Chapter 9: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

AN: In which Jareth learns something important.

Jareth drummed his fingers on his thigh, unconsciously tapping out a lively tempo on his leather-clad leg as he considered the small logging community that lay just beyond the treeline. Several dozen ramshackle buildings adorned with rusty trucks and run-down cars huddled together in a brave declaration of civilisation in the face of the late afternoon shadows cast by the dark, dense, looming forest, which seemed to loom ever closer as the early evening hours passed. Most of the humans were inside their dwellings now, stoking their fires and cooking their evening meals, though a few older children still played in the pot-holed streets and dirt lanes. Searching the buildings closest to the lone paved road that ran through the center of the town, he found what he was looking for. Across from a noisy and brightly lit bar, there was a small, olive-green, single story motel with a flashing neon 'vacancy' sign hanging in a dingy window near the front door. It certainly was no Hilton, but it would do.

He reflected that it would probably be best to just go around the town and keep moving, especially considering the gargoyles hunting them. The Dark King knew they were on the move and likely suspected that they were headed for the door to the Underground, so Jareth doubted that the path forward would get any easier. Still, he wanted to do this for Sarah. He knew their rough camping and near-constant travel had been difficult for her, both physically and mentally, and yet she hadn't complained or slacked at all. He admired that and wanted to reward her. The door to the Underground was, at most, a week away now, and they still had a month's time to break the curse. They both needed a bit of rest before running into the dangerous unknown that lay before them.

"What do you say to a night in a hotel?" he called over his shoulder, smirking at the sharp intake of breath and the happy gushing that followed, her voice animated and bright in his mind.

Oh, that would be brilliant! A hot shower! And soap! You have no idea how much that would mean to me. I wonder if they put those little chocolates on their pillows? Oh, chocolate, there's a beautiful idea!

She came to stand at his side, gazing on the town with interest.

How are we going to get in, though? I mean, we're a bit conspicuous. she said, pointedly staring at his unconventional clothing and her own white fur.

"What do you mean?" he asked, feigning incomprehension.

Did you not notice the tail? Sarah said sarcastically, giving said appendage a swish.

"I have. It's quite a lovely tail. Though I must admit, I prefer that particular view of you when you are in human form."

It took Sarah a moment to realize his meaning.

Hey! she snapped, pinning her ears back and giving him a stern look.

He gave her an unrepentant wink and a smirk. Sarah decided to ignore him and move on.

And we don't have any money for rooms.

He shook his head and snapped his fingers, and Baba-wock appeared with a wallet, then darted off again without a word after Jareth took it from him. He held it up, raising an eyebrow at her in mock consternation.

"Really, Sarah, I am fae. We have our ways." he teased.

So you think that means you can just take whatever you want? That belongs to someone! she scolded, narrowing her eyes at him.

He scowled deeply at her. "Come now, don't be insolent, I'm sure whoever Baba-wock got it from would be overjoyed to know they were of assistance to us."

Sarah took a deep, preparatory breath, then caught it, holding back the words she was about to say. Now was not the time or the place to confront the Goblin King or his minions about their sticky fingers. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure that she wouldn't have done the same given the circumstances. And it was very hard to stay mad at him when he kept giving her that damn sexy smirk.

Fine. Whatever. Are you sure we'll be safe? Isn't that gargoyle still hunting us?

He considered telling her the truth for a moment, but he didn't want her to be any more anxious than she already was. "The gargoyle is gone for the moment, and the goblins will be keeping a sharp eye out. You need not fear, precious thing."

His words mollified her, as he had intended them too.

So how are we going to get in? We're not both in human form for long enough to check in together, and I have a feeling that management might object to wild animals.

"You'll check in after sunset, then let me in at the window." he said matter of factly.

Okay. What do we do until then?

There was still about a half hour until sunset. Jareth answered her inquiry by snapping his fingers again. Baba-wock reappeared from the surrounding foliage, this time holding a bottle of amber liquor.

"Cheers." He unscrewed the cap and raised it to her in a toast, then took a long drink.

Sarah eyed the bottle curiously, wondering what it tasted like, what it'd be like to be drunk. She'd once snuck some of Karen's wine, but only a little. She decided it would probably be best to refrain for the time being, and shook her head when he held the bottle out for her.

Jareth shrugged and poured some into the little goblin's mouth instead, then shooed him off and took several more gulps. Sarah sat down nearby, waiting for sunset to come.

Jareth seemed to be a talker when he drank. And a flirter, as she quickly found out. Sarah was surprised when she realized that she enjoyed this attention from him, but still she was careful not to show it or to encourage him in any way.

"If you'd rather not wait, we could always go now. I could close my eyes and stumble around, and claim you were my service animal. Of course, I'd have to put a leash and collar on you." he said, grinning at her intolerably.

I can't even begin to describe the horribleness that would happen to you if you tried to put a collar or leash on me. Sarah deadpanned.

"Oh come now. It could be fun! Haven't you ever wanted to be tied up?" He purred lavashiously.

Stop it.

"I don't want to stop it." he pouted.

You're drunk.

"Nonsense. I've been doing this for centuries! Although, it has been a while. And I have heard that a lack of magic lowers one's tolerance…" he squinted thoughtfully at the nearly-empty bottle of whiskey in his hand. He set it down carefully on the ground and moved closer to her.

"Dance with me!" he demanded, jumping to a new subject quickly.

No thanks. Sarah replied laughingly, amused at his antics.

"I won't take no for an answer." he said, reaching down and grabbing her front paws before she realized what he was doing. He pulled her up to stand with him, ignoring her objections, placing one foreleg over his shoulder and holding her firmly by the other paw and wrapping his other arm around her waist.

Jareth, we look ridiculous. she protested as he began to sway them around in a small circle, humming a strange tune.

He smiled laughingly at her and kept moving. "Yes, yes we do."

At that moment the sun touched the horizon somewhere behind the trees, and Sarah was struck with her change.

She was used to being the wolf now, she had accepted it, but changing was- painful. She supposed it would be easier if she didn't fight it so much, but submission was simply not in her nature. And while it might not make it any more comfortable, fighting gave her some small measure of comfort; she might not be able to control what was happening to her, but she could control how she responded to it.

Moments later, she reopened her eyes and was surprised that Jareth still held her tightly against him. He watched her with a strange, guarded look in his eye, a look that she recognized from a ballroom years ago. She waited a moment in tense silence, but he did not release her. A sigh of wind sent a chill up her bare legs under her tunic, and she drew her hands down from his shoulders to the front of his chest between their bodies to act as a wedge, feeling suddenly vulnerable.

Silently, he brought one hand up from her waist and brushed her hair behind her ears. She leaned into his hand as it caressed her cheek, feeling anonymous and daring in the smoky evening shadows that twined around them. His body was warm and lean, and his breath smelt of sweet whiskey, his arm around her waist was only just there. She could have easily pulled away if she wanted to.

They would not admit it, not even to themselves, but they had both been waiting all day for this, for the few minutes when they had a chance to communicate with their bodies what they could not, would not communicate with their words. His kiss was far more forceful than it had been the first time, there was no hesitation or denial on either side. As his lips moved firmly against hers and his hand gripped her jaw possessively, Sarah felt as if she would drown in the strange heat that flared between them, in the lust tinted shadows that dulled her mind and made her want to claim and be claimed.

Her hands wound up into his hair, and he made a sound of approval deep in his throat. The hand on her back slowly inched lower and lower, stopping at the small of her back and pressing her hips into his. Sarah stiffened, feeling sudden doubt and insecurity. He drew back from her briefly, moving his hands to her waist and allowing a small amount of space between them and waiting patiently. Sarah suddenly felt cold, and foolish. She looked away, embarrassed and confused as to why. Without speaking, he turned her face back to his once more and kissed her again, this time gentle and reassuring. Sarah went to embrace him again, but he shrank and twisted in her arms, then flew away in a violent blur of white and tawny feathers.

As she watched him fly away into the darkening trees she raised her fingertips to her lips, wondering what madness had taken hold of her. Shaking her head, she dusted off and smoothed her tunic with her hands, then gathered up the bottle, clothes, and wallet lying on the ground, stuffing them into the knapsack before turning and making her way out of the brush and into the town.

The main street was dusty and ill-kept, a two lane rough-paved road without sidewalks or streetlights that ran only ten blocks from one end of the town to the other before disappearing into the forest on either end. Sarah made her way along it, feeling wary and uncomfortable in such a setting after the last few years of being separated from normal society. She inhaled deeply and picked up the scent of woodsmoke and alcohol and greasy cooking, heavy and unpleasant in air that should have been fresh and clean.

Several men stood outside the bar that sat across the road from the motel, and as she drew near she saw them staring openly at her and muttering amongst themselves. Two of them began catcalling her, and she realized with acute embarrassment that she was still wearing only her medallion and her tunic. She'd been so distracted by Jareth that she'd wandered into the town without pants or shoes. Luckily, the tunic covered her almost to her knees.

She hurried towards the motel, and one of the men laughed at her obvious discomfort. The sound was harsh and made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. She was even more disconcerted when she got to the front door and found it locked. Looking at the vacancy sign in confusion, she knocked firmly on the door, trying to ignore the feeling of overly-friendly stares on her back.

Thankfully, after only a few knocks, the door was opened by a wrinkly old prune of a woman, who gave Sarah a frank and astonished examination, taking in her half-dressed and bedraggled appearance with undisguised shock and disapproval.

"What hole did you crawl out of?" she croaked at Sarah, not unkindly.

"Could I get a room for the night, please?" Sarah said, shifting uncomfortably as one of the men across the street yelled for the old woman to send her over to them.

Seeing the woman look at her skeptically, she pulled out some cash and held it up. "I can pay."

She left the wallet itself in the backpack out of view, realizing that it might very well belong to someone local.

The old woman huffed and snatched the money out of Sarah's hand, counting it out and them holding the bills up carefully to the light from a lamp near the door. Satisfied that she wasn't being cheated, she stood aside to let Sarah in, hollering at the men to shut up before slamming it and locking it.

"You can have a room," she said, handing Sarah her change, "so long as you wash up proper before touching my white sheets!"

Sarah agreed, and was led down a dim narrow hallway with dull wooden floors and the same green paint as the outside of the building, past several doors to the end of the hall. The old woman unlocked a door with a painted white number ten on it and ushered Sarah inside.

"Checkout's at 4, and there'll be bagels and juice in the lobby for breakfast. Phone lines are down right now, so you come and get me if you need anything. My name's Molly, and I'm in room one." She gave Sarah's body another scandalized glance. "Leave your clothes outside of the door tonight, and I'll be sure to have them washed and back to you by morning."

"Ok. Sounds good. Thank you very much." Sarah said and the little woman smiled tightly and tottered off. Sarah shut the door and turned the lock, then took a look around the room. It was very small and cramped, but still larger than the cabin. On one wall there was a chair and a narrow door that she assumed led to the bathroom, on the other side was a tiny folding table and a full size bed shoved into the corner. She smiled from ear to ear at the two wrapped chocolates resting on the snow white pillows. Everything was clean and smelled like lavender. Sarah sighed deeply in contentment.

Sarah dropped the backpack and walked over to the bed, but stopped short of picking up the chocolate, noticing how filthy her hands and arms were in contrast to the cleanliness of her surroundings. She glanced to the window, but decided to keep Jareth out until after she'd washed. Surely he wouldn't mind?

Finding a large fluffy bathrobe hanging in the bathroom, she pulled the two pairs of pants and the big leather jacket out of the backpack and left them outside the door, locking it again when she closed it. She decided at the last minute not to put the tunic out, feeling somehow that it would be unwise to let it out of her sight.

And hour later she emerged from the shower, steaming and scrubbed clean. She toweled off and brushed her hair, wrapping the bathrobe around herself and hanging up the hand-washed tunic to dry on a rack before returning to the room. She started upon finding the bed occupied by a goblin and an owl, sharing the last of the whiskey and engaged in a card game on the fluffy duvet. The chocolates were gone, and the wrappers were on the floor.

"How did you get in?!" she exclaimed, a little too loudly.

The goblin grinned drunkenly at her before taking another swig off of its bottle, then tilted the bottle to trickle some of the clear liquid into Jareth's open beak. Jareth swallowed, then swiveled his head to give her a cursory glance, before going back to the card game laid out between him and Lood.

Through the window, as previously agreed. It seems our agreement slipped your mind. Or did you willfully intend to leave me out in the cold all night?

Everything from his accusatory tone to his posture communicated cold anger, something Sarah hadn't expected at all.

"What? No, that's not- I just wanted- you ate all the chocolate! Why?" she said, stopping and starting, unsure how to respond to him.

Did you expect me to show regard for you when you chose not to do so for me? I paid your rudeness back in kind. Be thankful that I have no other means of disciplining you at the moment. He answered coolly in her mind, moving a few cards around with his talons.

Lood examined his hand in dismay, then drew several cards from the deck before laying one down. They both ignored her.

"Really, you don't have to be so awful!" Sarah exclaimed in a hushed voice, getting angrier by the second.

Do you hear, Lood? Our foolish little mortal companion believes she is due something from us. How amusing.

The words may have been meant for the goblin, but the Goblin King had made sure that Sarah heard them too.

They chuckled together, not even sparing her a glance.

Fuming, Sarah strode forward and swiped all the cards onto the floor. Jareth snapped his sharp beak at her fingers, just missing them. She stepped back quickly, her hands balling up into fists at her sides as she glared openly at him.

"What is your problem?" she asked in a low, deadly voice.

The goblin took his cue and slinked off the bed and out the window, disappearing quietly into the night. Jareth finally turned to face her fully, wings stiff and regal at his sides, shiny black eyes fixed on her imperiously. She waited, but he did not answer her, and the air became thick with tension. She briefly considered throwing him out the open window after the goblin, but thought better of it. Coming to blows wouldn't benefit either of them.

She took a deep breath, and decided to be the bigger person. "Look, your Highness, I'm sorry if I offended you somehow, that wasn't my intention. I just wanted an hour of privacy. Apparently that was too much to ask."

She didn't wait for a response, instead she turned her back on him and stomped back into the bathroom, locking the door behind her, frustrated and upset and needing to be alone with her thoughts. Only a little while ago, he had been playful and passionate and tender, now he was being an unreasonable ass. She was thoroughly bewildered, and more than a little hurt.

She began drawing a bath, wondering idly at the building's hot water capacity. Once it was filled, she shed her robe and sunk in, feeling some of the stress melt away in the steaming water. She wondered, not for the last time, when, if ever, she would get home to her family, to her normal life. She tried to imagine her room, her school, eating dinner with her family, but the images that her mind conjured seemed strange and alien.

After a long while she caught herself drifting off, and pulled herself out of her thoughts and the now-cool water. She towelled off again and put her tunic, which was dry by now, on and made her way back into the room, not caring anymore if he was there or not.

The room was dark and quiet. She felt her way along the wall until she found the switch, and found the room empty. The coverlet on the bed was wrinkled, and dozens of playing cards lay scattered on the wood floor. She picked them up and put them neatly back in their box on the little table, then switched off the light again and climbed under the covers, feeling drained. She considered closing and locking the window, but some small, traitorous part of her heart told her to leave it open.

She drifted off slowly, and slept fitfully, plagued with nightmares in which her father and stepmother turned into rabid wolves and chased her away, biting and scratching at her whenever she came near Toby or their home.

Jareth sat on the edge of the bed, eyes roaming over Sarah as she lay near him in a deep sleep. She had kicked the covers off sometime in the night, and most of her long, toned legs were visible for his viewing in the pale light creeping shyly through the window. She slept on her side facing away from him, her shiny hair in a tangle and her chin tucked to her chest, arms pulled up defensively over her chest. He thought about holding her, laying down and molding himself against her, knowing that they only had a few minutes until the sun had risen fully and she changed again, but decided it would be wisest to let her sleep undisturbed.

He had returned sometime around midnight, drawn back in by the disturbing sounds of Sarah's nightmares. He regretted his behavior, but he would not apologize; he did not believe he was in the wrong. She had disrespected him, wilfully or not, and he could not stand for that. Being excluded and kept out had touched a raw nerve in him. Still, Sarah being upset bothered him. He wondered if any of her nightmares involved him. Strangely, he found himself hoping they didn't. If he had had his magic available to him, he could have looked into her mind and seen for himself, perhaps provided some sweeter dreams to drown out the bad ones. As it was, all he could do was watch.

She shifted in her sleep, and the tunic rode up a little further, exposing part of her rear and hip. He felt a rush of hot blood surge through him straight to his groin, coupled with a need to possess and protect. Controlling himself, he reached over and carefully tugged the hem of her tunic down a few inches, then covered her carefully with the sheet. She changed shape a moment later, still so exhausted that she slept right through it. He felt himself cool down slightly, she evoked no physical attraction in him while in this form. Still, he could not get the image of her long, bare legs out of his mind. He wanted to know what it would feel like to run his hands up and down them, to feel them wrapped around him.

He wanted her, there was no denying that. He was drawn to her powerfully, just as much now as he had been three years ago, perhaps even more so now that he was unable to escape her on a whim with his magic, unable to intimidate her with glamour and power. It wasn't just her extraordinary beauty, she was more powerful that she could possibly understand, just by being her, by being Sarah. His Sarah. He wanted her, and he could not deny himself anymore than he could stop breathing, but what he wanted exactly, he wasn't sure. In the the Escher room he had offered her everything and nothing, unable to determine exactly what he wanted her to be to him, but desperate for it none the less.

He wondered at himself for dragging her along with him to the Underground, for putting himself in a position to possibly be ruined by her again. There were other ways to break the curse, ways that he had not mentioned to her, had not considered, would not consider. He shook his head and pinched the brow of his nose, stopping the dangerous ideas before they could take root. It would have made far more sense to break the curse by other means, it would have been so much easier, so much quicker. Her death would have done it. A simple binding of man and woman could likely void the curse's power as well. However the idea of being tied to her permanently, knowing that she didn't care for him, was even more repulsive to him than the idea of losing her forever. And he knew he could never hurt her, not even to gain back his kingdom and his magic.

He had lost everything due to this weakness that she evoked in him, and yet here he was, keeping company with her, guarding her, wooing her. And last night he had fought with her, in what was perhaps some pathetic attempt to squash the inevitable feelings growing between them. Suddenly feeling disgusted with himself, he stood up and looked around for some pants, but was unable to find them, so he pulled on his boots and climbed out the window in only his tunic.

The town was mostly still asleep; the only people visible were an old man puffing on a cigarette as he walked his dog slowly along the main road and a boy on a bicycle throwing plastic-wrapped newspapers at front doors. Jareth was able to prowl unseen in the early morning shadows behind the buildings. He held his hands joined behind his back as he strolled slowly and silently towards the outskirts of the town, letting the cold, fresh air clear his mind and soften his mood. His goblins were out there creeping about somewhere, keeping guard against anything that might be hunting them. He had not heard anything from them all the night, and was glad of it. No news was good news.

Reaching the outskirts of the town, he turned back, picking up a newspaper from someone's lawn on the way. He pulled it out and skimmed it as he walked. A few buildings away from the motel, his eyes caught on the date, and he stopped in his tracks, confused. The paper claimed that it was October 27th, 1986. That was wrong. Jareth knew for certain that it was mid-September, he had performed his own calculations carefully when he had first found himself stranded in the Above. He held, or had once held, dominion over time itself, he was never wrong about these things.

He couldn't be wrong.

Ignoring the veins of ice that were beginning to spider through his chest, he tossed the newspaper aside and hurriedly sought another one. This one claimed the same date, of course. Teeth gritted in denial, he took off towards the main road at a brisk pace, tracking down the old man and his dog.

"You there! Yes, you!" Jareth called out to the bewildered man as he speed-walked towards him, stopping only a few paces way.

"Whaddya want?" The man asked suspiciously, eyeing Jareth's bare legs and wild hair with concern.

"The date. What is today's date?" Jareth asked urgently.

The old man gave him a strange look before answering. "October 27th. Why, you miss somethin' important?"

But Jareth didn't answer, he was already striding quickly away, his mind a furious cacophony. Somehow, someway, he had been wrong in his calculations. They did not have a month, as he originally thought, to break this curse before the thirteenth season passed and it became permanent. They had three days. They could never make it to the Underground in time.

Suddenly realizing something, he stopped again and reopened the newspaper that he had been crushing in his fist, shifting through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He let out a long breath, then headed back to the motel, new plans forming in his mind.

AN: Please review, and let me know if you have any questions or see any errors. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks in advance, and extra thanks to my regular reviewers! You always make me smile, and really motivate me to keep writing.