character for Jareth. I think he has learnt regret, and I think you were the one to teach him."
"Me?" Sarah shook her head.
"Believe me, my dear." Ismaila dabbed at the corners of her mouth with her napkin. "My son was a changed man after he lost to you."
Sarah didn't want to acknowledge her words any more than think about those final moments she saw his face fall during her defeat of him.
"So what did Travis do?"
"He escalated from picking on young children to outright abuse," she said plainly, a tremor of revulsion running across her ageless face.
Sarah feared the worst and could only look on with horror.
Ismaila nodded as if she sensed her thoughts. "Jareth was furious and sent him back to an oubliette, however, it is against fae law to keep mortals for longer than 13 hours so he had to send him back. Travis never learned his lesson."
"Why on earth was he set free?"
"We can't interfere with mortal lives," she said with a deep sigh. "Jareth has broken so many rules already. But he didn't want to risk his kingdom by keeping this man prisoner or by killing him. Those things are irreversible."
Sarah's stomach roiled; the harsh taste of bile burned the back of her throat. "But he could get the police…?"
"If the High Council found out, then, he would be stripped of his title, his magic, his kingdom, his family much like I was."
"But surely—"
"I should have, Sarah," Jareth said upon his reentry. "I should have protected you better."
Sarah only just noticed the dark rings around his eyes and the tight lines around his mouth. "You weren't to know he'd—"
"Don't!" Jareth slammed his palm down on the table. "I beg you, do not defend me. I knew he was dangerous to you. And yet, I would not risk my castle or my neck to stop him."
Sarah swallowed thickly and looked down at her cold half-eaten breakfast.
"I am not a hero and I do not deserve your famous kindness as much as I—" He stopped and scrubbed his face vigorously with his hand. "He blames you because I let him."
Sarah froze and snapped her eyes back up to his. He strode back to his seat and sat down, leaning back and twirling a crystal. "What?" was all she managed to utter.
"Jareth…" Ismaila gave her son a look that suggested he shouldn't say anymore.
He shook his head. "No, mother. She needs to learn the truth."
Sarah took her napkin to cover her mouth, lest she threw up her breakfast.
"Sarah, I was angry, very angry when I discovered what he did—what he had been doing." His eyes softened for the first time that morning. "I removed his memory of me after my punishment to cover my tracks. But, I was so angry and emotional, it backfired. The spell was strong enough to remove a memory, but in the process, he saw a few of my thoughts. He saw you."
"Wha—?"
"It was just after your victory, and you had never strayed far from my mind." He tossed his crystal from one hand to the other. "I went to remove his memory and my anger and rage and… and my hurt was too strong and interfered with my spell. Instead of forgetting me, he remembered you as the girl who let him into my house."
Jareth scratched at his temple before placing the crystal ball on the table. "I was angry, so I didn't fix my mistake."
A whimper escaped out of Sarah's mouth at the very thought that Jareth could have hated her so much to let Travis eventually try to stab her.
"His delusions and his paranoia lead to him not finding work and turning to drugs," Jareth went on, apparently oblivious to Sarah's inner turmoil. "He eventually landed on the streets and I kept a watchful eye on him to ensure the safety of any child, but I think all his punishments scared him off harming children and all his focus went on you instead."
"Well, thanks a bunch," Sarah snarled, running a finger over where Travis had cut her cheek last night. "Though I'd rather he hurt me than a child."
"Yes," was all Jareth said. Whether he'd rather her be harmed than a child or was agreeing that Sarah wouldn't allow a child to be hurt in her stead, she was unsure. She was starting to think he was saying yes to the former idea, rather than the latter.
Sarah had quite enough of everything and stood up so abruptly she knocked the table with her hip. When the rattling of the cutlery subsided, she pushed away from her chair and went to the nearest exit.
"Sarah!" Jareth called as she made her way to the front door, clutching her bag.
"Travis is out there waiting," Jareth warned. "I could only keep him Underground for thirteen hours, so he has returned."
Sarah rested her hand against the door. "I can't stay here. He may want to murder me, but he at least is honest about it."
"I do not want to murder you, silly girl," he said with a light scoff.
"Goodbye, Jareth!" Sarah reached for the door handle but found her hand suddenly caught in his.
"Before you leave, I want your understanding that I do not want you dead," he said, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand.
"That's a pity because right now, I certainly want you dead." Sarah hoped there wasn't even trace amounts of sarcasm in her voice. Take me seriously, you fucking—
"Sarah, you don't mean that," he replied softly.
"I didn't mean it when I wished my brother away," she said, yanking her hand out of his. "When did you start caring about me saying things I do or do not mean?"
Jareth flexed his hand a few times before placing it carelessly on his hip. "Believe what you must then, but I have no intention of harming you."
Sarah was shaking in her rage. She scrubbed her cheek with the back of her hand, uncertain what to say or do, faced with someone who inadvertently sent a killer after her.
"I fixed my mistake," he said softly, releasing the tension in his body.
Their eyes met, and Sarah wanted to believe he was sincere.
"I can't wipe you from his memory completely as I had to be discreet with my spells so I would not attract any attention," he expounded. "But the threat he poses shouldn't be as severe."
"But I am still at risk?"
"It was a balance between keeping you safe and keeping your entire kind safe," he replied. "I could have said fuck the human species and then thrown them to the dogs, but you would never forgive me for that. Not when children would be at risk."
Sarah smoothed her brow with her fingertips. "You're right. As fucked up as this is, I prefer it being only my life in danger."
Jareth pressed his lips together and held out his hand to her. "Truce?"
Sarah stared at his hands, focusing on the soft, buttery look of his gloves.
"What do you mean truce?"
"We've hurt each other, whether intentionally or not," Jareth replied, his fingers twitching as he still held out his hand. "I forgive you for hurting me because I know that you had no choice, and I know I wouldn't have respected you if you had picked the alternative."
The ground under Sarah's feet felt like it was tilting. Was he talking about her choice to take Toby instead of her dreams?
"Will you forgive me for my error of judgement whilst angry?" His voice was confident but there was an underlying current of uncertainty that only a better acquaintance with him could help her detect. "I am willing to pay my debt by giving you magic lessons to better protect yourself from him."
Sarah found she was taking his hand. "I forgive you, as I know how hard it is to decide between two impossible choices." She didn't regret choosing Toby but losing her adolescent dreams hadn't been an easy sacrifice. Their handshake was brief. He squeezed her hand before slowly releasing it. Sarah couldn't help but notice a sort of admiration shining in his eyes. "And there is no need for magic lessons."
Sarah didn't want to spend time with him. He was dangerous even in his apparent and current placidity. This lull in his manner was not to be trusted.
Jareth gave a small smile. "Now that we're on neutral territory, we can go back to enjoying hating each other without actual grievances against each other."
"Deal!" If she was honest with herself, she couldn't really say without a shadow of a doubt that she hated him still.
Their rather awkward moment was interrupted by the arrival of Ismaila.
"Sarah, dear, please come back, if only to talk to me," Ismaila said from the doorway to the dining room. "I would like you to know why I am a captive here."
Sarah nodded politely and moved past Jareth to join Ismaila in the sitting room where tea and coffee were displayed on a table between three velvet armchairs.
"When I was Goblin Queen, I fell in love with a mortal and I kidnapped him," Ismaila said in a matter-of-fact tone, the moment they were both sitting. Sarah was surprised by the lack of remorse. "Of course, the council found out, and I was stripped of my magic and my kingdom. It all went to Jareth who was all rather reluctant to inherit it."
"And what of the mortal?"
Ismaila laughed deeply. "He lives Underground still, imbued as he was with my magic, he is immortal and has a place on the High Council."
"But…"
"Oh, yes it makes little sense, but you see, he couldn't inherit the Goblin Throne," Jareth chimed in as he entered, taking a seat opposite Sarah. "The Labyrinth is a font of power and the high council will do anything to try and take it as theirs."
Sarah chewed on her lip. "So they punish Ismaila for something that they let continue?"
Jareth nodded. "He is my father after all."
Sarah nearly choked on her own spit. "What?"
Ismaila smiled and then patted her hand. "I loved him. I still love him. I miss him every day."
"You kidnapped him!" Sarah exclaimed. "That's never love."
Ismaila nodded. "To a mortal, perhaps. I risked everything for him. I lost everything for him."
"But how old was Jareth when they found out because he couldn't have inherited the Kingdom as a foetus, surely?" Sarah was imagining how fast they would have had to move to ensure Jareth's very existence before discovery.
"Oh, I kept Marshall a secret for a very long time. Jareth was an adult before they discovered he didn't come Underground of his own free will."
Sarah was still reeling that Jareth was half-mortal, but the complacent way Ismaila discussed his kidnapping astounded her. "Why didn't you ask him to come Underground with you, instead of taking him?"
"That's not the way it is done," she replied, bluntly. "Times have changed, and I wouldn't recommend Jareth kidnapping you as part of his courtship rites these days, but it was always the way it was done in my days."
Sarah gave an indignant huff at this. They weren't courting and there was no way she'd allow Jareth to marry her if he kidnapped her.
"If it was the way it was done, then why did you get in trouble for it?"
"He was a mortal," she answered with a shrug. "And I was a Queen. Forgive me for choosing love over an arranged marriage with a fae. There would have been little consequence if I had kidnapped a peer to marry. Or if I was a mere member of the gentry kidnapping a mortal. The punishment was for my rank and who I kidnapped."
Sarah frowned at the absurdity of fae rules. They may seem like loopholes to the fae, but they were rather large discrepancies from Sarah's perspective.
"It was romantic," Jareth said, throwing the crystal he was holding into the air, catching in with one hand and spinning it around his fingers. "Risking everything for love."
"It was foolish," Ismaila lamented. "But I don't regret it. It gave me you. And I love Marshall with all my heart."
Jareth acknowledged his mother's words with a nod. "However, it wasn't her only broken rule."
Ismaila rolled her eyes. "No, I also slighted poor Diddershins from the Goblin Masquerade."
"Not inviting certain people to your events is a treasonous crime," Jareth elaborated. "It was that crime that brought the other crime of loving my father to light."
"So you see, Sarah," Ismaila said to her, as she stirred her tea briskly. "I have committed a bevvy of crimes. Kidnapping a mortal and keeping him for longer than thirteen hours. And not inviting my cousin Diddershins to my Masquerade."
"She would have been punished for not inviting Diddershins regardless of how she acquired her husband."
"The Goblin Kingdom is remote so most people assumed Marshall was just a low-born fae. It was only when Diddershins was upset with me, that he discovered he was a mortal." Ismaila crossed her arms. "There was a reason I never invited him."
"Yes, but look where it got us. With you breaking one of the ridiculous rules, you lost everything and were banished forthwith."
"Banished to this house you barely let me leave," she retorted, waving an arm around indifferently.
"To keep you safe as well as the mortals you seem determined to interact with." Jareth gave his mother a pointed stare before canting his head at Sarah.
Ismaila sighed and sipped on her tea, and Sarah swore she rolled her eyes at Jareth.
"You involve yourself in mortal lives, plenty," Sarah muttered at Jareth.
"I skate a fine line, it is true but I haven't outright broken anything yet," he replied.
"What about my brother? My father?"
Jareth cocked his brow. "Again, the laws and rules are very particular and illogical. For example, you can eat from a peach tree only on certain days of the week and you can't pass wind in front of the High Monarchy, but you can pass wind if you've just eaten a peach on the days you're not supposed to eat from a peach tree. It's utterly absurd."
Sarah gave him a blank stare. "Are you serious?"
"Deadly."
"So you can befriend my father but you can't get Travis thrown in jail?"
"Correct," he replied. "It's not straightforward and logical by any means." Jareth placed the crystal on the table and spun it, effortlessly around his mug, like a spinning top.
Ismaila cleared her throat. "Jareth has no heir. He can not take the same risks I did. He takes calculated risks, but not ones that break the rules outright."
Sarah grimaced as she thought of Toby as his heir. "And if you had won Toby?"
Jareth placed his finger on the spinning crystal and it stopped instantly. "Let us not play hypotheticals."
"No, I want to know."
"If I had succeeded and won Toby as my heir, then yes, I probably would have interfered illegally with Travis' life, so a more permanent solution would be granted."
"Can you not just give me the evidence, and I take it to the cops?" Sarah asked impatiently. "Then you won't be interfering directly."
"What evidence?"
"What do you mean, what evidence?"
"Any proof of what he has done, I have erased," he said mildly, his lips twitching downwards. "To cover my tracks."
"But you're just protecting him if there is never any proof of what he's doing."
"Your law enforcement officers have zero chance of discovering him anyway," Jareth snapped. "Not in a million years will he get caught. Your system protects him, not the children."
Sarah rubbed her temples and unstuck her tongue from her dry mouth. She couldn't stop fidgeting; from dragging her nails through her hair to rubbing her nauseous stomach. It was all too much. Was she asking too much from Jareth to sacrifice everything to ensure one person was locked away for good? There were plenty more of his kind where he came from.
Sarah swallowed, feeling as though shards of glass dug into her throat as she did so. "There are a lot of people like him. You can't punish them all," Sarah conceded.
"No, and it doesn't matter how much Jareth loathes this particular mortal, he can't break the rules," Ismaila said, standing up. "Or Diddershins will probably get the throne."
"And he can not be allowed to take over my kingdom," Jareth said, darkly. "There is no telling what danger he'd put the mortal realm in."
"He's dangerous?"
"Despite his foppish name, he is incredibly dangerous and would put your entire world into peril," he replied, gripping the arm of his chair tightly. "I have to protect my kingdom."
"My darlings, I think it is time for my walk," Ismaila said as silence loomed over the trio. "Sarah, it is lovely to see you again, and I wish it had been in better circumstances."
Ismaila kissed her son on the forehead and patted Sarah on her arm before leaving her alone with a rather volatile and exhausted Jareth.
Sarah knew she should leave too and made moves to stand, but then he started talking again.
"Every time I punish him, I risk discovery." He rubbed his forehead and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was stuck between losing my kingdom and risking the entire mortal world, or letting one man commit horrendous crimes against children."
"But wait a minute, something doesn't add up." Sarah was getting more confused by the minute. "If you're not allowed to interfere with mortals, how would Diddershins be able to do so?"
Jareth rubbed his chin and then started throwing his crystal up again. "He would sacrifice his entire life to his cause. He has many illegitimate offspring that would benefit from my downfall, even if he had to take himself down with me."
Like a suicide bomber, Sarah realised.
"How do you know his plan?"
Jareth sucked air in between his teeth before leaning forward. "Because I made it my job to gain his trust. He has all but told me his plan."
"Why don't you dob him in?"
"Dob? I assume you mean to inform the council?" Jareth leaned back, tapping the armrest in a discordant rhythm. "I could not do so as Diddershins is a popular member. They simply wouldn't believe the dastardly Goblin King."
Sarah sighed hearing the bitterness in his tone. She knew full well what it was like to have evidence but still have no one believing her story because she was going up against someone with more power.
She changed the subject. "How come you can visit your mom but your father hasn't? Or I assume he hasn't."
"Marshall can not travel back above," he said simply. "I am allowed to for my job and I have been granted permission to visit my mother. My father has not."
Sarah tugged on her lip, sensing his disappointment. "Funny that you ended up living in my town."
"Coincidence," he replied. "We've been here longer than you've been alive."
"Ah." With nothing else to say and thoughts free falling in her head, she got up to leave. "I should return home."
"Please let me walk you home," he said, rising with her. "I will not see you dead at that man's grubby hands."
Sarah's brow contracted but she nodded.
He offered her a crystal. "Shoes."
Sarah's head was spinning from all the revelations, but for him to conjure up shoes as if he had any consideration, was the final straw. She needed to go home and sleep. She reluctantly took the crystal and in her hand were a pair of black soft sneakers. She jammed her feet in all while being watched by Jareth.
"Do I not count as mortal?"
"Of course you do," he replied, off-handedly.
"Well, what about all the interferences you've run in my life?"
Jareth's jaw tensed. "Our interactions haven't broken the rules as you are a Wisher."
He then turned to the front door, yanking it open more aggressively than was necessary.
"How many fine lines will you cross before they decide to add them all together?" Sarah asked before she headed out the door behind him. "Cumulatively your transgressions would be punishable."
"You'd like to see me brought low, wouldn't you?"
"Actually, we may not like each other, but I was thinking more along the lines of perhaps we should avoid each other to stave off any possible rule-breaking," Sarah replied, feeling unusually charitable towards him. "I don't want to be partly responsible for bringing wreck and ruin to the entire planet."
"Not the planet, just the human species," Jareth corrected as he leaned behind her to shut the door. His tone suggested that they would deserve it.
The morning was crisp but there was no sign of Travis so they made their way along the cobblestone path to the roadside. Sarah contemplated putting her jacket back on but the reminder slashed into her sleeve put her off. Instead, she held it close to her body and hugged it for warmth.
"I am going to have to disagree with you."
"What's new?" Sarah couldn't recall a time they actually had agreed on anything.
"I don't think avoiding each other is the solution," he said with an indignant sounding sniff as if admitting that was a bridge too far.
"Well, it seems the safest" Sarah couldn't understand why he would want to risk breaking any laws. "Why risk it, for the sake of petty interactions? And that goes for my father too."
Jareth hesitated, his steps almost faltering as he led them out of the cul-de-sac.
"Sarah." He stopped walking and she nearly crashed into him. Her hand braced against the small of his back. She felt a shudder run through him and she took back her hand as if burned. "I know what I'm doing. There is no reason to fear retribution from Diddershins. I am more careful than that."
Sarah arched a brow and moved around him. "My car's that way."
She saw him glance in the direction of her family home. "Why were you out this way last night?"
"Nosey."
"Were you visiting your family?"
"No, Jareth."
"Well?"
"I was meeting someone," she said. Why it was so hard to admit it was a date, she didn't understand. She certainly didn't need to protect his feelings.
"All the way out here far from your home?"
"You know where I live?"
"Your father mentioned it in passing now that you've broken the protective spell you'd placed on me," he replied. "You live half an hour's drive away from this town."
Sarah shook her head. That magic she supposedly had was ruined by turning up to her parents. If only she had known and then she would never have attended that party. But never in her wildest dreams did she imagine her father would be friends with Jareth.
"So you know my deep dark secret, Sarah," Jareth said as they walked along together. "You could oblige my curiosity about why you were anywhere near my house last night."
"What secret is that?"
"I am half mortal." His reply was curt but not demonstrative of any embarrassment.
"Does that not bother you?" Sarah asked.
"Being half mortal? Not at all. Should it?"
"No, I meant that your mother kidnapped your father."
"Of course, it doesn't bother me," he said, nonchalantly. "They love each other. And it was only natural—"
"It's natural to ask, not just take."
Jareth parted his lips but didn't say anything.
"Your father probably resents—"
"Stop!" His voice dropped about 20 degrees. "You have not seen my parents together so do not think to judge what you do not know."
"Kidnapping is wrong, Jareth."
"And if my father has no objections, then you should not," he said with a sneer. "My father understood with time that fae customs were different to his own."
Sarah snorted. "Why is nothing straightforward with you? Topsy-turvy rules where you can't interact with mortals but you can in particular circumstances. Utter tosh."
"And your country doesn't have bizarre rules?" Jareth said with heavy sarcasm. "It is illegal to kill Bigfoot; you could end up in jail for five years for a fictional creature's murder. In Virginia, it's illegal to "hunt or kill any wild bird or wild animal, including any nuisance species" on Sundays. However, it is permissible to kill raccoons." He threw his hands up in the air. "In Florida, You are not allowed to break more than three dishes per day, or chip the edges of more than four cups and/or saucers."
Sarah saw his point, but she still couldn't wrap her head around how he was allowed to be friends with her dad, but Jareth couldn't get Travis thrown in prison.
"It's about harm and intent." Jareth could obviously see the confusion in her eyes as he turned to face her. "I am not harming your father. I am not altering his life in any significant and measurable way. For your stalker, it is quite a different matter."
"What about Gavin?"
"He is exempt," Jareth admitted. "He wished his baby sister away when he was little more than a baby himself. He was the last runner before you. I assumed that was how you got the book."
Sarah shook her head. "No, Gavin never mentioned it. I didn't know. I have had the book for as long as I could remember."
Sarah was still reeling from learning that Gavin had been a runner like her. Had that been what had initially attracted her to Gavin? The trace of magic in his life? It certainly hadn't been enough to keep them together.
"I don't think he really remembers it as any more than a dream. His family never remembered Lily and he was too young to understand what he was doing."
"Then why didn't you return Lily to her family?"
"Rules," was all he said. "And besides, while technically, I shouldn't be interfering at all outside of my role as the Goblin King, a simple distraction spell isn't enough to draw attention to me."
"But as I said, it all adds up." Sarah noticed drops of blood—hers—on the pavement as they walked almost side by side. "And every action has equal and opposite reactions, so your good interference may result in negative consequences down the line."
"Yes," he replied. "And I have a lot to lose if I am not more careful."
Sarah nearly tripped over her feet at actually hearing a concession from him.
He sighed as they rounded another corner. "As for your second rather astute point, that's true too."
"For example what if you decide to stop being friends with my dad, and that hurts his feelings and then he dies of a heart attack?"
"Trust that you would choose the most dramatic scenario to make your point," he responded, his lips tugging upwards at the edges. "It's nuanced but the punishment would only be for direct actions, not subsequent ones."
"I see."
"If I were to fall in love with a mortal and break her heart, then I would be punished for that broken heart, but not for any actions that mortal then took," he clarified.
Sarah baulked at the particular example he chose. "So it's a good thing that…"
"That…?"
Sarah couldn't finish her sentence without her cheeks flushing. "Never mind."
"My my, were you about to suggest that I should fall in love with you and break your heart?"
"God no," Sarah laughed. "So full of yourself."
"Then what?"
Sarah shrugged. "It's a good thing that you can't fall in love then."
"What?" Jareth froze on the cool sidewalk and spun to face her. "What do you mean?"
"I mean you and your kind can not fall in love." Sarah nibbled the inside of her cheek. His look was one of cold fury and panic started settling in her stomach. Had she miscalculated?
"My mother has just finished telling you that she fell in love with my father and you believe that I am incapable of finding love?"
"Kidnapping is not love," Sarah hissed.
"Where did you hear such rubbish about my kind?" he asked and then when he noticed a pedestrian heading their way, he stepped away from Sarah and crossed his arms as they waited for the passerby to walk out of earshot. "I am capable of finding love, as is my kind. In fact, being half-mortal, I have more than enough ability to love someone."
Sarah tutted. "If you say so."
She walked off, confident that her car wasn't far away. She didn't turn to look behind her to see if he followed.
"The rules have changed over time," he called out. "They never used to be so complicated and we could interact and interfere however we chose. They were simpler days, but since your lot stopped believing in magic, we had to safeguard ourselves. The rules exist for a reason, even if they make no sense to you."
"No. They make no sense." Sarah didn't turn around. Mostly because his insinuation that love could ever involve kidnapping was offensive. She added, under her breath, "But then neither do you."
He didn't reveal whether or not he had heard her as she carried on towards her vehicle.
"So tell me what brings you out this way," he said from behind her shoulder. Sarah almost had whiplash from the sudden change in topic back to the one they had been having minutes ago.
"I had a date," she replied, finally deciding just to tell him. "And when it finished, I went back to my car but I'd parked a country mile away as the restaurant had no parking and it was busy. On my way back to my car I was waylaid by Travis."
"And you made it to my house?"
"I ran with the fury of a thousand suns after he attacked me," Sarah replied, rubbing her once injured arm. "I didn't really consciously plan to go to your house. I didn't know you lived there after all."
"That is true."
They fell into silence as they entered the road where Sarah had parked.
"Are you going to see your date again?" he asked, without any of his cocksure attitude.
"Probably not," Sarah admitted. "He was arrogant without the wit or the charm to back it up."
"You're looking for someone charming, arrogant and witty?" Jareth asked with a wicked smirk. "I can help you."
Sarah laughed. "No, seriously. Your mother lives in exile for her crimes against mortals. I know you're joking, but you shouldn't."
"You may just be every exception to all the confounded rules," Jareth said quietly, as they approached her car. "You're a wisher and a Champion, and you have magic. I'd strongly argue that part of you is not mortal."
Sarah backed up against her car. "For the sake of humanity and my friends Underground, please refrain from trying to break those rules."
She unlocked her car and threw her belongings in the passenger seat before reconsidering. "Jareth, do you want a lift back to your house?"
Jareth quirked a brow as the corner of his mouth curled upwards. "I wouldn't say no."
She gathered her bag and jacket and, instead, threw them on the back seat. Once they were both seated and buckled in, she started the car, half expecting that Travis would have tampered with her car. A quick check of the brakes, and then she pulled onto the road.
"Thank you for your unexpected kindness," Jareth said mildly as he stared out the window.
"You're welcome," she said, uncertainly. "I do have the ability to be kind, you know."
"Indubitably," he agreed. "But I have never been the recipient."
Sarah pondered this and conceded he was correct. Before she could form the words of her reply, he added,
"I haven't exactly earned it."
It was probably the single most self-deprecating thing she'd ever heard him say. Telling her via song that he couldn't live within her would have been the former frontrunner, but this was a more true admission from him. Her brain was sluggish from her poor sleep, the attack and the many revelations. She couldn't respond.
"I hope with time, I could earn your kindness as you so willingly bestow upon my subjects."
"Why?" She was cognizant enough to ask him that.
"You're the daughter of my friend," he replied. "You're also the only mortal to have ever beaten the Labyrinth and claimed to be my equal and then proved it to be true."
"And then gone on to prove that we're not equals, and I am in fact better than you in every way," Sarah replied, with a grin.
Jareth chuckled. "Nearly every way."
Sarah's stomach tightened and for the first time that day, it wasn't unpleasant.
She pulled up outside his house and waited for him to get out. Jareth fumbled with his seatbelt for a few moments.
"If you need me, call me," he said. "I know we've inundated you with a lot of information today, but if you're in danger, I would risk…" He shook his head. "Just remember to say my name and I will come."
"Tell me, how I came to be at your house last night," Sarah said as he exited the car.
Jareth licked his lips and crouched down so he could reply. "My guess is that your magic was reaching out to my last known Aboveground location because it knew you'd be safe with me."
Sarah swallowed the bitterness of him being responsible for her being in danger in the first place as she nodded at him. "I guess that makes sense."
Jareth nodded grimly. "I still think you ought to take me up on my offer to teach you magic, Sarah."
She responded with a weak smile and a shake of her head. "I don't think it is necessary, Jareth."
Abruptly, he stood, shutting the car door and leaving her to her own thoughts as he stalked up the charmingly mossy path.
A/N: Thank you for your concern from last Tuesday, everyone. It's been a long week with little to no sleep, but I'm getting there.
So this chapter was a lot of chit-chat, but at least that gets it out of the way and we can move on from that. Hopefully, you all followed what they were blah blahing about. Don't worry if you don't. All you need to understand is that fae laws can be ridiculous and so caught up in minutiae that they stop making any sense. Basically, the powers that be change rules and laws to suit themselves, even if they complicate things and make existing laws become void. Meanwhile, their stupid laws make things easy for me because if we stumble into a plot hole, I can conveniently point at the ridiculous fae laws as my cover.
The source for the USA laws is just google. Whether they are accurate or not, is neither here nor there LOL. I used them to make Jareth's point :)
Not beta read.