Breaking Barriers (Chapter 28 up)

Sarah was wondering if it was getting quieter in the ballroom or if it was just her. Just as she was about to turn to Curlique and ask the little girl her opinion on the matter, she locked eyes with another's from across the room.

They were Jareth's. And they were blazing.

Sarah felt her stomach drop down to the center of the earth. She had never seen the Goblin King so infuriated. Even when he was angry with her in the past he had kept some semblance of indifference on his features. Not so now. Sarah thought she might spontaneously burst into flame at this searing look. And as much as her head told her to get the hell out of there, her feet seemed completely immobilized. In horror, she watched as this missile of red-hot fury stalked closer and closer. Finally, he reached his destination. Sarah looked up at him from a chair seated near Curlique, terrified. In a sudden move, Jareth reached down and grabbed her arm, forcing her to stand in the process. Sarah turned cold with fear. He had told her that he could be infinitely more cruel to her if he so desired. She knew now that she should have taken his threat much, much more seriously. His strong grasp hurt and Sarah almost cried out at the sharp pain that accompanied it.

"You try my patience, girl..." Jareth growled at her as he pulled her forward through the crowds. Where was he taking her? Sarah wondered, panicked. The Goblin King walked briskly and with long strides. Sarah almost had to jog to keep up. What was going on? Wasn't the dress affecting him anymore? With a start, a horrific thought came to Sarah. What IF it wasn't affecting him anymore? Could he have somehow figured out the dress's secret?

But as terrifying as this prospect was, there was another alternative Sarah found much more discomfiting. What if the dress WAS still affecting him? With apprehension Sarah furtively glanced up at Jareth's set features and felt a stab of fear. Lust had a way of unveiling evil in even the most docile of people and Jareth was certainly no saint. But he wouldn't ever... wouldn't... would he?

But looking at his profile so twisted with outrage, she knew he was certainly very capable of doing such a deed. What if his denied lust combined with the magic of the dress proved too much for the usually self-controlled Goblin King? She had cut him off very abruptly when things were clearly escalating out of her control. Was his desire so strong he was contemplating doing the unthinkable?

They exited the ballroom and, as if confirming her thoughts, entered the hallway that led to their bedchambers. Sarah quaked in his grasp. Upon approaching the ominous doorways Sarah realized that soon she would have her answer. And she wasn't at all certain she was ready to hear it.

She almost breathed a sigh of relief when he turned to her bedroom. Perhaps he would just lock her in her room. She could handle that. She had been handling that for the past four days. But her relief was shortlived as Jareth entered the room with her and quickly shut and sealed the door behind him. Coldly, he shoved her into a seated position on the bed.

"Take off the dress," he ordered, pacing the room, fury still evident on his features.

Sarah couldn't believe her ears. Was this truly happening? Was this how her first time was going to be? A brief and no doubt painful fuck at the mercies of the Goblin King? Sarah looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes. Soon, Jareth noticed that she had not moved.

"Take. Off. The. Dress. Sarah." Jareth pulled down a shoulder of the dress in emphasis. He glared menacingly, his eyes glazed over in lividity.

Sarah gulped, then, with a tremulous hand, dropped the other shoulder of the gown and slowly pulled her arms out of the sleeves. Sarah looked up, hoping to placate the Goblin King with an expression of submission, but he had returned to pacing, apparantly too furious to even look at her. Seeing no other option, Sarah grasped the front of the dress and slid down the filmy fabric revealing a plain white chemise beneath. So this was it, Sarah thought. She was going to lose her virginity to the Goblin King. Of course she may have briefly entertained the idea once or twice when she had been particularly lonely, but not like this. Never like this. Finally, the dress was completely off. Hoping to get this over and done with as quickly as possible, Sarah slid all the way onto the bed and lay down, continuously looking at Jareth with hurt and disbelief in her eyes. She could not seem to stop shaking.

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Jareth, having accomplished what he set out to do, grasped the dress and tucked it under his arm. He would demolish the cursed thing as soon as possible. He was still angry, but by now he was more in control of his temper. He gestured to Sarah, his voice rasping in his throat.

"Don't ever EVER consider wearing something like this again," his voice deadly serious, "Do you have ANY idea what I could have done to you? What could have happened? You could have destroyed the entire kingdom with an item like this!"

Jareth fought the urge to emphasize the word 'you.' In another person's hands, specifically a person without magical powers, the gown would have been harmless. The person wearing the dress would have appeared -slightly- more attractive. The person on the receiving end would have been -slightly- affected by it. But in Sarah's hands... Jareth knew he hadn't had a chance in the world. He was lucky she had left when she did or there was no doubt in his mind he would be on top of her at this very moment. He wanted to find out whether she had worn the dress on purpose. Perhaps she had discovered her powers after all. But he surely couldn't ask her outright. He attempted a different approach.

"What were you thinking when you put this wretched garment on?"

"I, I don't know-"

"What were you thinking?!"

"I don't know!" Sarah wailed.

Jareth, surprised to hear Sarah so upset, finally looked at her since taking off the dress. The girl was visibly quaking from head to toe. She was laying on her back, her head turned to the side in submission. Tears rolled down her face and her arms covered her body as if assaulted with a blast of frigid air. Yet even in her terrified state, Jareth couldn't help but notice how lovely she looked. Her dark hair stood out in stark contrast against her pale body. The thin garment barely concealed her shapely form. Jareth had long carried a deep seated desire to see Sarah so vulnerable and submissive. Perhaps it came from the fact that she had once seen him in a similar position. Sarah was now the embodiment of what he had felt at the cusp of his destruction. Needless to say the Goblin King regarded her with no small amount of satisfaction.

As Jareth stood silently appraising her, Sarah lifted her eyes to him, pleading with him.

"Are... are you going to r-rape me?" Sarah mouthed in a barely audible whisper.

Jareth felt a stab of remorse. Had he really been so frightening? He had merely wanted the girl's compliance, though his anger had raged like a blazing fire. He knew he could be terrifying in the throes of anger, but surely she couldn't think he was capable of committing such a heartless act? Jareth felt an unfamiliar pang in his chest. He suddenly realized what he must have looked like, demanding she take off the dress when they had previously been so intimate. For the first time ever, Jareth looked down at Sarah with an expression of utmost sorrow.

"I know I can be quite frightening Sarah, but please believe that I would never perform such an immoral act on anyone no matter how much they may infuriate me."

Sarah sighed, collapsing fully onto the bed in relief, eyes still brimming with tears. Jareth had the sudden inclination to gather her up in his arms until all her tears disappeared, but he resisted. The urge to console was foreign to him, yet he felt it all the same. Again he wondered at how this girl could bring out such strong emotions within him. That coupled with her beauty made her an especially difficult woman to refuse. And Jareth had never seen Sarah more beautiful than at this very moment. His body still remembered how soft and warm she felt. Hot desire flared within him and he fought a momentary battle to stifle it. His voice came out husky and soft.

"I will give you a day to recuperate. On the following day we will have our first rehearsal. Auditions won't be necessary. Goodnight, Sarah."

And with that he left, magical gown in possession.

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Sarah just lay there for what seemed like an eternity. She stared up at the ceiling blankly, wondering how on earth she had managed to get herself into this mess. Even though Jareth had spent most of the night under an enchantment, he had still managed to best her in the end. And after assuming he had been about to do the unthinkable, Sarah really didn't feel like trying to trick him anymore. Everything she had attempted so far had ended up in dismal failure. Tonight had ended up going far worse than she had previously envisioned. She didn't think she had the strength to continue fighting his little charade. All she wished for right now, and this she wished for with all her heart, was that she had a tiny hole she could crawl into and hide in forever. At this point she didn't even want to see the light of day.

But that was impossible. She had to collect herself and be ready to face Jareth again within a day or so. She would do the few weeks of the play, which would undoubtedly be torturous after what had occured tonight, and then be done with the Underground entirely. How she could have wished for one second to be back in this place was beyond her. She had wanted the magic back, but what she had also received along with it was just not worth it. Pain, humiliation and embarrassment had accompanied her wish again and again and now she was cursing herself for ever having desired it. True, there was no magic where she came from, but at least given her circumstances in life she had been safe from all the terrible feelings the Goblin King engendered in her. Including one particular emotion she had thought she would have never experienced in Jareth's presence.

Desire.

No, that was not even the correct word. Lust was more fitting. Sarah tried to tell herself that it meant nothing. It was simply the fact that she knew she could get away with it that she had experienced it. But Sarah knew she would be lying to herself, at least partially. Yes, she knew she wouldn't have acted as she had if Jareth hadn't been under the dress's spell. But somewhere in the back of her mind, Sarah knew the feeling had always been there, even if she had been too young to understand it when she had first met the man. This knowledge added another dimension of caution she needed to put to use around Jareth. The dancing had started out innocent enough. The fact that her desire had so quickly escalated out of control frightened Sarah. If something as simple as dancing had so easily manipulated her, who knew what kind of circumstances were needed for it to rise again?

There was only one solution. She needed to keep herself as far away from Jareth as possible. Hopefully delving herself into this play would do the trick. She couldn't imagine Jareth's involvment going much farther than the first rehearsal. Sarah guessed he wanted to put on the show, more or less, for his own amusement. The fact that he was going to invite guests from neighboring kingdoms... well, this was all very strange to her. She most likely would be working solely with a bunch of drunken goblins. How Jareth supposed to impress other kingdoms with a play starring a hodgepodge of unruly creatures and a human girl was lost on Sarah. But she would keep her word. And as soon as that curtain fell she would be out of here for good.

Assuming Jareth kept his word as well.

A quiet knock interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in, Curlique." Sarah sat up in her bed. She had known the goblin would pay her a visit after Jareth had practically dragged her out of the ballroom.

For once, Curlique did not enter the room tentatively. The door flung open and the girl, who was now transformed back into her goblin form, leaped atop Sarah and clung for dear life. The tears immediately began flowing again from the goblin's hazel eyes.

"Oh, Sarah!" cried Curlique, "I am so, so sorry... this is all my fault! Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Sarah hugged the goblin back fiercely feeling very lucky to have at least one ally in this strange place.

"I'm fine, Curlique, I'm just fine," Sarah soothed running her fingers through the little goblin's hair, "And what occurred between Jareth and I certainly is not your fault. I don't want you to think that, not for a minute."

"I have never seen his Highness that angry before, Sarah, I was so frightened for you! What happened?"

Sarah forced herself to smile.

"It really was nothing, sweetheart. He simply confronted me about the dress then reprimanded me." Sarah didn't want the goblin to fret over her anymore than she already had.

"But you're not wearing it. Where is it?" Curlique looked around.

"He took it from me. I'm sorry, Curlique, I know how hard you worked on it, but perhaps it's for the best, hm?"

Sarah wiped away Curlique's tears as the goblin nodded hesitantly.

"I have only myself to blame for Jareth's actions. I got too carried away with what I had planned earlier."

Curlique gave an emphatic sniff.

"You planned something? What was that?"

Sarah paused, considering her confidence in the little goblin. But what would it hurt anyhow? She had already dug herself her own grave, what did it matter if she dug a little deeper? She doubted the goblin would inform anyone of what they spoke of in private anyhow. She was such a shy thing.

"Well..." Sarah began, "When you told me about the enchantment on the dress... well, I was pleased. I had already decided earlier that I was... going to seduce Jareth..."

Curlique's eyes widened.

"Why would you want to do that?"

"I wanted to trick him. I thought maybe if he wanted me badly enough, he would do what I told him... I thought maybe he would send me home."

Curlique seemed to ponder this for a moment, then-

"So when you were... when you were dancing with Jareth... You didn't really want to? You were just doing it to trick him?"

Sarah thought for a moment, then nodded her head. It was easier to just let Curlique believe that. After all, that is what Sarah's original plan was. She didn't have the strength to try and explain something that would probably only end up confusing the goblin. Besides, Sarah intended to set forth from this point on as if what she had experienced with the Goblin King had never happened. If she could forget how she had felt within his embrace it would be that much easier to avoid him until she was able to get home. She didn't know what the Goblin King himself made of it, but she hoped he didn't remember much of the night given his state of mind at the time.

"Now," Sarah continued, "there is no point in trying to trick him. I am to be here for at least another few weeks..."

"I know!" Curlique said in excitement, "The King returned and informed us after he left with you. You are to put on a play for the neighboring kingdoms and everyone else in the Underground, how exciting!"

Sarah smiled at the goblin even though her heart was filled with dread. Curlique must really want her to stay, Sarah thought. She must be the little goblin's only friend.

"Well," Sarah stated after a pause, "I don't know about you, but I need to get some rest." Sarah patted Curlique on the back, "I've had quite the day..."

"Yes, I understand Sarah. Good night, Sarah."

Curlique hopped off the bed, then, turning, shyly kissed Sarah on the cheek. With that the goblin quickly left the room. Sarah couldn't help but smile to herself. The creature truly was a dear. After changing into her nightgown Sarah fell into a deep sleep.

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Jareth lay in his bed silently contemplating the conversation he'd just witnessed through Curlique. He tried to remind himself that he had an entire day to think on it before he had to meet up with Sarah again, but his brain wasn't having any of it. It just went right on wondering and trying to make sense of all that had happened this night.

So Sarah HAD intended him some harm when donning the magical dress this evening. But she had not planned on doing so through the use of her magic. No, it appeared she was just as completely in the dark of her own powers as she had been that fateful day four years ago. He was comforted and relieved with this knowledge. But what he didn't like to see was that Sarah now appeared defeated, almost as if she had given up. Which was good thing, he supposed. He wasn't sure why he should miss her defiant nature, it had enraged him, baffled him, and downright annoyed him in the past. True, he had felt satisfaction as Sarah's submission, yet he still could not help but detest the idea of a perpetually subdued Sarah. It didn't sit right with him.

But that trick of seduction? Jareth had quirked a sardonic smile when she had admitted that. She certainly had put to use her defiant nature earlier on today. How ironic was it that she had had intentions of doing exactly what he had planned for her over the next few weeks? Desperate minds thought alike, or so it would seem in this case. So she truly hadn't felt anything when they had danced so intimately. It had been an act.

Suffice it to say it had been a very good act. In fact, Jareth had almost been fooled. Not to say he felt dismay at this knowledge... just a certain emptiness. It was an emptiness he felt often. The feeling tended to occur after something had been proved to him. Something that had been proved that he had been afraid of being true all along.

No matter. He was a little disappointed that Sarah had only been playing him for a fool, what of it? It was simply because it would have been less work if she had truly been affected the way she had appeared to be.

At least, that was what he maintained.

But it had seemed so real... Was his last thought before drifting into fitful sleep.

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A/N Nice long chappie for ya'll :D I really enjoyed writing this chapter... particularly the first part. It must be the sadist in me XD

@Vyperbites- OMG Lololol! I didn't get what you meant at first cause I only read the first part, then finally read the "how lewd..." bit. XD XD XD

@kooksookitty- Wow. Bad flowers INDEED! XD lol. I love Pink Floyd, though I've never seen that video. It was fascinating *nods* I liked the Japanese music video as well. Thanks for sharing! :D

@Ikaru- Yes indeed. I think we are all waiting with bated breath... including myself XD

@Ginette1959- Thank you!! I really hope it lives up to your expectations ^_^

Thanks SO much for reading!~ TheArtist <3