Mornings of Gold (a Jareth and Sarah fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty

A month had been and gone since the first night Sarah and Jareth had shared together. It was now early September, and the air was already beginning to lose its midsummer stillness. Jareth wasn't to be put off, though. To him, it was summer until the last leaf had hit the ground.

    Despite its lack of humidity, the day still held a considerable amount of heat, and so Jareth had suggested they spend it in Central Park. Sarah had packed them a picnic lunch: there was roast chicken, sandwiches, cakes and fine wine.

    "I have a question," Sarah began. Jareth smiled from where he lay beside her in the grass. "Go ahead," he hummed.

    Sarah propped herself up on her elbows so she could look at him. "How are you able to turn into an owl?" she queried.

    Jareth frowned. Thinking about it, he didn't actually know how or why he could transform. Another rare benefit of the job, he supposed. He relayed this to Sarah and she seemed equally confused. "All your powers so far have been to do with ensuring the welfare of your subjects and kingdom," she said. "I don't see how becoming an owl helps the goblins or the Labyrinth, though. Do you?"

    Jareth shook his head. "They were my favourite animal when I was--" He cut himself off. When I was human. Sarah didn't know about that yet; he'd rather not break it to her now. He cleared his throat. "To spy on potential abductees and their nearest and dearest, maybe?" he mused. "It would make sense: owls are silent and swift, perfect for watching others unnoticed. But they're also not the most common of birds; they would certainly cause a fuss if seen."

    Sarah shrugged. "I don't know," she sighed, smiling. "I think I've got you all sussed, but then something else happens to make me question what I know about you."

    Jareth grinned. He leaned over and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Doesn't that make me more exciting, though?" he murmured. Sarah rolled her eyes and shoved him away playfully. "No, it just makes you confusing," she laughed.

    "'Mysterious', I think is the word you're looking for."

    "'Egotistical'."

    "'Eccentric'?"

    "'Exaggerative'!" Sarah broke out in a fit of giggles. "I think I should make a list of all the adjectives I need to describe you with."

    Jareth shrugged. "May I make a few suggestions?" he enquired.

    "Not a chance."

    Jareth smirked and stood to stretch his legs. His vision blurred around the edges a little, but he reasoned it was a result of him standing too fast. Never mind that this wasn't a regular occurrence. Never mind that this was the first time it had happened since he'd given up his humanity...

    Sarah cut off his increasingly-worrying train of thought with a small giggle. "What is it?" he asked. She opened her mouth to say, but blushed and gave another little giggle. "Could you--" she started, but tapered off into laughter again. "Could you turn into an owl... now?" she finally managed to say.

    Jareth gave a quiet chuckle. He raised his chin a little and rolled his shoulders a few times, and then he was ruffling his feathers and stretching his wings to get the cramps out of them. It had been a long time since he'd been in this form.

    Sarah gasped. "You..." she mumbled. "You're a... you just..."

    Jareth nodded – or, at least, he tried to. He had no idea what it looked like to Sarah. He tensed his legs and launched himself into the air, circling gracefully above her head a few times before landing on a low sycamore branch a few metres above her. He folded his wings away and regarded Sarah thoughtfully.