Labyrinth Dancer

Chapter Four: Inara's Past/Jareth's Knowledge

*Flashback to Conversation between J/S*

Sarah couldn't believe the words that had just come out of Jareth's lips. Inara had found Jareth?!

"What-how-When.." Sarah babbled for a moment before getting a look from Jareth that cued her to shut her mouth for a moment. 

Jareth quietly began again this time looking down at his hands. 

"It was a few years ago Sarah, she was about ten years old maybe younger; I wasn't sure at the time. It was around when a huge storm hit, I was caught in it. In my owl form obviously, I was taking a fly and just happened to choose the wrong time to do it." 

Sarah nodded, she had been about to finish college at the time the storm he was talking about had hit; she remembered Hoggle telling her how Jareth had disappeared for a few days. 

"You disappeared a few days during that storm right?" 

Jareth nodded, not bothering to ask her where she'd heard that from; he had after all allowed the channels to remain open with her mirror for her friends. The only act of repentance he'd done after almost ruining her life. 

"Well, I ended up getting knocked out and pinned under a branch in someones back yard. The next thing I knew I was waking up in a basket, with a bunch of towels and a heating device, I believe you call them heating pads." 

He trailed off a moment before looking back up but past Sarah who stayed quiet now, wanting to know more. 

"I had broken my wing, a bone going right through the skin sometime during the storm. There was a fresh bandage on it and a splint, there was no way I could transform back into my usual form without harming myself further at the time. As I was getting my senses back I saw her, just a little thing at the time asleep curled up in a ball on the bed next to the table the basket was sitting on." 

He was actually unconsciously moving his hands as he spoke now, his eyes shinning and his lips actually curved up in a smile. It was strangely wonderful to see him smiling like that. 

"She was so little all curled up in a ball like that, I could faintly hear the wind still howling outside and I couldn't imagine that she'd gone out in that to rescue a bird. Her hair was still wet though and she smelled like rain. I couldn't believe she'd gone outside in that weather to save a bird." 

Sarah could only imagine a smaller Inara actually doing that, she wouldn't honestly put it past the quiet girl to do something of the sorts. She'd seen how Inara quietly took care of those who the social classes of high school mocked, she knew better than to think it wasn't coincidence that the Jocks all hated that girl. 

Jareth who paused looked down at his hands, his smile vanishing; it was then Sarah caught a slight glance at the scar on the inner part of his elbow, where the bone had gone through his skin in his Owl form. 

His voice was shaky now, his words forced and enraged. 

"Then, I saw the bruises on her hands, on her face and neck; she had a fresh black eye and her nose was red and bruised; like someone had struck her. I don't know why but I moved my wing, the pain made me pass back out." 

He ran a hand over his face and careful held his face in his hands once more like he had before. 

"When I woke again, it was hours later and a bit of light had touched the sky even with the storm still going on strong. There was screams and arguing nearby maybe the next room or so; that wasn't what woke me though, she was crying and trying not to be heard." 

Sarah's breath caught in her throat, she was surprised that Inara could've possibly been abused. 

"When she saw I was awake she wiped at her eyes with her sweater sleeves and dried her face; I can't forget how she made a shaky smile as she reached for the basket, carefully scooping it up and setting it on the bed with her. Her small voice was like a melody...telling me it's okay."  

He paused taking a shaky breath as if the next words were going to be painful to speak. Looking back up at Sarah's face he didn't turn from her gaze as he quietly continued. 

"The door to the other room slammed and I could hear footsteps and more screaming, not in rage this time but in terror. Inara suddenly leaped up, leaving me on the bed and rushed out of the room; her door slammed behind her and I could hear her little voice yelled at someone." 

Sarah could see the rage in his eyes and he swallowed before telling her the rest. 

"I managed to hop up to her window behind the bed as I heard the doors downstairs slam open. I could barely see what was happening but I could see Inara grabbing a man's arm, trying to get him to release someone from his grasp..." 

He trailed off but then continued breaking his gaze off from Sarah's as he spoke hoarsely now. 

"The man was dragging a woman towards a car, he had a bottle in his other hand; when he couldn't get Inara to let go of his arm he hit her with it, knocking her to the side as he yanked up the woman and got her in the car." 

Sarah's eyes widened as Jareth's words reached her, unknowing that tears were trailing from her eyes as he continued. 

"When the car sped off she got up and came back inside, I could hear her on the phone with someone; a friend of the family I think. When she came back into her room though she'd cleaned up and changed clothes. I could still smell the blood on her though, from where the bottle had shattered on her shoulder, cutting her." 

Jareth pulled the jacket that had been folded over the stairwell and was playing with the hems as Sarah let a question escape. 

"What happened after Jareth?" Her voice was so soft she wasn't sure he heard her, but when he continued it was clear he had. 

"She started talking to me, letting me stay perched on the window seat; she even moved the basket there so I'd be comfortable and close to it. She said that her Mommy and Daddy were fighting again, that her Daddy always got mad when he drank the stuff in the bottles. That Mommy looked so scared when he dragged her out to the car..." 

At that moment Jareth straightened up and disclosed the one thing Sarah didn't know about Inara at all. 

"Her mother died Sarah, he ran the car into a tree; I heard her Uncle or someone talking about it later that day. No charges were pressed since it was deemed an accident related to the storm." 

Sarah could hear the suppressed rage in his voice, the tiny shake in his breath giving away his rage even more. 

"It wasn't even two days later when he was back at the bottle Sarah, my magic was starting to heal my wing up but not quick enough to stop him..." 

When he trailed off this time, Sarah was afraid to ask him what had happened after. Jareth's hands were gripping the jacket so tight his knuckles had gone ghostly white, her gaze flicked back up to his face to see that his face had also gone pretty pale. 

"He found me while he was drunk again, I hadn't healed enough to use my magic or change back; she came running at his yells and got between us, yelling back at him that he shouldn't hurt me that I was harmless." 

The look that fell over his face now made Sarah's stomach turn into knots with nausea. 

"He beat her unconscious Sarah, yelling at her that she was just like her mother a no good Witch! That she'd pay for everything just like her witch mother had. I didn't understand why he'd hurt them both, and now; I have to make her go through this?!"