InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Listen to me.Are you listening"

sarah_williams (sarah_williams) wrote in mirage_rpg,
@ 2009-02-15 20:10:00

Entry tags:

arrival, complete, day 32, jareth, sarah williams

Day 32: Intro
Who: Sarah Williams & Jareth
What: Sarah arrives
When: Day 32, just before sunrise
Where: Garden
Status: Complete
Rating: PG at the moment

It was so quiet that Sarah could have heard a pin drop. If she had been paying attention. She was more focused on something else. Something that had settled in her stomach like an icy ball of dread. Her knuckles were white as she held the blankets tightly to her chest, eyes wide, staring straight up at the ceiling.

It's finally happening.

The clock was ticking in the hallway. The clock that had been there 3 years ago. The one that was safely at her father's house a thousand miles away with Irene and Toby and their perfectly normal, ignorant lives. She had no clocks in this apartment. None that could tick, that is. Yet there it was. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

He's finally coming back for me.

Something about the room changed. It wasn't as dark anymore. Light was creeping in through the blinds? No, it looked more like cracks in the walls of the room. Sarah sat up straight as an arrow in the bed with a muffled cry in her throat. Tears began to stream down her cheeks and she opened her mouth to scream.

Then the garden.

At first she thought she must have passed out or had been dreaming of being in her own apartment a few moments ago. Because this garden looked exactly like the one in which she had been practicing her lines all those years ago on the night she first visited the labyrinth. Upon inspection she saw she was indeed wearing the long, white dress she had used for playacting then and the wreath of flowers in her long, dark hair.

It was all a dream? All of it?

"Am I fifteen again? That's not f-" and she stopped herself, feeling the old petulance rising and the fear subsiding. And as it did she realized that this garden was nothing like the one she had practiced in. In fact, it was so dissimilar that she reached up to be sure she hadn't imagined the wreath of flowers in her hair. But it was still there.

"Where am I?" she whispered.

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labyrinth_king
2009-02-19 11:45 pm UTC (link)

Jareth glanced over just the slightest bit, and smiled a little. It could have been mocking, but wasn't. Yes, he had changed a little, what with almost being destroyed. It was probably impossible to pass through an experience like that without being affected somehow. Even a couple of days ago, he would have mocked her mercilessly. Now, though, he just smiled.

Their conversation was falling into a pattern. A quick flurry of words, and then a long silence as they both thought about it. Or that's the way it seemed to him, anyway. There was another long silence as she thought, and he wondered what she was going to say. They were almost at the main building when she spoke again, and he raised an eyebrow and half-turned toward her to listen to her more attentively.

Her words had him smiling, just ever-so-slightly, but in a genuine way. And when was the last time he'd smiled this much, anyway? At least in this sincere sort of manner, that just wasn't something he did so often. Mocking, sardonic expressions, yes. "I'm rather glad of it, myself." And that was enough, he figured. That was all he needed to say.

Jareth shook his head. "No. There was no coffee there. The ground wasn't suitable for coffee bushes." Although, after he'd come back from his time on Earth, he'd sincerely wished there had been. "The cafe is ahead, just around the corner of this building here." He pointed, and figured it would be easier to simply walk around that corner than to go inside and try to find it that way. Ironically, he still tended to get somewhat lost in the many corriders and hallways inside the main building.

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sarah_williams
2009-02-20 12:01 am UTC (link)

"I'm sorry to hear that. Coffee is a very wonderful thing. I couldn't imagine life without it."

As they approached the cafe she found herself feeling a bit anxious. This was it. They were about to have something like the ultimate conversation. She told herself to relax and returned his smile as calmly as she could manage. "I hope they have something strong. No coffee water. I think - well at least I will need it. I was sleeping when this all began. It was the middle of the night and I was in bed."

She walked in the direction he had pointed, keeping stride with him and glancing at his profile periodically. The difference in his appearance was still a little distracting to her.

"I'd even taken something to help me sleep. Valerian root and chamomile tea. I stopped taking the more heavy things they gave me because I never seemed to actually... relax. But sleep isn't all that important when there's coffee."

She knew she was chattering now. They were almost to the door of the cafe and mere feet from the civilities being dropped and business being discussed. She was sure he was a shrewd negotiator and she still wondered if it would be their last conversation. To buy herself another second before it all began, she stepped forward and held the door for him.

"Entrez-vous, s'il vous plait, monsieur."

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labyrinth_king
2009-02-20 12:21 am UTC (link)

"No... I missed it while..." But that was enough of that, and the instant he said even that much, he wished he could take it back. Maybe she wouldn't notice. It had been a fairly minor slip. "I'm sure it will be fine." Because, of course, they weren't here for the coffee. He'd seen mortals do this, occupy their hands with food or a drink so that they could talk more freely. It felt less awkward, he supposed, to them.

He wasn't stupid, and he thought he could probably guess why she hadn't been able to sleep. He could be wrong, of course, but he rather thought that most mortals would be rather terrified after having a family member kidnapped, and needing to go rescue them. It happened once, so their illusions of safety were shattered. So he shrugged, knowing that he could put her to sleep if she allowed it, but not knowing how to offer and assuming she would not want anything like that.

Strange, how suddenly she was all words and he couldn't find anything appropriate to say. He didn't want to go into his life as Jeremy, or mention how he had known her mother. Oh, the hatred that would cause... it would be best if she never knew. But when she was talking about things and he could only think of responses from that time on Earth, it made things rather awkward in his head.

"Sleep isn't all that important when there's coffee." He agreed with her assessment, knowing it was true, and hoping she would assume he knew from his time spent on Mirage. It could happen, he supposed.

And then, she surprised him all over again by holding the door for him. He tilted his head to the side and nodded slowly before inclining his head just slightly in thanks. Then, he passed through it and into the cafe. It was a standard place of it's type, and he smiled slightly as he glanced around. "That table in the back, it's fairly private." While still being in a public place, he thought but didn't say. "Shall we?"

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sarah_williams
2009-02-20 08:21 am UTC (link)

She lifted a brow quizzically at him. He'd missed coffee? He hadn't had any in his realm but he knew how it was cultivated. That seemed odd but she reminded herself he was immortal and perhaps he hadn't always been just a goblin king in an underground labyrinth. That struck her with a bit of wonderment but she brushed it aside to focus on the task at hand.

She started back toward the table he'd mentioned and began to chatter again. "I used to spend a lot of time in Starbuck's or rather Barnes & Noble in the café. Reading and drinking coffee made everything so easy to forg- Um, yes. This is fine. This is um good."

Sliding easily into one of the seats and gazed up at him half-expectantly, half-hesitantly. Her nerves felt as taut as a violin's strings and she hoped it didn't show in her expression. So she started talking again. "It smells delicious in here. I can just imagine all the variety they must have here on a magical Planet. How will we ever decide what we want?"

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labyrinth_king
2009-02-20 11:12 am UTC (link)

Other than the raised eyebrow, which he pretended not to see, she didn't react much. It could have been worse, actually... he walked to the back after her and slid into the seat across from her. Well, it was time to see if there was any way a truce between the two of them could work. There was always the option of just ignoring each other, after all... an option he didn't much like, truth to be told, but one that might be the only choice if this fell through.

Well, he'd just have to do his best to ensure that the negotiations worked. He settled his hands on the durable denim of his jeans. They might not look like much in his opinion, but they had advantages. Even if they weren't remotely tight enough to suit him. He smiled slightly, and listened to her chatter on until she came to a stop.

"Just think of whatever you want and tell that golem there..." As if summoned, the creature came to the table and waited expectantly. "Espresso, double shot." He told it, and then raised an eyebrow toward Sarah to see what she ordered. He was almost glad for the necessity of ordering, which put off this conversation for even a few seconds longer.

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sarah_williams
2009-02-20 12:43 pm UTC (link)

Instead of ordering her coffee directly from the golem as he'd recommended, Sarah closed her eyes briefly and imagined the tall, steaming, nutty-scented drink she wanted. If Jareth was right, the Planet would just drop the drink in front of her without the necessity of the golem. She could have magical powers of a sort! Wouldn't that be a fun way to start a... conversation for a truce. No, no, that would not be good. Her eyes snapped open and she smiled sweetly at the golem.

"I'd like a hazelnut latte, please."

Her stomach knotted a little and she turned her gaze back to Jareth as the golem scurried away, presumably to have their order handled by actual hands. She smiled at him pleasantly and then looked around the room which was rather non-descript as far as cafes went. It looked like the sum of the parts of every cafe she'd ever been in before. Nothing discernible to make it stand out as special. That was calming in a way.

She folded her hands on the table and played with her fingers for a moment before taking a deep breath and speaking, her eyes on her hands. "So, do you think we have a shot at figuring a way around this whole pink elephant?"

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labyrinth_king
2009-02-20 02:46 pm UTC (link)

Jareth watched her curiously as she closed her eyes. Moments later, the green orbs snapped open again, and he couldn't help but wonder what she'd been doing. It was probably slightly odd, but he'd never even considered ordering his food the way she had. He should have, since he was well-used to wishing whatever he wanted into existance, but for whatever reason he just hadn't thought of it.

The golem, given it's orders, stumped off. Now, there was no reason not to look at the girl on the other side of the table, and slowly, his mismatched eyes turned to do just that. He didn't look down, as she was, though it was somewhat tempting. Tackling things head-on like this wasn't exactly his style, he prefered a more subtle approach.

"Well, it seems to be that the best way to deal with this is to be direct." Talking around it, it had already been made all too clear, wasn't going to work. He sighed softly. "I suppose I should go first, since it's my idea." But where to start?

"Direct. Very well. I kidnapped your brother to make him my heir. I didn't expect what happened between... us." And it was true. He'd thought to use her childish story to gain access to Toby, but that had all changed. "But things changed."

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sarah_williams
2009-02-20 03:30 pm UTC (link)

Keep it together, Sarah. You wanted this.

She kept her eyes on her fingers, not trusting herself with the emotions this was going to bring to the surface again. His heir? That just would not make sense in her mind. And of course all she had to go on with the immortality was the play she'd loved so much and had memorized. The Goblin King was immortal in that setting. He had also loved the girl... So perhaps the play was not entirely accurate.

"Your heir? Aren't you immortal, Jareth? Why would you need an heir?"

She lifted her eyes to look at his face, her expression purposefully blank and as neutral as she could make it. "And why my little brother? Weren't there any babies languishing away, forgotten in some foreign orphanage who could have benefited from being the heir to a kingdom?"

The golem had returned with their coffees and Sarah was grateful for the heat between her fingers as she grasped the red ceramic mug in her palms. She held the mug until her hands were red and painful from the heat and then she took a sip.

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