These Dangers Untold

Chapter 9- Discovered

Sarah approached the large stable cautiously. It was just before eleven, and she didn't want to show up late to meet with Gwyneth. Why they were meeting, in such an odd location, was beyond her. The stable was secluded, tucked away into a corner of the palace grounds and hidden by grand, ancient trees. Not a single servant was to be seen, nor a rider bringing in a horse. The only living creatures were apparently the horses themselves, and there were only about five or six, each in a clean stall by themselves. Sarah entered, breathing in the sweet smell of hay and fresh horses. A beautiful roan stallion nickered at her. "Hey," she whispered, walking over and scratching his nose. Like every other eight-year-old girl in the world, she had longed for a horse when she was younger, but that dream had never made its way into reality. Sarah had never even been in front of a horse before, and now she was at a royal stable.
"Do you like him?"
Sarah turned around. Gwyneth stood in the barn door, smiling and cocking her head to the side. "He's a champion jumper- I rode him for steeplechases as well. Nerves of steel, him. I named him Hitchcock, after the famous human equestrian."
Sarah feigned confusion. "How do you get news of the humans, Highness?"
Gwyneth smiled. "Oh, for me, it's simple. I just use the link between worlds to get information whenever it strikes my fancy. I wouldn't recommend you try it, though. Even other royals must use magical conductors for something as difficult as that."
"Magical conductors?"
"Such things as animals, pendants, or that crystal you have in you pocket."
Sarah's heart stopped. "P-pardon, your Majesty?"
Gwyneth twisted up her lips into a victorious smirk. "Come now, Sarah. Do you think I would be so unfamiliar with my brother's tricks as to be blind to a spy? Why else would I allow into you into my inner circle so quickly? Why else would I let so much information slip around you? It's because it is not Jareth you shall be working for... but me."
"Never," Sarah spit. Jareth may be a jerk, but she is so much worse.
"Wrong answer." Gwyneth stepped closer. "You see, I have a rather important advantage over you. It's called", and here the air around her shimmered, "magic, and I will use it to destroy all my brother ever cared about." And then she shot a bolt of light at Sarah.
The magic hit her square in the chest, and Sarah stumbled back. A blinding pain was spreading across her body now, thick cables of it. No; actual ropes were wrapping themselves around her body, holding her fast to the stable post. She gasped. "What- are you- going to- do- huh? Kill me? I'm not- the only thing- Jareth-"
Gwyneth placed a finger to Sarah's lips. "Uh-uh. No speaking. No pretending you understand my brother. Besides, you'll want to save your breath. You will be doing a lot of talking soon."
"I'll- never- tell you- anything."
"Not to me, girl. To Jareth."
With a smooth motion, Gwyneth pulled the crystal out of Sarah's pocket. "Jareth unknowingly provided me with the key to his demise. With this, no outside magic will be sensed, because this is his own weak brand of it. He needs pathetic conductors because he hasn't true power in his blood. So this is excellent."
Gwyneth squeezed her fist on the crystal, and it split into a pure white rose. "This," she said quietly, "is a blossom carrying the curse of Soul-Binding. Once its poison enters your body, I will control your soul completely. I will own your body, your words. You will do whatever it is I want. And what I want is for you to rid the Goblin Kingdom of a King."
"You're insane," Sarah managed.
The Fae Queen held the rose just above Sarah's chest- just above her heart. "No. I am quite sure of how this works." Her eyes flashed. "It was used on me, after all." Then she pushed the thorns into Sarah's skin.
The worst part of it was the numbness. Sarah felt herself lose control over her own body; her nerves didn't work, she was stiff and unable to move. Even her mind went fuzzy, and she couldn't think as fast as she normally could. Dimly aware of the blood dripping down her chest from the puncture wounds, Sarah watched as Gwyneth drew the now slightly pink rose back into her fist. It changed back into a crystal, and Gwyneth whispered her brother's name. With a violent motion that did little to startle Sarah from her haze, Gwyneth threw the shining sphere onto the ground. A ball of sparks hovered above the shards. "Now," the Queen smiled, "you are going to go back to the castle beyond the Goblin City, and trick Jareth into thinking you're in love with him. Once he has fallen for it- and I assure you he will- you will kill him, and laugh in his pathetic face."
This got through to Sarah. "No!" she tried to scream, but all that came out was a slight sound of protest. The ropes keeping her bound dropped to the floor. Against all her instincts, Sarah stepped towards Gwyneth. "Now," she heard her say, "for the authenticity factor." A sharp slap across the face fully jolted Sarah out of the fog, and a brutal punch to her cheek brought back the first stirrings of anger. But nothing, not even the next fifteen minutes of injury, could make Sarah fight back. Her face was scratched, her arms sliced in a few places, her left leg broken. The ropes were run along her wrists, burning them. During the torment, Gwyneth whispered instructions in Sarah's ears. How exactly she was to murder Jareth- "With a knife, Sarah, do you hear me? A knife straight through his heart." As a final touch, Gwyneth hurled the crystal fragments across Sarah's face and caused dozens of cuts. Once she was satisfied that her new pawn looked like she had been through a hurricane, Gwyneth pushed her through the sparkling portal, and Sarah saw no more.
Coming back was hard, and slow. A thick mist surrounded her, and all she could hear was Gywneth's voice, repeating her instructions over and over. Trick Jareth into thinking you're in love with him. Once he has fallen for it- and I assure you he will- you will kill him, and laugh in his pathetic face. With a knife, Sarah, do you hear me? A knife straight through his heart. They went further than this, even- You will seduce the foolish King, you will distract him from his duties. You will only show your hate for him when the proper time comes. You do despise him, Sarah, but you are also a spy, an actress. You will not reveal your secret until I tell you. At last, with enormous effort, Sarah wrenched herself out of the torture. She was able to make her eyes fly open, and gasp. "Ow, ow, ow." Sarah clutched at her head. "Sarah?" A gentle voice drew her attention to her right. Sitting in a low armchair, with his legs crossed with languid nonchalance, was the one and only Goblin King. Seeing him, looking so concerned, broke a dam inside Sarah. She burst into tears and threw herself on him. Words that she didn't know had been in her throat were bubbling out of her mouth and pressing themselves into Jareth's cloak. "Gwyneth- she-she tortured me, and I used the crystal to escape, b-but she knew it was me. She knew I was a spy. She promised she would kill me, after she destroyed the Labyrinth and made me watch as she killed Hoggle, Ludo, Didymus...and you." For the briefest second during her ramble, Jareth stayed stiff, but then his arms wrapped around her tightly. "Shh," he murmured, rubbing her back like she was a small child. "You are injured very badly, Sarah, and dehydrated somewhat. It doesn't matter that she figured out you were a spy; that was inevitable. Luckily, you were able to get out in time. Now, I'm fairly certain I can shore up my defenses enough to stop her from ever making her way inside the Labyrinth's walls, let alone into the castle. Your only job now is to rest. Stay in here as long as you need, and if you get hungry, just call." He untangled his arms from around her, and pushed her carefully back onto the pillows. He left the room a little too quickly, and she watched him go with a mix of horror and relief. Not a single action or word had been her own. She felt the strings of Gwyneth's spell twitching inside her, pulling at her organs, and she knew if she tried to break the Fae Queen's hold over her, she would die. But still, part of her was thrilled at Jareth's response. He had been so caring, so, well, gallant. Nothing at all like the horrible, angry Jareth whom she had dealt with the past two times she had communicated with the crystal. It's because I'm hurt, she reasoned. Once I'm done recovering, I'll probably have to deal with the jerk again. Speaking of injuries...Sarah heaved herself up, wincing as her arms screamed. She pulled the sheets back, and recoiled when she saw herself. Her left leg was swollen, bruised, and had some sort of plaster around it. A cast. Her other leg had a deep gouge in her thigh, and Sarah swore she could discern a glint of bone- but that may have been a trick of the light. She recalled reading somewhere that exposing bone to air was deadly, but she couldn't be sure. Lifting up the large shirt she wore, Sarah examined her abdomen. More bruises, several long but shallow slices, and the dark wounds from the rose's thorns. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Sarah. How did I get into this shirt? Oh, Jareth...I wish I was able to yell at you. Damned curse.

Jareth paced his chambers, fretting. He had almost had a stroke when Sarah stumbled into the room from thin air, bleeding and mumbling deliriously. She had been in a soiled green dress and apron, soaked in blood and covered in what appeared to be horse dung. As soon as she saw him, Sarah had screamed, then dropped onto the floor, unconscious from blood loss and shock. Jareth had easily scooped her up in his arms and rushed her to a spare bedroom- which just so happened to be right next to his. But that is of no consequence. She had been so pale...Jareth knew nothing would ever scare him as much as seeing Sarah dying in front of him. He had changed her out of the serf's dress, too distressed to use magic, and into one of his spare shirts. Perhaps that would have significance too her; this was one of the things he was worrying about. The King of the Goblins feared his love for Sarah was coming back, stronger now that she was so adult. No longer a petulant child, Sarah could capture him like a huntress with those beautiful, cruel eyes. Jareth regretted being so unfair to her, but he couldn't help it. Whenever he felt weak, he lashed out, being mocking and rude. I'd best stop that. She'll never fall for me if- Jareth stopped that thought in its tracks. Why do I care? Unless Sarah gave him some sign of returning his affections, at long last, he wouldn't bother trying to woo her again.
Sarah was able to walk around without being in pain by the next day. She suspected Jareth had to do with that, playing with his magical orbs and all. Still, delicious as it was to move without fear of being named a spy, she hated how quickly she was healing. The faster she was at 100%, the sooner Gwyneth's spell would kick in with full force. Sarah had no real wish to kill Jareth- of course not- but the puppet strings of the curse made Sarah think she felt that way. So, she hated herself even more when she met Jareth in the hallway.
"Sarah?"
She turned, leaning on the wall heavily. "Uh, hi."
Jareth strode towards her, his trappings of glimmering black swirling about his figure as if he was enveloped in a storm. "What are you doing up and about?"
"Just, you know..." Sarah gestured meaninglessly, trying to fight the words Gwyneth wanted her to say. She lost. "Looking for you."
An elegant eyebrow lifted. "Why?"
She forced a thin smile. "My outfit. Did you use magic or...you know, your hands?"
Jareth smiled as well, a little sheepishly. "No magic. I hope you don't mind. It was just so critical to help you in the instant, and magic can be a bit unpredictable in crisis situations."
Sarah was disgusted by what she did next- she twisted the hem of the shirt, which luckily fell to just above her knees, and said, "No, I don't mind. It's you, after all."
Jareth looked shocked, but pleasantly so. "But I do insist we put you in some proper attire now, Sarah. I don't want my goblins seeing you in such a state. They might die of surprise to see a barely dressed human girl wandering in the halls." He touched a gloved hand to her shoulder. Sarah jumped a little, but then shyly placed her hand on top of his. His face split into a smile so warm, Sarah felt as though she was seeing a whole new person. Jareth thought triumphantly, And here is my sign.
A/N: 2 updates in one day! Just because I love my few readers. And I finally got out of my sludgy phase; more regular updates are coming. Sorry if the plot got a little fast- I just couldn't wait anymore for Jarah. XD