Breaking Barriers (Chapter 28 up)

After Jareth finished with Eldrich, he went to his bedchamber. Immediately he sought out the little goblin Curlique. No doubt Sarah would be reading his script now, and he wanted to see what her reaction would be to the title and first scene of the play. Certainly the goblin would not have left directly after dropping Sarah off. With this in mind, Jareth peered through the little goblin's eyes, and was annoyed to discover Sarah was no where in sight. Curlique was already in her own private quarters holding a tea party for a stuffed rabbit that was apparantly named Minkus. Aggressively, Jareth exited her mind thinking about how he should have stressed that Curlique remain with Sarah at all times. That should be no chore. Obviously the goblin had time on her hands, Jareth thought with a strange combination of amusement and annoyance.

He severely wanted to see what Sarah's reaction to the play was. If he didn't do something soon, he would no doubt miss the whole experience. It seemed a silly thing, really, but he had become increasingly frustrated ever since the ball and he felt he needed a stress release of some form. And what better form of stress release than Sarah's dismay? But for some reason the idea didn't make him feel as gleeful as it should have. In fact, he disgracefully felt a bit guilty, thinking of how terrified she had been of him the other night. But he had already made up his mind on the matter and therefore pushed those feelings aside. He had been looking forward to this all day and he wasn't about to miss his chance.

Without really thinking it through, Jareth left his room and sauntered through the tunnel to view Sarah through the one way mirror. In the back of his mind, the irritating voice returned, warning him against this rash action, but again he ignored it. He pressed his hands against the pane of glass. Again, he felt rather ridiculous in this position, but the feeling did not deter him. He peered through the glass.

To say that he was shocked to see that her room was empty would be an understatement. He took a moment to look further, staving off the immediate reaction of panic, making sure he hadn't made an error. But from where he had placed the mirror, there were no corners he could miss from his point of view, and the door to the water closet was wide open. Jareth's heart began to pound, and he heard a ringing in his ears. How could she be gone? Frantically he pushed on the glass, then, feeling foolish, remembered he had placed a magical seal on it so Sarah wouldn't discover his secret or break the mirror. He could unravel the spell but that would take far longer than simply arriving there the traditional way. Soon, his panic turned to anger. That manipulative harpy had better not have somehow run away again. He didn't know how it was possible, but it was the only explanation. He knew she was quite reactionary and tended to act before she thought. Exiting the tunnel and entering his bedchamber, Jareth sought out Sarah with his mind, determined to find her and put her back immediately. What he discovered completely stunned him.

She was off the charts. His charts, more specifically. He couldn't find her. Desperate, he tried again, wondering for the second time that day if he had made an error, but to no avail. It appeared as if she was no longer in the Underground.

Jareth's heart began pounding again as he paced. How could that possibly be? How could she not be anywhere in the Underground? Suddenly a thought came to him that wrung his heart.

What if she had somehow managed to get back home?

Sarah possessed magic, therefore Jareth knew it was possible. And with that thought he despaired, and the panic returned. It had taken him four years to get hold of Sarah. If she had somehow gotten back to New York he would not be able to retrieve her again for centuries, if ever. Jareth rarely admitted that he had feelings for the girl, but now in his hour of need, he hated the idea of Sarah gone. And not only because he needed her to restore his kingdom. Deep down, he knew he needed her to restore... something else.

And now that she had discovered her powers there was no way he could ever trick her into coming back here again.

If. Jareth had to remind himsef. IF she had discovered her powers. Jareth tried to rationalize. He would physically search every place he knew of in the castle and Underground before he would completely believe that had happened. And the first place to search would be her room.

Now completely distraught, Jareth quickly exited his chamber and burst through Sarah's door unannounced.
He hadn't been entirely certain of what he would discover, if anything, but he certainly wasn't prepared for what he did.

Sarah, who had been sitting on her bed, shot up at Jareth's obtrusive entrance. She appreared to immediately gain composure and was soon standing with her hands on her hips glaring at him.

"Don't you even have the decency to knock?" Sarah scolded, annoyed.

Before she could take another breath to continue her no doubt long-winded speech, Jareth was across the room. He grabbed her by the shoulders and plundered her mouth in a violent kiss. Faintly, he heard a cry of shock escape Sarah's lips at his aggressiveness. The small sound did nothing but encourage him. He wrapped his arms fully around her figure, pulling her in until their bodies were flush. He opened his mouth, daring to indulge in what Sarah had to offer. She tasted of dreamscapes and broken hearts. Through this one kiss Jareth divulged all his anxiety, hurt, betrayal, and anger.

But she hadn't left, a comforting thought whispered sweetly in his ear. She hadn't left.

Sarah's lips were soft and completely malleable to his onslaught. In Jareth's darkest and most secret dreams he had never imagined she would feel so good. He brought her in tighter and experienced a leap in his heart and in his loins when she finally began to kiss him back. He had wanted this... he had wanted this for so long...
But when that thought finally registered, Jareth was forced to remember why Sarah was here in the first place, and why he was in her arms at this very moment. Suddenly filled with anger, Jareth pushed her away, not even noticing that Sarah's hands had been about to return his embrace.

"Where were you?" his whisper belying how furious he was.

His question was met with shocked silence. Jareth tried to ignore the look of confusion and desire in Sarah's eyes.

"Where WERE YOU?!" he bellowed.

Sarah blinked, completely offended with this treatment. She clenched her fists at her sides.

"Where do you think I was?!" she yelled. "I was in my room! The door is sealed! Didn't we already have this discussion?!"

"That's not possible." Jareth's voice was back to a whisper.

"What do you mean it's not possible?" Sarah's voice shook.

Now it was Sarah's turn to be met with silence.

"What do you mean it's not possible, Jareth?" Sarah's voice was low with sudden realization, "Have you been spying on me?"

Jareth whipped around, "Ah, so you admit to leaving?"

Sarah paused again, confused.

"What are you talking about? How could I have left?"

"I have reason to believe-"

"Oh, you do, do you?" Sarah interrupted. "How do you think I left? Explain that to me, your royal highness!"

Jareth wanted to prove to her how he knew, if only to spite the little temptress, but he knew he couldn't. It would only prove, to her mind, his weakness. And maybe she would be right. Perhaps his secret viewings of Sarah should account for a weakness. But he would be damned if he ever let Sarah tell him that. He couldn't let her discover any of his secrets, no matter how seemingly fanciful. It was far too dangerous.

Sarah, who had been watching him with increasing fury, found her opening. She pointed to the door.

"Get out of my room!" she yelled.

Jareth felt the immediate inclination to do what she said. He was becoming more aware to Sarah's magic, and believed that when she felt high emotion her magic was at its strongest. Jareth felt it repel him out of the room, and he acknowledged it, knowing there was little more to be said. He quickly left the room sealing the door behind him.

He knew that now he was going to have more troubles than ever regarding Sarah. He could hardly sift through his own confusing emotions. No doubt Sarah's inner turmoil would be worse than his. That kiss had been carried through on complete impulse, as were his words, and Jareth knew he had just made a mess out of an already hopelessly tangled knot. He hardly knew why he had made such a rash decision in kissing her, and on top of that he didn't know why Sarah had, magically and physically, seemed to disappear for awhile.

But he was certain he knew of one thing. Sarah had been pretty upset when he had so abruptly broken off their kiss. Apparantly the old adage was true: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

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True to what Jareth suspected, Sarah's mind was in a turmoil. Before Jareth's rather startling appearance she had been nicely wound down from the trip to her personal oubliette, yet now she felt just as bad, if not worse, than before she had gone down there. The ridiculous accusations Jareth made about her leaving her room only proved what she had suspected all along: that Jareth was somehow spying on her. The thought alarmed her. Sarah thought about how many times she had changed in the center of her room instead of taking the more discreet route of changing in the water closet. She thought, with increasing mortification, of her first night here when she had slept totally nude. What had he witnessed? She should be demanding some sort of compensation for this transgression, shouldn't she?

But as much as she hated to admit it, she knew she would do nothing of the sort. She was frightened that Jareth had been spying on her... and yet... she was also strangely excited. Sarah didn't know how this could be possible. The man was a perverted bastard and she shouldn't stand for it! But... then again... there had been that... kiss.

She couldn't believe Jareth had kissed her. Especially since she had so recently convinced herself that Jareth had no feelings for her whatsoever. Even though she had thought a kiss was imminent a couple of times, she had never truly believed he would do such a thing to her. Not only was it something she had never expected, the kiss itself had come completely out of the blue. When she had tried, rather futiley that day to seduce him into giving her back her notebook he had not seemed affected by her, then next thing she knew he was practically leaping at her, kissing her as a man dying of a thirst he couldn't quench.

Sarah pressed her fingertips to her lips. They were still swollen from his treatment. She remembered vividly what he had felt like... what he had... tasted like. Despite the suddenness of the kiss she had been immediately captivated, and in the instant he had pulled away, she had realized she wanted more.

Which was the stupidest thing she could ever want, Sarah thought, annoyed with herself. This man was clearly toying with her emotions and she knew she had to nip this in the bud. If ever he approached her in such a way again SHE, not he, would be the first to break away. And then she would administer a sharp slap to the cheek. Perhaps that would dissuade him.

Firmly making up her mind on how to feel towards the situation, Sarah put the topic to rest. She needed to concentrate on more important things. Like how much she was dreading rehearsal tomorrow morning.

But somehow sensate images of Jareth's burning gaze and violent kiss kept creeping, unbidden, into her thoughts.

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A/N Quick update here folks :)

Eh heheheh... I know what you're all thinking... FINALLY A KISS!!!! XP Okay, maybe not, but anyway. Finally 20 chapters in and Sarah experiences her first kiss with Jareth. Too bad it left a bitter taste in her mouth XP

And I'm sure you've all realized by now that this is going to go far beyond the 20 chapters I had estimated earlier *sighs* There is just no good way to rush a romance between Jareth and Sarah while still remaining true to their characters (at least in my view)

@Lantherien- OMG! Hahahaha! "I wonder how fast he can change into owl form" XD XD Yes, Jareth still underestimates Sarah's powers despite all that has transpired between them so far.

@Vyperbites- Whether Jareth didn't finish the play or is simply only letting Sarah view a scene at a time is left to the interpretation of the reader :) Either way he is being a horribly provoking bastard XD

@Ikaru- Wow, you wrote so much I'm finding it a bit overwhelming on how to respond... XD But yes, poor Sarah indeed. Jareth is being a cheeky bastard to her but I think a lot of it has to do with his conflicting emotions towards her (which could hypothetically, be due to pmsing XD)