Between Sleep and Dreams

“He is leaving, just like that?  No explanation?” Jareth asked, the confusion reading plainly on his face.

“He says, not that I believe him, that he was wrong, that he is taking his place by his mother’s side as the heir to her kingdom.  Jareth, something is not right, the man sets me on edge and makes every fiber in body ache from the darkness he exudes.” Areyne’s face read concern.  She had been set a back on edge after her encounter with Stark.  If he sought to take stake in Jareth’s kingdom, he would not succeed.  Jareth was one of the most powerful fae in the Underground, and to go directly against him would mean death or exile.  “There is the chance that he is leaving for now, knowing that he cannot win, but will return.”

Jareth’s eyes looked up from thought, his heart was weighing heavily on what this could mean.  From the moment Jareth had asked the high council for the outlands, Stark had been on his heels yapping and biting at him.  Jareth had suspected Stark’s intentions for some time and that had been one of the driving reasons behind his declaration for the outlands to be a separate kingdom. Yet, despite his best efforts, Jareth had no proof of Stark’s intentions – nothing to go to the council with – and if he attacked the only son of one of the ruling houses without proof, his favor would be lost.  So Jareth did what he could and Stark continued to bite and scratch at the Goblin King’s heel with dreams of ambition, and the growing dark majiks to accomplish what he desired.

And now Stark was backing down.  It was too much to think that the annoying fae had given up. No, that was not like the man, he had either simply come up with another diversion to occupy his time for awhile or was formulating another plan.  Calling a crystal to his hand, Jareth concentrated his thought into the globe – Stark was in his room, preparing to leave, just as he had said. He stood from a desk where he had been sitting and began to cross to the door.  Stark turned then, and faced the scrying Jareth – smiled, winked, and waved his hand – the image disappeared and the crystal shattered into nothingness.  With a heavy sigh, Jareth called another globe into being.  Standing, he crossed his throne room to the center dias, Areyne followed.  He placed the globe upon a small table.  It grew in size until both could peer into it without effort.  “Reveal – since Stark has been here, show me his movements.” The crystal clouded over, a bluish white haze appearing on the inside.  In a instant, it was clear and Stark’s actions over the past few days played out as if someone had hit a fast forward button.  It showed him traversing the Labyrinths corridors, moving about the city, and his encounter with Sarah in the throne room.  Jareth winced at this encounter and Areyne’s eyes grew wide.  “Slow.” Jareth spoke to the crystal, and the scene played out before them as it had occurred in real-time.  Anger, deep and loathing, grew in Jareth’s expression.  “Enough.” With that word, the crystal returned to it’s former size.  Jareth picked up the sphere and hurled it across the room where it struck a wall and shattered into a million points of blue light.  “I should have kept a closer eye on him.  I should have been there.”

Areyne stepped closer and placed a hand on Jareth’s shoulder “You had no way of knowing he would be in your throne room waiting.  It is not your fault.  You can’t be everywhere at once.” Areyne sighed “Take comfort in the notion that he will be gone tomorrow.”

“That is what I am afraid of.  Areyne, his power is growing.  You knew it long before anyone else.  He will be gone, but with him out of reach, I cannot keep an eye on him.”

“Hopefully, you won’t need to.”

Jareth looked into her eyes, and knew it was a hope neither one could believe in. 

“There is no sense in thinking about it now.  He is gone and I have the package you sent me to get from the blacksmith yesterday.”  Areyne held a small black velvet pouch in her hand.  Jareth reached for it and Areyne quickly pulled it behind her back.  “Not so fast, stop worrying for a bit and enjoy this, please?”

Jareth mockingly glared at her “You know, I could turn you in to a goblin…”

“No you couldn’t and no you wouldn’t!  There are very few people who can put up with your moods and your outlandish sense of style.  If you turned me into a goblin, you wouldn’t have anyone left who actually appreciates you!”

“I would have Sarah,” Jareth replied, a smile spreading to his lips.

“Yes you would,” Areyne replied, a sad smile on her lips as she remembered a time long ago.  Handing him the pouch, she looked her dear friend in the eye, “She will love the ring, she will love it just as she loves you.  Never let her go Jareth…..”

Jareth kissed his friend on the forehead and then opened the small bag.  The ring was perfect, a simple silver band with his crest etched into the metal.  It was to be hers as she was to be his chosen.

Sarah had finished eating and climbed into a steaming hot bath.  The water enveloped her body and relaxed her tense muscles.  The little goblin that had been sent with stood watch outside the door, occasionally piping up with a “You k?”  To which Sarah would reply “Yes, thank you.”  She had learned that just ignoring the little goblin was a far worse fate than responding.  After about the third time Raglit had asked the question, Sarah simply refused to answer.  After about ten seconds, the little goblin burst through the door, jumped up on a stool and proceeded to take Sarah’s pulse.  When she was sure Sarah was alive, she scowled and scolded her saying “You no fakey sicky – not too good for Raglit – she get in much troubles if you sicky!” and she stomped out, taking her place outside the door, while Sarah erupted in laughter from the scene.

In fact, it was the first laugh she had felt in the past few days.  Too much had been happening, she had recalled so many lost memories.  She remembered feelings and emotions and places and things she hadn’t thought were real.  She and Jareth had spent so much time together in dreams, they had grown so close.  He wasn’t the monster she had originally thought him to be, stealing children and torturing young women, he was kind, if arrogant, gentle, if harsh in judgment at times.  He had not stolen away Toby to turn him into a goblin, but to fulfill her own fairytale wish.  No harm would have come to the boy, he had explained that to her.  In the end, when he had offered her the crystal, he had wanted her to trade places with the boy – to offer herself up in Toby’s place – to take her place by his side.  But she hadn’t known, Jareth simply assumed that she would create her own end to the adventure he had given her, but she hadn’t, she had finished the book the way it was written, and unknowingly condemned herself to loosing all of her memories of Hoggle, Didymus, Ludo, and of him.  But now, hundreds of memories flowed easily through her mind, and she remembered living through all of them in her dreams.  Not only had Jareth come to her, but he had occasionally allowed her friends to visit her as well. 

Her first memory after the Labyrinth was when he came to her, angry and full of passion.  The two stood in an open space of nothingness, blueish white swirls of mist at their feet.  He accused her of not knowing what she wanted and being a spoiled child who carelessly made wishes when she wasn’t prepared for the consequences.  She told him, then and there, to his face that he was a maniacal, arrogant bully, who took delight in stealing away children and torturing young women and toying with their emotions like some brutish thug!  He had stared into her angered eyes and then began to laugh.  She remembered being even angrier with him for that.  It was then that he realized how he must have seemed to her.  He smiled, with tears of laughter in his eyes, and suddenly the two were in flower filled meadow with a light haze resting over the purple and blue flowers.  It was there that he had explained it all to her.

Explained everything except his love for her.  In all of the years Jareth visited her, nearly every night, he had never confessed his love for her.  Some nights, he simply watched her dream, others he allowed her friends to come to her, and others he visited her personally.  So many nights the two of them sat on cliffs overlooking the deep blue ocean waves or danced in magnificent ballrooms or talked as they strolled through fantastic glades.  So many nights she fell asleep in his arms as they sat in a glen talking only to awaken to the blare of her alarm clock, trying desperately to cling to the images in her waking mind.  So many times it was the only place she felt safe.  So many times, Sarah recalled, she had asked him to take her back to this place, but he couldn’t, she had to want to return while awake, and that was the tricky part.  If the council had stolen her conscious memories of the Underground, how was she to wish herself here again?   She had asked Jareth to intervene somehow, to make her wish herself here, and once here, restore her memories.  She hadn’t realized it fully, even in her dreams, but she did now.  Her feelings for Jareth went far beneath the surface, he had done everything she had ever asked, even now.  There was a swelling a in her heart, a warmth as she smiled to herself.  She was here, back in the Underground, back home where she belonged and she was falling.  So peaceful, so quiet, Sarah took a deep breath and relaxed even further in the hot water.  So quiet.  Raglit.

Sarah sat bolt up in the tub, water splashing everywhere, and did her best to cover herself with her hands. 

“You are ever so pretty, my pet.  Move your hands there and let me have a better look at you, would you.”  Stark sat on the stool in the bathing room and transfixed his icy glare upon Sarah’s body, a sly grin curling at his lips.  “It’s about time you woke up, my pet, I’ve been watching you for some time now, hoping to get a better look.”

Sarah’s eyes moved to the door, there she caught a glimpse of two little goblin feet sticking into the doorway.  She gasped.

“No no no, my pet, she is sleeping, don’t worry, I came upon her that way.”  As if to accent his point, Raglit let out a loud snore at the moment, but it felt to Sarah as if he must have done it somehow – induced the poor creature’s sleep.  “You see?  I would never harm something so dear to the Goblin King.”  His voice dripped of cynicism “Now as for you, I wanted to apologize for my earlier actions in the throne room, my pet, and to show you, I propose you step out of that tub and allow me to relax what must be your tense muscles with a massage or perhaps something else…..” He stood up from the stool, and began to sidle towards the soaking woman before him, an all too innocent look upon his handsome features.  Sarah could not deny that he was a beautiful man, but that beauty frightened her, and filled her with a feeling of ice gripping her heart.  He was right in front of her now, his eyes never leaving her form, which sat perfectly still in the steaming water.  He ran his finger along the dark porceline of the tub,  “Now now, no need to be afraid, my pet,” Stark purred, taking his gaze off of her for the first time and staring into the water, “I would never think of hurting you, unless you asked me to….” He was stopped short as he looked up, Sarah was gone.  Simply gone.

“Damn.” Stark muttered sounding more annoyed than angry, he had hoped to talk to the bathing beauty into a stroll or more, either through persuasion or by force, he didn’t really care which.  He had hoped to pray on her fears of Jareth, he insecurities of where he stood in her life and convince her that he was the monster who stole her brat and made her run that ridiculous gauntlet.  “Oh well.  Guess it will have to be the other way.  I had hoped she would come easily, it would have been nice to lay claim to something of Jareth’s for once.”  He strolled out of the room and into her bed chamber, casting an uninterested glance over bed and armoir.  He crossed to the dresser and whispered a string of words.  There, on the dressing table a ring appeared.  The band of the ring was silver with intricate flowers and celtic designs woven completely around, and in its center was a large smoke tinted crystal. “Hmm, not quite right.”  With another word, a deep red lilly appeared beside it with a small piece of parchment reading – for you – in beautifully curled letters.  “Perfect.” Stark purred and left the room, smiling all the way down the hall as dark thoughts curled in his mind.

Jareth sat in his throne, deep in thought.  Aryene had left to prepare for bed and had left the exhausted king to his thoughts.  He didn’t know what Stark was up to, but he couldn’t worry himself with that now.  Sarah was here, again in his Labyrinth, in the Underground.  It had taken a substantial amount of energy to recall her memories of sleep, of so many nights over the past five years.  But Stark had been playing at the back of his mind taking attention from Sarah.  Stark. If he was leaving, then that problem was temporarily resolved.  He looked up at the sky through the magical ceiling and stared at the moons.  “I don’t know that you will ever understand, Sarah.  I don’t know that you will believe the memories I gave back to you.  I just couldn’t live any longer only seeing you in your dreams.”  With a deep sigh, Jareth stood and looked around him.  A few goblins had chosen this room to fall asleep for the night, others lined halls, some in the kitchen, but Jareth needed to be alone.  Calling his study to his mind, he was there in an instant.  But what he saw before him, shook him to his heart.

Sarah.  His Sarah wrapped tightly in a deep blue throw, resting in a corner, barely able to keep her eyes open, her hair dripping wet.  Her face was white and her expression exhausted.  She looked up through half closed lids “Jareth, please, I am so sorry, I had no place else to go.  I am so tired.  Please, I…”

“Shhhhhh,” In a single second he was by her side, her head resting upon his chest, “Sarah, what happened, are you all right?”  Concern ran through his voice, and his body shook – why was she here, who or what was she hiding from.  She was cold to the touch, her face pale and her words were those of an exhausted, frightened girl.  He feared that the memories he had given back to her had somehow hurt her.

“Jareth, I remember.” Her dark eyes looked into his, for a moment gaining recognition and sincerity “I remember my dreams, I remember you,” her gaze fell away, her head resting again beside his heart, her words taking on the tone of exhaustion. “I am so sorry, I was scared, he will lie and tell you things, but I didn’t. I am so sorry,….” and Sarah collapsed, there with her head upon his chest.  Jareth settled himself against the wall, called another blanket into being, and tucked the sleeping Sarah in.  He took one of the pillows from the floor and moved to place it under her head and move himself away, but Sarah, dazed with sleep, moved her hand to his and whispered “stay.”

So Jareth stayed.