Fooled Heart

Fooled Heart

Chapter 5: Such a Fooled Heart

Sarah collapsed to the ground shortly after Jareth left. 'What just happened?' Sarah thought. 'I feel sick. Was he going to...?'

Sarah tucked her knees into her chest and held them there, breathing heavily into her knees. The steel door swung open and Grezle hopped in, multicolored fuzz flying everywhere. The small goyblin carried in a metal tray filled with small sandwiches, a glass, and a metal pitcher filled with some sort of juice.

"Are you hungry, Sarah?" Grezle asked in her gruff voice. Sarah's stomach answered Grezle loudly before Sarah had the chance to open her mouth. Grezle set the metal tray on the small wooden table and hopped out the door. As soon as the door closed,it, was no longer a heavy steel door. The door was an ornately carved dark stained wood with a doorknob made of clear crystal.

Sarah lunged at the tray Grezle brought in. She ate one cheese sandwich and poured a glass of the juice in the metal pitcher/ She took a sip and gasped. 'Peach. Why did it have to be peach?' Sarah thought. She placed the glass back on the tray and wiped her face with a linen napkin.

She walked across the small room and felt the cool orb of the clear crystal doorknob. She paused, glaring into the clear glass. She slowly opened the door and stepped out of the cramped room, faced directly with the double door's of Toby's room. 'The stairs...' Sarah thought, 'Nothing is as it seems, I suppose.'

Sarah knocked lightly on the ornate double doors. The door swung open and a happy Toby wrapped his arms around her waist. "Why didn't you want to see me, Sarah?" Toby asked, burying his face in her stomach.

"What do you mean, Toby? There is never a time I don't want to see you," Sarah said, ruffling Toby's hair.

"But Jareth said you didn't want to see anyone!" Toby said, pulling away.

"Jareth is just jealous because I like you better," Sarah joked, walking with Toby into his chambers.

"Oh,am I?" The Goblin King stood up from the armchair in Toby's room.

"Jareth, don't be jealous that I'm more awesome than you are!" Toby laughed, holding Sarah's hand.

"I'm sorry, SIr Toby, Sarah. Duty calls. I must take my leave," Jareth bowed his head and dissapeared.

"He's been popping around like this all day," Toby complained. "Why won't he just stay with me?"

"He is king, Toby. He has other responsibilities," Sarah said quietly, sitting on the plush sofa lining one of the walls in Toby's room.

A few moments passed and the large stained window glowed bright before the room was consumed by darkness. Toby gasped as small lights lit on their own along the walls of the room. "This place is so cool!" Toby exclaimed. He ran to the sofa and sat next to Sarah. "Sarah, do you like the Goblin King?"

Sarah paused. "Toby, Jareth is sly, arrogant, and cruel," she said slowly.

"But do you like him?" Toby repeated.

Sarah sighed. "Right now, I do not. He has been...unpleasant to me since we've arrived."

"Did he sing to you yet?" Toby asked, excited.

"No, Toby. I doubt he ever will," Sarah said softly.

"He said he was going to," Toby said holding his older sister's hand.

"The Goblin King does not always mean what he says," Sarah said quietly.

"Sarah, will you stay with me tonight?" Toby asked.

"I'd love to, Toby. We will ask Jareth when he returns," she said, stroking the younger boy's hair.

"Will we see Mom and Dad again?" Toby asked after a long pause.

Sarah didn't know how to answer. She continued stroking his hair and fixed her eyes on a point on the wall. "I don't know, Tobes."

"I love Mom and Dad, but I'm glad I have you, Sarah," Toby said, hugging his sister.

"Me too, Tobes," Sarah said softly.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________


"What do you mean?!" Jareth shouted, slapping his fist on the table. "That's impossible!"

"Your Majesty, the Lieete have been spotted in the Great Void. We have several witnesses," spoke a young man sitting across from Jareth.

"Impossible," the king spoke again. "The Lieete were destroyed centuries ago. You know that, Dimonis."

The young man, Dimonis, spoke again. "I have not confirmed this myself, Your Majesty, but the rumors are spreading rapidly. If we do not get to the bottom of things, panic will spread through the Kingdom."

Jareth took a deep breath to calm down. After a moment, Jareth said calmy, "I understand, Dimonis. What is your proposed plan of action?"

"I believe we should station a small section of our army around the Great Void. We must confirm if the Lieete have, in fact, returned to the Underground," the young man proposed.

"Very well, please arrange it," Jareth spoke, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Dimonis spoke before bowing and excusing himself.

The Goblin King sighed deeply. 'I do not need this now,' he thought, 'Not when I have an heir to train and a girl to...' Jareth's thoughts broke off. What exactly were his plans for her?

Jareth stood, pushing his chair away from the table. The room he stood in was filled with old maps and texts that filled every inch of the walls. He stared at the map displayed on the table before him. In the center of the map was the Castle, surrounded by the Goblin City. Surrounding the Goblin City was nothingness; a black splotch covered most of the remainder of the map as if someone had dumped ink on it. "The Great Void" was labeled in bold white script.

Jareth shook his head and walked through the door and down the hall. He stopped a few steps short of the carved doors of his bedchambers. He sighed and continued around the corner and knocked lightly on Toby's door. Jareth waited for a few moments before opening the door slowly. He quickly spotted Toby and Sarah curled up sleeping on the dark, plush sofa lining the wall. He smiled and softly closed the door behind him.

Jareth, careful not to wake either of the siblings, lifted Toby off the couch and placed him softly in the large bed. He pulled the covers up to his chin and wiped a few stray hairs from the boys face with a gloved hand. A soft groan came from the sofa as Sarah turned over on the sofa, clutching a side pillow to her tightly. Jareth watched her for several minutes, debating whether to wake the sleeping girl.

Sarah turned again on the sofa and yawned. "Sarah, its time for bed," Jareth spoke smoothly.

Sarah sat up, letting the pillow fall to the floor. "Can I stay with Toby tonight?" she asked him, voice slightly slurred from sleep. She ran her fingers through her hair and adjusted her clothing.

"Not tonight, Sarah. I will escort you to your room," Jareth spoke, moving to her. He offered his arm to her and she eyed him suspiciously. After a moment, she took his offered arm and let him lead her out of the room. The door across the hall had dissappeared.

"Where did it go?" Sarah asked.

"The door? The room is no longer needed," Jareth led her further down the hall.

"You had said I was to stay there," Sarah stated blankly.

"I have another room for you that you will find a bit more comfortable. Unless you insist on staying in that tiny cell," Jareth said, mockingly.

"I think I will pass on that," Sarah said softly. She looked at the Goblin King questioningly when he led her straight to the doors of his own bedchambers. He turned the knob with his free hand and smiled at the beauty next to him.

"No," Sarah protested. 'He can't mean...no, I won't stay with him. Does he think he can argue with me, make a deal and I will fall for him just like that?' She thought, panicing.

"Don't be absurd, my dear Sarah. You will not be staying with me," Jareth spoke with a chuckle. He led her into the large room. "Unless you would like to," he suggested.

"No," she quickly responded. Jareth laughed. He opened another door along the wall within his chambers. The room within instantly lit. Jareth ushered her inside.

"My magic is a bit exhausted today, Sarah, so please forgive me for not connecting it to your brother's chambers right away," he spoke as she entered the room. The room was a vast improvement on the room she had been placed in before. There was a larger bed centered along one wall with a green canopy. There were no windows, but the room was lit brightly by floating flames along the wall and cieling. There was a large reading chair in one corner and a table with two chairs in the other.

"Why?" Sarah asked after a moment.

"I will be civil, Sarah. As much as I possibly can be," he spoke quickly. He gave a short bow and excused himself, shutting the door softly behind him.

'This was not expected,' Sarah thought as she sat on the bed. 'This was not something he would do.'

"What are you up to Jareth?!" Sarah shouted. The room shattered around her.

"It appears as if I cannot fool you, Sarah, as foolish as your heart may be," Jareth said, standing before her in the familiar cell she was placed in previously. He smiled wickedly as he stood over her. He leaned in close and brushed his lips against her cheek. "Go to bed, Sarah. I will call for you in the morning." With that, he left, leaving Sarah confused and blushing as she touched her cheek with timid fingers.