InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Flipped you on your back?"

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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sarah_williams
2009-02-20 07:10 pm UTC (link)

"You kidnapped my brother because you were bored." It was a statement, her voice flat and emotionless. "You sent me into a labyrinth. Tossed as many stumbling blocks in my way as you could. Put me in the path of the Ginsu twins on their 'Cleaner.' Because you were bored. M'kay."

She sipped her coffee, feeling it burn on the way down. Enjoying the sensation. The internal workings of this were no longer a dance for her but a furious struggle to hold back frustration and anger that had built inside her for years. There would be no getting past this if she couldn't hold on to some self-control. She was grateful again for the coffee as her knuckles turned white against the red of the ceramic from holding it so tightly.

Her green eyes lifted to his face again. She wasn't sure what to say now but she knew she had to say something more before he jumped in. Boldly she smiled, tilting her head almost coquettishly. "Okay. You're not bored anymore, I hope."

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labyrinth_king
2009-02-20 08:41 pm UTC (link)

The first thing he did wasn't so remarkable, not for him. "No, I didn't kidnap him because I was bored!" He snapped the words out in a tone that implied she should be crawling at his feet apologizing for what she had said. But then, he did the very strange thing of taking a deep breath, running his fingers through his (much shorter) hair, and letting out the breath very, very slowly. A classic technique for someone trying very hard to control themselves. Strange for a Goblin King, but much more suited to a human trying to keep their temper under control. It seemed that he really was trying.

"I kidnapped him because..." He sighed. "I don't suppose this will matter much to you. But if I stay in my own illusions too long, I stand at great risk to be trapped in them forever." Damn it, he was not liking this at all. He could have been quite happy if she'd never known that. "He would have been well treated, and a King. It wasn't as if I was planning to kill him... and when the time came, perhaps he would find a draw to leave the Labyrinth as well."

But why would she care about that? He was really giving too much information here, and it made him massively uncomfortable. But he didn't show it. His outburst of temper had been enough. She didn't need to know his life story. Jareth took another drink, and then set the small mug down. "No." He shook his head. "No, whatever else Mirage is, it isn't boring."

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sarah_williams
2009-02-20 08:54 pm UTC (link)

He'd snapped at her. And she jumped and that was when her coffee had begun to taste of rum and not just hazelnut. She sipped liberally and tried as hard as she could to not shrink back from him but she had recoiled slightly. Just a bit. It was a standard, ingrained reaction. You couldn't villainize and expect death from someone for so long without there being triggers. But dammit! she didn't want them.

Sarah wanted more than anything to go back to a few minutes ago when she'd thought him breathtakingly handsome and charming. He'd made her nervous as a first date. Now she wasn't sure what she felt. Why did they have to have any history between them? But they did so she would have to simply deal with it and decide how she wanted the rest of their history to play out.

You chose this! Get a hold of yourself.

So she turned the tables in the only way she knew how. "And what I said, destroyed what you knew?"

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labyrinth_king
2009-02-21 12:17 am UTC (link)

For a moment, he felt bad. But that couldn't be allowed, so he took a deep breath and let it go. It was probably there in the back of his mind. In fact, it was almost certain. But that wasn't something he could deal with just now. Or maybe ever. So he just drank the rest of his coffee and set the cup down once more.

"Yes." It was simple, but what else was there to say? He'd already started off this thing without lying, except through ommission, and saw no real need to go back on that. No matter how uncomfortable it was making him to have this discussion. Briefly, he wondered why he was bothering... but then looked at her and didn't have to wonder anymore.

It was strange, how his view of her had changed. She had been a mere annoyance at first, a tool to get what he wanted. And then he had watched as she made friends of his own creatures and turned them against him, and with their help, solved the labyrinth. It should have been impossible, and his respect for her had grown. In the end... well, no need to think about that.

"And so there we are. I stole your baby brother, you destroyed my world with a line from a play." A play that he had starred in, of all things. He looked at her thoughtfully. "Now what?" He thought he caught a smell coming from her cup, something alchoholic, but he wasn't quite sure.

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sarah_williams
2009-02-21 12:37 am UTC (link)

Sarah smiled even more broadly than she had before. Her eyes twinkled. Purposely. This was now her dance. She'd taken the lead. She leaned toward Jareth and took a good, long look into his beautifully mismatched eyes.

"Jareth, you destroyed my world. I destroyed yours. I didn't mean to but I did it. Trying to get back a brother that I never see anymore. My stepmother doesn't trust me because I'm insane. My father doesn't believe that my mother tried to send me her life before she died. I have her playbills and the jewelry I gave to Hoggle were her costume pieces. You sort of sealed the deal. I have no one in this world but you."

She breathed deeply, feeling the warming affects of the alcohol suddenly in her coffee. It bolstered her strength, her resolve and she felt herself reach vindication. Whatever he said next couldn't break her. Sure, it would hurt if he decided to get up and leave but she would survive. Oh she'd survive... but she hoped he would simply take her on now. She could handle it, couldn't she?

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labyrinth_king
2009-02-21 12:53 am UTC (link)

There was a very, very long pause before Jareth spoke, but finally he did. "I know, Sarah. I know about the playbills and the jewelry, at least." But the rest of what she said, he listened to very closely. It was new information to him, because he hadn't been able to scry on her from inside Mirage. Maybe he could now that she was here, but not before. This was all definitely new, and he picked up as much as he could from it.

"Well, then, perhaps we are even." He pursed his lips thoughtfully as he processed what she had said. Maybe it should have alarmed him. Insanity wasn't a good thing, not in the mortal world. "Are you really insane, Sarah? Or are you just traumatized by what I've..."

He tilted his head to the side, and suddenly knew how he could gain back the lead in this dance. He reached over and grabbed her shoulders with a grip that seemed gentle, but was quite firm. "So, have me, then. I'm here, Sarah." With that, he stood partway up, leaned across the table, and kissed her directly on the mouth.

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sarah_williams
2009-02-21 01:03 am UTC (link)

Stunned, Sarah sat very still for a moment after he had kissed her. It had been exactly what she had wanted. Yes, she had tried to strategically goad him into it! But not like this. This was more of a cut and dried version of a take-over. He didn't care for her any more than he had a moment ago. But he'd figured her out! He knew how to push her buttons again and her game was up just as she thought she was ok with everything.

"So much for truces," she whispered hoarsely and picked up her mug, draining every last drop of the alcohol laced coffee. It wasn't enough to stop the tears the had begun to well up again. The only thing she could do to hide the fact that he had completely cut her off at the knees was stand up. So she did.

Standing she plastered the sincerest smile she could muster across her lips and said, "Thank you for teaching me so much, Jareth. I understand so much more now." Then she turned as slowly as she could and began to step away from the table.

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labyrinth_king
2009-02-21 01:12 am UTC (link)

Part of what fascinated Jareth so much about Sarah was that he could never tell from one moment to the next what she would do. He loved it about her, but right now, he also hated it. He watched her go after he had kissed her, and in his own mind, he had to wonder why he'd done it. The only thing he could come up with was that he had wanted to. Maybe that wasn't good enough.

"Sarah..." He rose, pushing his chair back and calling after her. "Wait. Don't go." A small tone of command tried to creep into his voice, but he pushed it away. He frowned, trying to think of something that would keep her here.

"You owe me an explanation. What are you thanking me for?" Maybe she'd still leave, he didn't know. He just didn't know, and he really, truly hated that feeling.

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sarah_williams
2009-02-21 01:31 am UTC (link)

She paused, her back to him as he asked her not to leave. She shook her head sending her hair cascading in several different direction, hiding her tears as she half-turned back toward him.

She was very out of her depth now. The dance had ended and she was left standing on the dance floor alone. Why he had played so dirty, she couldn't guess but if he was going to call after her now she wasn't going to demure.

"How could I possibly owe you anything? Still thank you for reminding me why I fought so hard to save Toby. And thank you for teaching me that -" and here she hesitated, not sure how much to say to him and then deciding she had nothing else to lose, she turned fully toward him with wet, green eyes.

"Thank you for showing me around this place and explaining to me how things worked here."

She'd almost added something to the affect that she could handle things herself around here but it suddenly felt as though she had just given up at the first sign of difficulty. But he'd played with her emotions. He had to have known what kissing her would do and there'd been no warning. No build up to say that there was any other reason for him to kiss her except to manipulate her. Why had it escalated to this level?

Her shoulders slumped slightly and she smiled weakly at him. Whispering, she added, "Thank you for teaching me how to survive."

And with nothing left to lose she took the kiss she wanted. Softly, she pressed her lips to his in gentle surrender and then turned away from him again.

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labyrinth_king
2009-02-21 01:45 am UTC (link)

There had been women, of course. One didn't live as long as Jareth had without getting into entanglements. But never, even with Mizumi, had he felt so completely out of his depth as he did now. So lost. Of course, he would hide that fact with everything he had in him. So he just stood very, very still and listened to her.

At first, he hadn't noticed the tears. She'd turned away too fast, while he was still trying to figure out what he'd done, and why. But now, there was no escaping them, and immortal or not, it wasn't easy to see the woman he loved in tears. At some point, he would have laughed and mocked her for her reaction, but not now. He sighed softly, and actually seemed a little sad. For that to show on the outside meant it was much more intense internally.

"But we'd gone so far, didn't that matter to you?" They had talked, and he had said things that... but apparently, it hadn't made any impact on her. He was about to turn away, needing time to think, to sort this out, when she came up to him and stood in front of him. He stopped and simply looked at her. He had no clue what she would want now, and her action took him by surprise.

He reacted, though. His lips returned the pressure of hers, and his hands came up to rest on her slender waist. He didn't step away when the kiss was done, and continued looking down into her eyes. "Do you still want to go?"

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sarah_williams
2009-02-21 01:54 am UTC (link)

There had been a claiming feel to his touch on her waist. It had been the first time he'd really ever touched her and she half-melted, half-stiffened at he sensation. Again, he was giving her exactly what she had wanted. He even looked almost... contrite. Asking if she still wanted to go and it frustrated her that he was going to put this on her.

She had tried. She had braved the wrath of her greatest fear and dearest hope. And he had played with her. Hadn't he? Except his tone and his touch conveyed something differen than the mockery she had thought him to be potraying.

"I-" she began. "Yes, it all mattered to me." And if he was going to tug at her to come back and be honest then she would be as honest as he was requesting. "I thought we had started to understand each other and then you just... you made a fool out of me." But the lilt of her voice trailed up at the end as if asking him to disagree with her.

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labyrinth_king
2009-02-21 02:04 am UTC (link)

They had danced at his masked ball, but that hadn't had the same feel this did. He remembered the feel of her slender waist from that time, but now she was even more slim. One hand slid to rest in the small of her back, but he still didn't cling, or grasp her hard. The other raised so that his fingers passed over the smooth skin of her cheeks.

But he was startled by her accusation. It had never occured to him that she had thought that way. He'd been rather sure that she hated him, actually, and that she had tried to leave because of that hatred. But why had there been tears in her eyes?

"I..." He simply stared at her, his hand still lightly touching her cheek, his eyes narrowed slightly in disbelief. "You think I did that to make a fool of you?" He, of course, could not claim innocence and say he had never done such a thing. But now, that had been the farthest thing from his mind.

"Tell me, Sarah, why would you find it so extraordinary that perhaps I just wanted to kiss you? Why would there have to be..." He shook his head, and his hand finally slid from her cheek to rest on her shoulder. "And do you think that everything I've said and done here was for that?" If she said yes, he didn't know what he would do. But he did need to know.

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sarah_williams
2009-02-21 02:18 am UTC (link)

His touch set her heart racing and she felt her cheeks begin to flush again -- damned betrayal! -- but she shook her head. "N-no, I had mostly expected you to snap your fingers and instead of a riding crop, I'd be dead on the floor in front of you. But this Planet, it - it doesn't allow for death and so I've been bracing for you to be purely angry with me for those words I said 3 years ago. The ones I never knew would cause so much trouble."

She took a deep breath as his hand slid to her shoulder and closed her eyes to calm her mind and focus her thoughts. When she opened her eyes again there was nothing left to say to him but three small words. It was a huge step for her, especially in the midst of feeling so foolish and so used even though she wanted to believe so much more from him.

It had been weighing on her mind the entire time they'd been together. She had brushed it aside several times in order to appear more composed and level-headed than she actually was. But now all she wanted was to stay as close as she was to him, be right here in this moment and tell him.

Just say it, Sarah! Just tell him now before it's half-past thirteen o'clock and you're too angry again.

Swallowing hard, she looked into his eyes again. She held his gaze for a long moment, then simply said, "I forgive you."

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labyrinth_king
2009-02-21 02:32 am UTC (link)

Had she really thought he had that sort of power? It was a little flattering, actually... but he never could have killed her. The most he could have done was trick her into killing herself, but he'd never, even when she was nothing more than an annoyance, considered doing so. He shrugged a little.

"Angry... yes, I suppose so." He frowned, knowing he should be more so, but he'd been very busy since his world had imploded. And anyway, he couldn't quite keep any of that emotion for long, not when it was directed at her. Yes, it would come back in flashes, and he suspected it would for awhile. But the long term grudge just wasn't shaping up to be there.

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow at her, but something in his eyes showed just how touched he was that she'd made that offering. There was a very, very long pause as he looked down at her, not moving away in the slightest. "I said I would be there for you when the world fell down, but instead, you caused my world to fall down." He tilted his head slightly to the side consideringly before continuing. "And I forgive you for that."

It was an odd sort of conversation that they were creating between them, one full of things unsaid, at least on his part. But it was more than he'd expected, if he'd expected anything.

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sarah_williams
2009-02-21 02:41 am UTC (link)

This was not anything she had expected in any scenario she had played out in her thoughts over the years. She had imagined so many things but this was not part of any of it. He had always been fearsome, even as she surrendered to his will once and for all. Yet here, in spite of the fact that she had been right about him either consciously or unconsciously always displaying his vast power to her, he was not fearsome. He was simply an almost entirely unknown quantity who kept surprising her with small tendernesses.

"Why... why would you forgive me? And why would you have said you would be there for me when the world fell down?" None of that made sense. Why would he have had any reason to make such promises to her? He'd already said that he didn't - oh what was the use trying to understand anymore? Her liquid courage was gone and she was standing so close to him that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face.

Dreams didn't come close to this and neither did nightmares. She wanted to not be afraid. She wanted him to kiss her again but in such a way as to calm her fears. She doubted that would ever happen and so she shrank into herself slightly, falling silent while looking into his eyes still.

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