Those Cruel Eyes Edition 1

Chapter 28

"Emmeline!" Jareth screamed. Not wasting a moment, he ran to the banks of the lake and dove into the water, tearing the moss out of his ears. The water was arctic, so cold it felt as if Jareth was being burned alive. He fought the urge to scream in pain and forced his numb limbs to swim. He opened his eyes and searched all along the lake bed, looking for Emmeline.
A thread of golden, iridescent hair caught his eye. Emmeline was tangled in the weeds on the floor, struggling desperately. The Kelpie was grinning, his expression that of ecstasy in watching her flailing limbs and panicked expression as she drowned. Jareth kicked his legs urgently in her direction. He managed to get to her and grab her hair when the Kelpie blocked him, swiftly shifting into a horse and kicking him in the stomach with a backward hoof.
His breath escaped his lips; the precious air bubbles escaping to the surface like they were afraid to face the Kelpie.
Before Jareth could recover from the blow, the Kelpie gripped Jareth's collar with delicate hands, Jareth looked up at the Kelpie and froze.
It had transformed into a woman; a woman with tantalizing curves, thick dark hair, creamy skin, and haunting emerald eyes.
Kelpie-Sarah's elegant hands moved from his collar, up his neck, to his face, pulling him close. Her lips brushed his, pulling him into a deadly lover's embrace. Kelpie-Sarah latched onto Jareth's lips and blew water into his lungs, trying to drown him. He tried to struggle, but the Kelpie was stronger.
Just when Jareth's vision began to get dark, the pressure on his face disappeared and he was being dragged to the surface. He thought he saw a face before he blacked out.

"Jareth? Jareth, can you hear me?" the words were foggy, hardly heard. Jareth tried to open his eyes, but they kept closing. He was exhausted; physically and emotionally drained. He attempted to open his eyes again and thought he saw dark hair paired with green eyes before he blacked out again.

Jareth opened his eyes. He was propped against a tree, a thick coat of moss tied to his chest by vines. He struggled to sit up and gasped, forced to lie back against the tree. He was now acutely aware of the sharp pain in his chest and sides; the aching feeling and effort it took to breathe.
"Good, you're awake," came a voice to his right. He turned his head and saw Emmeline walking toward him, cupping something in her hands.
"Here," she said softly, offering him some water. He drank slowly, reluctantly.
"I don't think I will want to go swimming after this," he whispered, smiling painfully. "What happened?"
Emmeline's smile faded. "That thing tricked me, somehow. I was down at the bottom of the lake, feeling like my lungs were gonna explode, when you pulled it away from me. I was able to untangle myself and surface, but when you didn't surface, I got worried. I swam back down and saw my mom... at least I thought it was my mom. She was drowning you..." she was silent a moment. "You really love her, don't you?"
Jareth looked away.
"Anyways," she continued, sensing his discomfort, "Your rescuer is here,"
Jareth tried to sit up again and saw her. He froze; not unlike he did in the lake. Sarah was crouched down next to him, tying another vine around his chest.
"That thing latched onto you and broke half your ribs," she smiled, gently leaving her hand on his chest a moment longer than necessary. She pulled her hand away and tended to the wound on his mouth.
"The bad news is that you will be in some pain for a while, but on your face she only left ah... a red mark around your lips." She winked and grinned at his flush.
"What happened to the Kelpie?" he asked, trying to avoid awkward conversation. Emmeline looked to her mother who smiled.
"Well, I found something very useful when I followed you. In a hollow tree, there was a bridle."
"Bridle?" Emmeline was blank.
Jareth grinned. "Brilliant!"
"Okay, I'm lost. What does a bridle have to do with anything?" Emmeline said, looking to Sarah, but it was Jareth who answered.
"Only a bridle can control a Kelpie. Otherwise, they drown their victims and eat the dead flesh."
"Yuck," Emmeline wrinkled her nose. She reached a hand to Jareth's forehead to pluck a leaf off when Jareth noticed bandages around her wrists and her right upper arm.
"What happened to you..." Jareth whispered, touching her own makeshift bandages.
"The Kelpie," she said darkly, "and the weeds. Nothing to be worried about though," she said, brightening, "No broken bones."
Jareth started to force himself to sit up, ignoring the sharp pains in his chest.
"We need to go." he said urgently, using the tree and Emmeline for support to stand.
"Rest!" Sarah said quickly. She threw her arms out to aid him, but he waved her away.
"I'm Fae," he snapped impatiently, "I heal very quickly. The point is that we are running out of time and I need to help my son."
Sarah bit her lip and nodded. Soon, the three were continuing on the path, Sarah and Emmeline on either side of Jareth.