Jareth's Return

Jareth(2)

And the world was spinning. One minute, Jareth was sitting alone on the edge of his bed, contemplating as always, and the next time he blinks, he's sitting on a strange bed, in a strange room, staring at a strange wall. On top of that, he was dizzier than he would be if he had pirouetted in the Bog of Eternal Stench.

What in the Realms is this place? He looks around, missing the form curled on the floor. He got up tried to find a candle or torch to light. Jareth smelled salt and metal and something....something good during his search. Blood? Human blood, I think. Sniffing, he followed the stench around the tiny room until he came upon a shape on the floor. Having not been able to find a light source,  he took a softball sized crystal from one of his various hidden pockets and threw it into the air. Once there, it glowed a bright but soft light. The shape was a girl.

She was curled against the wall, unconscious and trembling. Her shirt was ridden up partially in the back, and he could see blood-the blood he smelled-seeping into the purple shirt, turning it a dark red-violet. Ever the curious one, Jareth lifted up her shirt more to see the cause of the streams. He was surprised at the numerous welts, the amount of raised and red skin, and the cuts, 5, he counted, on such an innocent looking woman. What a lashing. Even he didn't have such cruel punishments for his subjects. For, no matter what the people from his kingdom, or those from neighboring kingdoms thought, he was not a heartless man and he ruled his kingdom in the best way he knew how.

Jareth felt the urge to help the young woman. Next thing he knew, he was scooping her in his arms, like he would were she his bride. One hand grazed her back and she came alive. Eyes wide and searching, arms beating at him, and she cried, "No dad, please. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, no. I'm sorry, just no more, daddy. No more." She didn't seem to see Jareth, just the monstrous man in her mind.

The Goblin King's heart broke a little for the female, but he could dwell on that later. Right now, he had to calm her down for he was losing his grip. "Shh, hush, child. You are safe with me. Nothing shall hurt you." He tried to say as soothingly as he could manage while repositioning her in his arms.

The flailing stopped at the sound of his voice and her eyes focused on his face, tears still streaming down her own. He noticed the raised mark on her cheek, a red strip with a line of blood just starting to form. After a moment, her eyes, those mesmerizing, golden brown eyes that made him feel like he was drowning and burning, flashed with recognition. He was saved from his feelings by her hand on his cheek. This startled him, as he wasn't used to being touched at all, let alone so, dare he think, lovingly.

"Jareth." The beauty, for she was beautiful despite the bruise marring it, breathed. This truly shocked and confused him; she knew his name. How? "I must be dreaming." How did she know him? He shook his head, clearing it. He needed to get her to the bed, so he could see what could be done about her injuries.

He walked the few feet to the bed, and sat her on it. "Lay on your stomach, so I can look." When she didn't comply and kept staring at him, he cupped a hand in front of his mouth and blew. A fine glittery substance flew into her eyes and he caught her as she fell back. Jareth rolled her over and lifted her shirt, mindful to keep all things covered that should be covered.

He whistled lowly. Her father did a number on her. Without one of the healer goblins, he couldn't do much for her. He could clean it, and close the cuts, but they would scar; they weren't deep, he was just extremely inexperienced.  He took a clean handkerchief from one of his pockets, and a shrunken crystal from another. Once he made it bigger,  about the size of a golf ball, he squeezed it over the rag, like one would a sponge. Water dribbled onto the rag, and the crystal vanished, as its magic was used up.

Carefully so as not to wake her, he sat next to her on the bed. He threw his long, blond hair behind his shoulder, vowing to cut it as soon as he was in his own kingdom. Despite knowing she couldn't feel it, or was at least in too deep a slumber to do anything about it, Jareth was as tender as possible without losing thoroughness. Once that was done, he pulled out a pouch of blood powder, and dipped the tip of a long, slender finger in. When he believed it was well coated with the silvery mixture, he ran his finger over the cleanly split skin.

The magic powder did it's job, soaking up the blood and knitting the skin back together, leaving nought but half inch long lines, the color of strawberries behind. He did the same for her cheek, hoping she wouldn't be too upset about the mark. Jareth pulled the girl's shirt down, knowing the worst was taken care of, the welts would shrink by morning and go away in a day or two. The water from the crystal accelerates healing processes in goblins, so he expected it did the same thing to humans.

He looked around for a place to put himself for the time being. There was a sort of large, brightly colored, partially caved-in boulder in the corner. Deciding to try it, he lowered himself down onto it, only to sink further in. The boulder made an odd sound, like it was filled with sand and it was cushy. He squirmed a bit more,  making as little noise as possible, until he got comfortable. Jareth leaned his head back into the corner, crossed his ankles and realized how tired he was.

But then his brain decided to ponder where he was. How had he come to be here? Was it the girl? A neighboring kingdom's joke or an attempt to conquer his own kingdom? The more he thought and worried, the lower his eyelids drooped. The transport here and the magic he performed fixing up the little sorceress-which she must surely be, human or not-had taken more out of him than he anticipated.

As Jareth slept, he dreamt of the girl on the bed.

Dreams he will forget upon waking.

Dreams he will have again.

Dreams he was woken from by screams.

Screams coming from the girl.

She was sitting up in bed, staring at him, screaming.

So much for sleep.