Your Eyes Can Be So Cruel

***************************************************************************************
***************************************************************************************

A/N: Alright, finally got the next chapter up!I apologize for it being a little short, but I wanted to make sure I updated, and didn't leave so many of you hanging. I am now settled in my new place and has internets! I will try to once again post every week to to weeks, but I can't promise it with working full time and school.

Also, for the future I'm creating a e-mail just for my fanfics and will have it listed on my profile if you have any concerns with the story.

Thanks! Enjoy!

***************************************************************************************
***************************************************************************************

Sarah sat curled around her knees; the blanket of the bed tangled in the folds of her arms and legs though her back was still bare. Her breathing was harsh and erratic, but no matter what she did she could not slow it. She could not get her heart to stop racing or her thoughts to quiet down. If only the warmth from her back would cool to a manageable heat perhaps she could get her thoughts in order.

Jareth had been cold and cruel. His words still rang in her ears despite his absence for however long it had been. She had no sense of time here. She had barely moved once she had found this comforting position, and no one had bothered her. Not even a goblin, brownie, or fairy.

She was alone, hollow. She was so stupid. That was the thought that kept running across her mind. She was stupid to believe that fantasies and reality could ever blend in some sort of harmony. She couldn’t deny that she had enjoyed part of the blows, but she hated Jareth for it. Hated him for the turmoil her mind was in now, but that’s what he always did. He gave her a little bit of her fantasy with a cold cruel twist. He loved twisting her words and desires just enough to where they were no longer hers, but his instead. Really she hated herself if she was honest. She had been so weak. Why didn’t she fight him?

That was the real question wasn’t it. Why did she let him treat her that way? Goblin King or no she had defied him once, so why had she fallen to his whim?

The gentle sound of running water pulled Sarah away from her musings.
She looked up to a see door that hadn’t been there before. It was on the same wall as the fireplace and slightly ajar letting light spill out into the darken room. When had it gotten dark? Sarah slowly slipped out from under the mess of fabric she had created. Her boots tapped softly across the floor as she hugged herself tightly.

Tentatively she pushed the door open to find a grand room made of white marbles with flecks of red, black and gold. A large tub sat in the middle of the room in the shape of a claw foot style but three times the normal size of one. It was filled to the top with steaming water and sparkling bubbles. They literally sparkled with each pop, showering the rest of the piles with fairy dust. Sarah looked around cautiously, checking that there was no one hiding behind the hundreds of candles that softly lit the room.

Satisfied at last she peeled the boots from her feet and the leather from her legs before stepping into the water. She hissed as it sloshed over the ugly red welts that marred her back. At least she assumed they were red and ugly considering the one thing lacking in this room was a mirror. She stretched under the water, hissing again at the movement, but at the same time her stomach leaped at the pain. She liked the soreness.

Though if Jareth thought she was just going to roll over and let him “show her, her place” he had another thing coming to him.

She glared at nothing in particular before sliding completely under the water with a soft splash.


**************************************************************************************

Jareth spun the crystal from the velvet box idly. It was a nervous habit that he found himself doing far too often for his comfort. A useful tool when impressing upon young girls and boys he was something beyond their reach, but meaningless in his solitude. He smirked. It no longer helped concerning a certain girl who didn’t want to take care of a screaming baby. Not a girl, he reminded himself. Sarah was a woman. Did she really go beyond the form of a woman though?

Truth be told he had long since stopped watching her. Perhaps he should have continued. Perhaps he should have watched his Sarah as she grew. Then maybe her reactions to his treatment of her wouldn’t have so unsettled him. She had seemed to actually enjoy it. At least at first she did. He had cared little though at that point whether or not she enjoyed it. It wasn’t about her, and that was a lesson she needed to learn.

His internal musings seemed to not be allowed any peace though, for at that moment the door to his study blew open. It was quite literally blown open in the sense of an explosion. The dark wood was splintered and flying in random directions of the room, the hinges and stone arch smolder slightly from the blast. Jareth looked over in mild shock that anyone would even dare disturb him; much less destroy a fine door in the process. Who the hell thought they could get away with such an offense?

Jareth felt his temper rising once more. The Underground was out to get him today with all of its annoyances disrupting his usually calm existence. This was exactly why he had taken his fathers place as the Goblin King. He wanted away from all of these theatricals that so many here found amusing or necessary. He stood with the crystal clutched tightly in his hand as the smoke started to clear from the door. He was not, however, ready to see for the second time today a very agitated female fey.

Feral’s fury was one he had never seen. If the display earlier of her temper was a shock, this rage could be almost heart stopping. Her golden eyes had a shine too them like most wild animals, and her hair seemed to prickle off her body like the hackles of a she wolf. The sneer is what was totally unsettling. The twist to her full lips that revealed just enough of her canines was impressive. She was truly a terrifying image.

“I’m taking the girl Jareth.” She snapped. Her entire body was tense and her hands were curled into tiny fists, but she made no move to walk past the door.

Jareth raised a pale brow in response while calmly walking over to the table in order to once again put the crystal into its protective covering.

“Really Feral? And how do you plan on doing that?” His gloved hand lingered on the top of the box and he gave her a very bored glance. Females were very tiring creatures.

The sneer faded from her lips only to be replaced with an almost predatory smile. He was beginning to understand where her name came from now. When provoked Feral could become an extremely deadly being. She was as wild as her mother, with the cloaking features of her father.

“I’m sure the moment I offer her to leave this place she will take it considering the treatment I have just witnessed.” Her voice was cold and bitter, and it looked as if she wanted to spit at the very thought of what she had seen. “You can be assured Jareth that I will bring this to the Circle’s notice.”

Jareth wondered for a moment how Feral had been able to find him when he had went to Sarah, much less get that much further into his castle without his notice, but it really mattered little at this point. It was obvious Feral was very serious. He sighed, turning away from the table that now had a few rather large splinters marring the top of it, and walked closer to her. He had no fear of her or the Circle and she damn well knew it.

“First, dear Feral, you would have to prove that Sarah did not indeed enjoy it.” He smiled at her warmly, but she did not falter.

“Then she will stay with me until that can be determined.” She snapped and then spun on her heel, leaving Jareth with a rather curious expression on his face.

It was true that Jareth had no fear of Feral or the Circle, but politics would deem this a very bad time for such a problem to come up. It was only a few days until the Gathering and he had no desire to stand trial in front of so many peers. As if the Gathering five years ago had not caused enough of a scandal surrounding him. He pushed the thoughts down as he stalked down the hall towards the room Sarah was currently occupying.


**************************************************************************************

Sarah jumped which of course caused massive amounts of water to slosh out onto the marble floors. She cursed herself for it, but really her nerves were shot and the door banging open was not helping her soothe herself. The sight of a very beautiful and very pissed off woman did not help matters either. Oh great she thought, Jareth has a woman and now she’s pissed at me. Sarah almost began to giggle at the very thought, first that Jareth would have a woman, and second at her situation. Though the slight knot that had suddenly formed in her stomach and the wild look in the other woman’s eyes quickly squashed all hope of delirious mirth.

When Sarah’s surprised eyes had met those wild gold ones though, the other woman seemed to visibly calm. The rage seeped from her body and she smiled kindly at her. She moved through the room retrieving one of the large fluffy towels from a shelf Sarah had not noticed. She had to remind herself that this place was often changing, and a first look would never reveal everything. She walked over to the tub and held it out for Sarah to step into. Sarah, for her part, looked at the woman as if she had just had snakes leap from her pure white hair.

“I’m taking you with me.” The woman said softly, that small warm smile still in place. “You’ll be safe. Jareth won’t be able to touch you unless you wish him to.”

A bit dazed, Sarah stepped from the tub and allowed the taller woman to wrap her into the towel. She wondered where her modesty and shyness had gone for the briefest of seconds before she realized that she actually felt safe with this woman. It was an odd sensation considering all of her experiences thus far in the Underground.
Once the towel was firmly wrapped around her the woman went out the door. There was some rummaging and the sound of cabinets being opened and then slammed shut as Sarah dried herself off. What was going on? Who was this woman? Did it really matter though if she was going to take her out of the Labyrinth? Sarah tucked the end of the towel securely so it would stay in place around her body as she grabbed another to dry her hair. The woman returned a moment later holding a dress in her hands.

Sarah smiled almost fondly at the garment. It was almost exactly like the one she had so many years ago, though instead of the stretchy material hers had been made out of, this one was of a fine dove grey silk. She reached for the cool material and dropped it over her head as the towel fell from her body. It still had the sleeves that were tight around her upper arms and then flared out from her elbows. The top still hugged the top of her body and spilled out from her waist, barely touching the tops of her feet. The neckline was far different though. Unlike the one from her teenage years this one did not cover most of her chest. Instead it came down at first in the shape of a square over her shoulders and collarbone before arcing down it a point between her breasts. It also lacked the ribbons from the shoulders and the belt she would hang from around her hips. It was simple and elegant.

“Ready?” The woman asked in that almost lyrical tone.

Sarah looked at her a bit puzzled. “Why are you doing this?”

The woman’s expression, if at all possible, softened even more with a layer of sadness.

“Because mortal or no, Jareth’s actions were cruel and I will not leave you to his whims.” She took a hold of Sarah’s hands, standing only a few inches from her now. “If I am wrong in taking you, I will return you when you wish it.”

Sarah began to nod in response. She was almost giddy at the thought of being away from the Goblin King. She couldn’t trust him, but more so she couldn’t trust herself. A chance to not have to worry at every sound that was made would help with sorting everything out. Maybe she could even find a way back to the mortal world, back to Toby. The woman’s hands tightened slightly around hers and Sarah looked up to see Jareth leaning against the door lazily.

“Do not defy me Feral.” His voice was low and dark. Sarah nearly shuddered at the memory of the night he took Toby. She had been scared of him then.

There was no response of the woman he had called Feral. Sarah’s eyes locked on Jareth’s for just a moment and then the world was spinning. It was spinning and falling, and then there was a hard vicious jerk around her stomach. Sarah’s head rang, the pressure almost unbearable, and then it all stopped. She found herself on pristine marble floors, on her hands and knees coughing and gasping for air. She sincerely hoped she was not about to ruin the clean tiles beneath her, but the leaping in her stomach said otherwise. Her hair was falling around her face as the shook, trying to regain some sense of composure. Gentle hands were running up and down her back in soothing patterns.

“I’m sorry.” Sarah’s mind vaguely registered that as Feral’s voice. “I had forgotten how fragile mortals were. I should have warned you before we pierced the veil.”

Sarah weakly shook her head in understanding as she continued to cough, but she brought her head up far enough to look around. No longer was she in the dark grey stone of the castle of the Labyrinth. Now she knelt in the middle of white marble halls that shone with a slight haze in the moonlight. Moonlight? Sarah looked up and realized for the first time she was outside, the warm air filled her lungs and she nearly choked again on the many floral scents that assaulted her. Her eyes focused on the three moons that sat lazily in the azure sky.

I’m free…

It flitted across her mind like a butterfly.